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The
concept for this set of images was
simple: I had asked Victoria
to bring a long skirt that swished
when she twirled, and here it
is. I wanted to capture
movement, so I asked Victoria to
spin in place, and I'll snap
pictures.
This
is the test exposure done with the
digital camera. There were
challenges & problems.
First, the backdrop, which was
extended down the back wall and
over the floor -- that wasn't a
very stable & secure footing
for a spinning model.
Second, the skirt itself, in order
for it to move, Victoria had to
spin around a couple of times in
order to get the necessary
momentum. She was in danger
of slipping on the sliding
backdrop, and was certainly in
danger of getting dizzy. For
me, it was a challenge to wait
until the skirt was flying &
snapping the shutter when
everything looked
interesting. |
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So,
we pushed the backdrop off the
floor back towards the base of
the back wall. That
solved the slippery floor
problem. Victoria still
had to spin around about three
times before I could snap the
shutter. Still, with her
head held up, it was difficult
for Victoria to stay in one
place -- she would drift to
one side or another while she
was spinning.
This
isn't a bad thing -- I think
photographers at my level tend
to become control freaks, and
it's good to relinquish
control. I couldn't
fine-tune Victoria's pose --
stuff was flying all over, as
if it had a will of its
own. I couldn't even
control the exact spot that
Victoria would be standing
when the exposure is taken --
and in a cramped studio
setting, changing position by
just a few inches makes a
significant change in the
lighting (and the exposure).
Overall,
it's good to lose a little
control -- sometimes good
stuff happens! |
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Here
is a film & paper image.
This is a good example of the kind
of happy accident you get when you
relinquish control -- It would
take me hours to set up the
lighting on Victoria's breast
& arm. |
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I
should also mention that for
both Brooke's & Victoria's
sessions, I especially like
the texture & tonality of
the background. I like
having some kind of background
-- I much prefer that over a
pure white or a pure black or
a simple solid color
background. I do have
mixed feelings about the
bottom of the backdrop canvas
being tumbled at the base of
the back wall. I did get
a question about my backdrop
from a viewer: it is a
basic canvas backdrop, painted
with medium & dark-ish
warm colors -- the trick is
that I store the backdrop in a
stuff sack, creating lots of
creases & wrinkles, and
when I hang it from the living
room picture rail, I do so
without exactly stretching it
taut. Add some kind of
side lighting, and making
careful exposure calculations,
and it looks great. |
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One
last picture -- just to make life
challenging for Victoria, I ask
her to add a head whip to the
image, to get her hair
moving. |
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I
have mixed feelings about this set of
pictures. My criticism of these
images:
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I
should have positioned the film
camera better, to ensure that I
consistently included Victoria's
full figure, down to &
including her feet.
Remember, she wandered as she
spun, so I should have compensated
by stepping back some more &
cropping.
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Sometimes
I don't mind the backdrop piled
and the bottom of the back wall;
other times, I think that was just
sloppy of me.
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The
semi-radical side lighting wasn't
entirely appropriate for this
setup.
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The
exposure wasn't quite good enough
to capture some details in the
skirt itself.
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Overall,
these images don't quite work as
well as I would like.
Victoria
was a trooper. And to me, that
is something that separates the best
models from the simply good
models: the top models can move
& are willing/happy to move.
Less experience models tend to spend
too much time standing still &
waiting for the photographer to press
the shutter.
And
I experienced a first. When I
worked leading large project teams, I
found that a little encouragement went
a long way, as long as it was
sincere. I found opportunities
to tell team members simple things
like, "that's a great idea"
or "wow, you made that look
easy" or "boy, you got that
done quickly" or stuff like
that. When a model poses for me,
I am constantly communicating with
her. I'm telling her what the
overall concept is, what I'm looking
at & what I see, basic stuff like
that. But I'm also telling her
somehow that I'm enjoying myself, that
I like the way she looks or moves --
anything to make her feel appreciated
and to make the sitting fun. To
be honest, models always respond well
to this. The
"first"? I was getting
to that. Victoria is the first
model to do the same thing for me --
she told me that she was having fun,
that she thought I was a good
photographer with good ideas, stuff
like that. And I think I
responded well to that, too.
Thanks, Victoria!
Look
for more movement experiments in the
future!
Hey,
the hard wood floor looks good,
especially with the sepia-like toning.
Victoria's
solo pictures conclude on the next
page:
The
Back Stairs
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