I
love working with models multiple
times. There are a lot of
advantages:
-
I've
mentioned this before, but I
really don't get a good sense of
what a model looks like until I've
photographed her. When you
look at a photograph, you don't
always get a sense of how the
model moves, how she reacts to
direction, etc., and of course,
there's no predicting what your
chemistry will be like. You
may find this hard to believe, but
some models just don't get my
sense of humor!
-
Looking
at previous sitting images can
inspire new ideas.
-
You've
established working relationships
and have built trust.
-
I
feel more inclined to experiment
with new ideas with people I've
already photographed.
(A
bonus is the implied endorsement I get
when models work with me multiple
times. This gives a good
impression to new potential
models. Further, when a model
works with me multiple times, she is
often quite happy & willing to be
a reference for new models.)
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The
sitting previous to this one was with Betcee,
a traveling model. We worked in the late afternoon, and I
invited her to stay in my guest room. Her next sitting wasn't
until the next evening, so I played tour guide for Betcee for the
day. She gave me feedback: I have a beautiful house, but I
rarely use it for my photography -- I mostly make studio images.
So, I had that in mind for this sitting with Kira.
Kira's third
sitting was in early May in the middle of the afternoon. This
was one of the first sunny days of the Spring. For our first
setup, I plan on working in my living room (the room I usually turn
into a studio), using at least some of the natural window light and
the various pieces of furniture in situ. |
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If
you are familiar with the
previous sitting with Betcee,
you will know that during that
sitting, my digital camera
finally failed to fire off the
strobes. After that
disaster (and the resulting
happy accidents), I got rid of
the old digital camera &
got a new one. I got a
Nikon Coolpix 8400. It
had features I wanted:
- It
has a pivoting, swinging
LCD screen for composing
& exposing images.
- It
has a supported
methodology to fire off
strobes, with the optional
AS-15 accessory.
- It
has a very wide angle lens
(the 35mm equivalent of a
24mm lens).
For
the most part, this sitting's
objective was to try out the
new camera. You'll note
that the color images might
have slightly-off color
balance, but overall it did
very well. It never
failed to fire the strobes. |
My house
was built in 1890, and the city of Portland grew up around it.
The building to the south is a nine story apartment house, and this
building is less than two feet away. But the building itself is
recessed a bit from the street. I have one window that faces
south, and it is this window that gets direct afternoon
sunlight. During the summer, the light comes in almost from
directly above; during the winter, the light comes in at an angle (See
this sitting with Leona for examples of winter light -- when
you look at these pictures of Leona, you'll see that I've made vast
improvements in my photography in the past few years).
Kira & I make
some natural light photographs by this window. |
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I
love natural light &
shadow on skin.
Kira
arrived looking
fantastic. She has a
flawless figure & clear,
beautiful skin. Kira works
studies hard & works hard,
and she was in terrific shape
for this sitting. In
fact, I've got to say that she
was feeling good about
herself, and that lent her a
lot of confidence. I
think that confidence shows.
After
working in this tight corner,
we
move across the room to the
big comfy chair. You
might have seen that chair
before -- in fact, Kira
asked to pose in it during our
first sitting. But
this is where the chair
normally sits, but the front
windows of the house. |
This
is a semi-advanced
photographer's trick: I
balance the natural light
(especially the light on the
buildings across the street)
with a strobe in the room and
the lamp in the back
corner. This is a good
test of the digital camera -- it
is useful to be able to preview
the results before fine tuning
the exposure. You can see
that my fairly large Victorian
house is surrounded by larger
city buildings. |
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I
guess that Kira was feeling
good physically, too (more on
this later). She was
moving all over that
chair. She is in
constant motion, and I like
this a lot. Some models
simply sit there & strike
a pose, and such poses often
look forced or stilted.
But when a model moves, she
always looks natural. By
moving constantly, the model
gives the photographer much
more choices. |
Kira
often looks ravishing when lying
down on her back -- we love that
wonderful taper from ribs to
flat stomach. I've
seen terrific photographs of
her by other
photographers. Someday, I
hope to produce a horizontal
image of Kira worthy of her
beauty. |
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The
sunlight is changing a lot --
sometimes it is shining
directly through the windows;
sometimes it is filtered by
passing clouds. Those of
you who are sensitive to such
things can see the changing
light conditions from image to
image. My camera & I
strive to keep up (while
trying not to drool too
much). Kira can't help
it, but she is very, very sexy.
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Mindful
of Betcee's feedback, I take a
moment to step back a bit
& include more of the room
in the image. There --
you can see my collection of
photography books. And
of course, the inspiring &
beautiful Kira!
This
is a favorite from the
sitting. |
Kira
showed up for this sitting after working out in the gym -- she
certainly was energized. She crawled all over that
chair.
There actually are
three windows, side by side by side, in the front of the room, each
window slightly angled from its neighbors. It's not exactly a
bay window, but it is nice. Standing by the windows, you can
look up and down the street, especially since the neighboring
buildings are further back from the street.
More to the point,
the light bounces around a lot. There is nice light on Kira's
belly & breast, and interesting light complimenting that on her
hip & back. Look at the wonderful muscles on her right arm
& shoulder! I like how this all works together.
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The
way you "balance"
strobes with ambient light is
that you calculate the
aperture with the strobe light
and then adjust the shutter
speed to pick up the desired
amount of ambient light.
The strobe flash lasts only
1/3000th of a second, but the
camera was set at a relatively
slow shutter
speed.
Here,
we catch Kira is a quick
motion. Interesting
blur, huh?
Let's
call this a happy accident,
one that will probably inspire
future experiments. I
like this blur.
(See
my dance
photographs for more
extremely blurred
images.) |
I say
this often, but I don't photograph models' backs often enough, and
Kira's back is exceptional. I love her shape & how the light
bounces around & caresses her.
I'll have to
remember to photograph Kira's back more often. |
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One
last picture, by my
photography book
collection. Kira is
looking in fine shape, but I
abandon this particular
concept quickly. I hate
the cliché "beautiful
model looking out a
window". I prefer
models to have eye contact
with the camera or to be
focused on something within
the image frame or to have
their eyes closed. When
I see a model looking off into
the distance, I wonder what is
she looking at, why isn't she
involved with the process of
making the image, is there
someplace she would rather
be?
But
even so, you can see that
Kira's figure is just
perfect. This is exactly
the kind of figure I like
photographing. |
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I
am happy, happy, happy. I am
happy that the digital camera is
working reliably, and even though I'm
still learning how to use it,
I know we are getting some really nice
images. I'm happy that Kira is
exceedingly energetic today -- she is
moving around a lot, giving me all
sorts of ideas for images. I'm
happy because I tried something a
little different from my typical
studio fare -- working with natural
light (sometimes augmented with
strobes) in natural settings, and the
results are promising. That's
happy, happy, happy.
I've
got to admit that the inspiration from
working this way started when Jay from
Grace
& Beauty photographed Betcee
in my house -- he did nothing but
utilize the features of the house
& furnishings, and this
inspiration was reinforced by the
feedback Betcee gave me. While I
won't claim that I've really utilized
the house & its furnishings, I did
more than I have done previously, and
the results are encouraging.
What do you think?
Meanwhile,
I have an idea for refining some
studio lighting setups that I've been
experimenting with. We set up
the more traditional studio setup
(closing the shades to block out the
sunlight, moving the furniture out of
the way, using multiple strobes,
etc.). Then, something
unexpected happened...
This
sitting continues with Kira
Dance!
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