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This
is what happens!
The
back stairs is configured like this: there
are four steps up & a long landing facing
east, then there's a right turn & four more
steps up to another landing, and then a final
right turn & nine steps up to the next
floor. That leaves a little dead area that
is perhaps four feet wide and eight feet deep.
Rather
than showing the bare walls in that little
pocket, I decided to drape the walls with the
gauzy studio cloth that I've used occasionally
before.
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There
was just enough space on the first
landing to place the light stand
& its boom. I've
attached a medium sized soft box
to the boom & positioned in
almost directly over Natalia's
head -- it's actually a tad bit
closer to the camera position --
it's not directly overhead.
Here's
one of those non-eye-contact
pictures, and like before, when
the model is gazing outside of the
image frame, I wonder what she is
looking at. In this case,
she's looking at the light
box. Perhaps she's wondering
whether it'll stay up there or
whether it'll fall over on top of
her.
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Clearly,
the studio cloth is big enough to wrap around
all three walls, with plenty left over to puddle
on the ground at Natalia's feet. I like
that the hard surfaces are obscured, but you can
see from Natalia's pose that it really is a
narrow space -- her back is against one wall,
& her right hand is against the opposite
wall.
So,
the challenge for Natalia is to fill such a
confining space with her grace &
beauty. It really was a challenge for her,
and as you can see, she did remarkably well.
That's
a good tip for working with models: first,
engage their brains & good things will
follow. (I hate pictures of models with
bored looks on their faces.)
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I'm
sure I'm repeating myself often,
but I want to point out the camera
height. Beginners will tend
to stand when the model is
standing, and they also tend to
hold their camera up at eye
level. Since I am taller
than Natalia, and since she is
bent back a bit, that would have
meant that I would have been
photographing her from
above. Since I'm using a bit
of a wide angle setting, that
would have meant that her lovely
legs would have appeared short
& stubby.
Instead,
I'm sitting & holding the
camera at her waist level. As a
result, her figure is better
proportioned. For this
setup, and for this pose, I could
have even held the camera a tad
lower -- at hip level as opposed
to this waist level. That
would have worked well, too.
So,
that's a tip: when
photographing a standing model,
keep the camera perspective low.
Another
note: here's another picture
with the model staring out of the
image frame. It does bother
me a tad, but when you use these
"lit from above" setups,
it is often best to get the
model's face looking up.
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You
know, I don't think I know another model who
could pull this off as well as Natalia.
Look at this pose! It is both awkward
& graceful.
I
usually don't give models specific shapes for
their poses. I rather that they just
move. I hate it when a model just sits
still & waits for me to take the picture --
just move & I'll find the right time to
press the shutter.
This
pose is all Natalia. She doesn't pose --
she dances.
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On
the previous page (The
Clothed Nude), we created lots
of images that I found sexy.
They were sexy in large part
because she was covered up in one
way or another. The pictures
on this page, that show pretty
much all, are more of the
"Fine Art"
variety. I have no problem
with that -- in fact, that was the
whole idea.
Still,
with her face half obscured by her
hair and with her looking down
towards the camera , that's a particularly sultry
look Natalia's face.
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Natalia
uses all the space available. Here, she
gets down on her knees. By doing so, she
moves a little away from the back wall and moves
closer to the camera -- that placed her more
directly under the light above.
I'm
already thinking about what I'd do differently
with this setup (which I'm sure I'll return to
sometime).
- The
studio cloth is against white walls, and
since it is translucent, the walls are
somewhat light in spots. Next time, I
might hang black cloth on the walls before
draping the studio cloth.
- I
might try a smaller light source, either a
smaller soft box or maybe even just a spot
light.
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Natalia
moves all the way down to the
floor. Note the subtle
changes in the lighting on her
body. She has a way of
exploring the entire space.
(Maybe
we'll call this Natalia's
"Look, I'm a reindeer!"
pose).
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I
like this image. In retrospect, I now
remember that I've wanted to explore unusual
composition more. That's something I used
to do a lot, and when I did, I felt that unusual
composition were part of my signature style.
Now,
I'm not saying that this image is an example of
my "signature composition" -- Natalia
is still centered in the image, but I've
included more than the usual space surrounding
here, including the puddled studio cloth on the
floor before her. So, let's call this
image "almost unusual".
A
challenge for these "lit from above"
setups is that in order to light the model's
face, she has to tilt her face up. This
often looks forced, but here Natalia pulls it
off with her usual grace.
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Again,
it's interesting to me that the
draped studio cloth conceals just
how cramped the space is.
Again, Natalia's back is against
one wall & her feet are
against the opposite wall.
I'm not sure whether this is a
good thing or not.
Natalia
does an excellent job in showing
me lots of significant variations
for being so confined.
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Like
this one. I don't photograph model's backs
nearly enough, and Natalia's back is
exceptional. She is so fit & shapely,
and her skin is so clear & fine. I
usually have models face me to facilitate
communication -- I should get them to turn
around more often.
Next
time I work with Natalia, I've got to remember
to craft some images that feature her
back. Oh, and her neck, too -- she's got a
great neck. Love them clavicles!
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You
know, I think that this lighting
setup, with the light flowing down
from above the model, isn't the
best for photographing the model's
back. So, I ask Natalia to
show me something else.
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So,
Natalia turns around.
I've
related this story before; forgive me for
repeating it. Several years ago, I had the
pleasure of spending the day with Ruth
Bernhard, one of the classic masters of
photography. I asked her how many
exposures she makes during one studio session,
and she told me, "Just the one."
