Madison -- First Sitting -- November, 2002

Madison is a local college student who does a little modeling on the side for some extra spending money. She stops by for our first sitting together, a week or so before Thanksgiving.

On The Stool

We start out with some simple portraits on a covered stool.

Madison, First Sitting, On The Couch, November, 2002

The Ottoman & The Couch

I like the textures of my ottoman, the couch, and the chenille throw. The light is working well, so we continue.

The Floor

For a change, we throw a velour blanket on the floor, slap the mild wide angle lens on the camera, and finish our sitting there.

Assessment: I used soft lighting for this sitting, and Madison's figure & skin looked terrific. I have to admit that I'm a bit conservative during first sittings with new models, and this sitting was no exception. This sitting also was my second using studio lighting set-ups (the first was Leona's Soft Evening Light sitting in October). While I liked the images Leona & I made, I have to admit that I strayed from a basic concept during that sitting -- with Leona, I relied on only one light source, and I've always found that additional light sources (as highlights or on the background) are the subtle enhancements that add dimension to the images and make a big contribution to the overall image quality. In this sitting with Madison, I did add a second light source for most of these images, and it makes a big difference. Compare & see.