I
guess I don't work that way. I like to
encourage the model to express herself, and by
express herself, I mean move. And part of
the fun of the session for me is setting up a
scene and then exploring variations with the
model. For me, nude photography is
all about the interaction. Those who make
only a single exposure, like Ruth Bernhard, are
basically composing still life images using a
human body as a prop. That's my opinion.
When
you have a good model, you get tired of the
setup before she does.
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I
really like this one -- the
lighting plus Natalia's expression
gives this image an ethereal
feeling. I'm just not sure
about the position of her left
hand -- it's just not quite right.
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Natalia
comes up with the idea of burrowing into &
under the studio cloth, especially the extra
length that is puddled on the ground.
This
is close to my old style of cropping /
composition. I often like images that are
tall & narrow.
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| Okay,
I was sitting in that same
spot while Natalia did all
the work. Sure, I
admired what she was
showing me, but I guess I
have to admit that I
figured I had explored
everything I could.
We made dozens of
exposures, and I just got
the sense that we weren't
getting to anything new or
better. So, what do
you do when a set of
images starts to get
stale? You change
your perspective!
So, I climb the back
steps, hold the camera
over the side, and
photograph Natalia from
above. The light is
radically different from
this perspective -- this
is axis light, and
suddenly, the same setup
is fresh, without even
moving the lights one bit! |
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| One
interesting thing about
pointing the camera nearly
straight down is that I
can orientate the
resulting image in
practically any direction
I want. These two
images, above & below,
are the exact same
image. So, one
additional choice I have
to make is how to rotate
the image for the maximum
effect. |
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It
didn't take me long to get tired
of Natalia lying on the floor
& me photographing her
from above. I ask her to sit
up, and I like what I see.
This
is the first image made this
way. I like seeing her face
while she looks up, and I like how
the studio cloth looks. This
shows promise, and we explore
further.
I
didn't like the position of her
legs in this image. Again, I
tend not to like having a limb
aligned with the camera lens.
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Much
better! In fact, this is a sitting
favorite. It always amazes me that small
& subtle changes can make big &
significant differences in the resulting
image. (I'll ignore for the moment that
her upper left arm is nearly aligned with the
camera axis).
There
is a bit of wide angle distortion -- her head
looks a tad big while her legs look a tad small,
but somehow, that all works. Somehow, her
torso looks fabulous!
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Another
favorite, if only because of that
lock of hair that falls across
Natalia's face. That gives
the image a sultry feel that I
like.
I
should mention that here is a
great example of the advantage of
the tilting/swinging LCD screen on
my advanced point & shoot
camera. I'm actually holding
the camera out away from me &
using the LCD screen to frame the
exposure. I wouldn't have
been able to make this exposure
with a DSLR, simply because I
couldn't position my head behind
the camera position.
Hey,
camera manufacturers! I need
a DSLR camera with a
tilting/swinging LCD screen that
can be used to compose exposures!
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We
are running out of time, so I return to the
floor for a few last exposures. Note that
here, I position the camera a bit higher up off
the floor.
Since
we are almost done, I just want to start
summarizing now. To the extent that I can
be considered successful, here is the secret of
my success. It's all about the
interpersonal relationships.
In
photographic sittings like this, the
photographer is typically in charge -- he hires
the model and works on the concepts that he
wants to work on. I swear that some
photographers approach sittings as if they were
doing still lives -- there is no interaction
with the model, other than telling her what
poses the photographer wants.
While
I think that I'm in charge, I'd rather put
energy into the relationship with the model and
inspire her to react the way I want. I
want the model to feel appreciated &
encouraged & confident. I want the model to
move. I set the tone, but the model lives
in it. I want us both to have fun and to
leave the sitting looking forward to working
together again.
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So,
I pay attention to the model a
lot. That works well for me.
I
should also say that I pay
attention to people a lot, and
that, too, works well for
me. For example, my
butcher's name is Chris, he's a
single parent, and he's a big
Oakland Raiders fan. Most of
his customers never even look at
him -- they just look at the meat
in his counter. I, on the
other hand, chat with him, I ask
him what's good, and I check to
see if he has recommendations for
dishes and/or how to prepare
them. Does he give me better
cuts of meat? I don't know,
but I do know that he enjoys his
job more when I pay attention to
him.
Over
the years of leading teams to
solve problems or of hiring
craftsmen to do some work for me,
I've learned how to communicate
with them, how to make them feel
appreciated, and how to get their
best efforts. It's a
valuable skill to have.
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It's
a sad fact that people don't get a lot of
feedback and don't often get to feel
appreciated. So, just a little effort goes
a long way.
In
fact, I don't get a lot of meaningful feedback
from models. At best, I get some polite
compliments. I can understand this -- the
model hopes to be hired again, and perhaps she
feels that if she gives me feedback, I might not
like it, and I might not want to hire her again.
Well,
bunk! Bunk, I say! Sure, you don't
have to be mean, but you can find something
positive to comment on. You'll note that
there is plenty of comments alongside these
images, but I am always positive, because I like
to focus on the best parts of the sitting.
It's more fun that way.
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Then,
there was this sitting.
Natalia tells me "You like
the way I dress" with a big
smile, and that set the tone for
the entire sitting. Just a
quick sentence, less than 3
seconds of expression, and I was
on Cloud 9.
(Nice
neck!)
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