|
The
first image is a
spooky image to start!
The
problem with up lights is that you
can easily wind up with
"Boris Karloff"
lighting. Also, with the
light so close, small changes in
the model's position can result in
dramatic changes in the
effect. I like this -- you
can't control everything, and if
you want to control everything,
you might as well photograph bowls
of fruit. Models are people,
and the best photographs involve
the model's movement. So, my
job as a photographer is to set up
an environment for the model; the
model's job is to adapt to that
environment and use her creativity
to find ways to move &
interact within that environment;
then the photographer's job is to
select those moments where all the
elements come together.
That
sparkling highlight in Yulia's
left eye is spooky.
|
Yulia
starts to move within the
light. That up light
& Yulia's curvy figure
were literally made for each
other!
Okay,
another part of the
photographer's job is to look
& really see ("looknsee"!)
what is happening before his
eyes. I love the
combination of the soft light
coming in from the left side
of the image & the harsher
up
light on Yulia's figure, but I
don't much like the up light
on Yulia's face. I ask
Yulia to work with her face
more towards the soft box
light coming in from the
left. |
|
|
Bingo!
With
the third exposure in this setup,
we make a near perfect
image. Yulia's breathtaking
figure is well displayed, and I
love the tonal separation of all
parts of her figure against the
background. There is a great
three-dimensionality feeling to
the play of light & shadow
across Yulia's torso. She
just looks perfect. My only
complaint is that her left hand
disappears.
Definitely
a favorite from this
sitting! In fact, I don't
expect an image this good from any
first sitting with a new-to-me model.
I'm
enjoying myself -- we continue
with this setup.
|
Nice
sultry light on Yulia's
face. And this time, we
can see her hands well.
Okay,
confession time. Some
men are "breast
men", others prefer the
butt or the legs or
whatever. My favorite
part of a woman's anatomy is
her abdomen, and Yulia's is
perfect. I like the
subtle lighting on her ribs
and her strong stomach
muscles. And I like how
there is good tonal separation
between the figure & the
background. Note:
Yulia "got" this
lighting setup
immediately. It was all
her modeling experience that
came up with all these poses
where her left arm is extended
away from her torso,
highlighting the up light's
effect. At one time, I
believed that intelligence
wasn't a prerequisite for a
good model, but I'm
reevaluating that
opinion. My best work
came from working with very
smart models. |
|
|
Okay,
I don't like this picture all that
much, but I'm including it because
it illustrates a personal posing
point. I ask models not to
point a portion of a limb directly
at the camera lens, and this image
illustrates why. Yulia's
left arm looks distorted, because
her forearm is almost completely
parallel to the camera lens
axis. Thus, it appears short
& stumpy.
Like
I say, the "near misses"
are more educational.
|
Here's
a film image from the same
lighting setup. I've got
to admit that I still am in
much better control over the
tonality & contrast &
exposure of the film images,
and (at least to me) the
difference in quality between
film & digital is still
quite obvious. Can you
see the difference? The
film image has more contrast,
yet the tonality balance is
fine. I also like the
subtle hints of light on
Yulia's face and the shadow of
her hair across her
chest. Not to mention my
favorite glimpse of ribs &
the muscularity of her
torso. |
|
|
Another
film image, and a favorite.
I like the expression on Yulia's
face & the body language &
attitude.
The
tonality is a tad off -- there is
not enough details in the blackest
areas of the image (for example,
Yulia's hair). Still, it is
a very good image. I like
it.
|
|
Two
very similar pictures,
side-by-side. The image on
the left started life as a
digital image; the image on the
right is a film based
image. Can you see the
differences in the quality?
Recently,
I saw my web site on a friend's
laptop, and I was shocked.
My images look great on my
monitor, and they looked
terrible on his.
Similarly, an image that looks
great on my monitor will look
terrible when I print it. What
can I do? I'm open to
anyone's advice.
Thanks in advance.
|
When
the lights are so close to the
model, you can make radically
big changes with tiny
adjustments in position of the
lights & of the
model. Note that the
background here is lighter
than the previous images and
that more of Yulia's yummy
torso is lit. How was
this achieved?
Simple: Yulia is
standing about 6-9 inches
closer to the back wall.
Isn't this amazing -- a very
different feel for the image
was achieved by a very minor
adjustment in the model's
position! |
|
|
When
I was a beginner, I was all over
the place. At first, it was
enough to be able to arrange for
someone (anyone!) to pose for me, and as a
result, the objective of the
sitting was achieved as soon as
the model was nude & ready to
go. The resulting images
weren't very good -- I didn't
control the lighting, I didn't
have a concept in mind, I didn't
have quality standards. I
just made random exposures &
hoped for the best.
Nowadays,
I work quite differently.
Before a sitting, I develop a few
concepts. Sometimes it's
enough to have a specific lighting
setup in mind, like I did
here. Sometimes, I have some
specific direction to give the
model (e.g. "I want to
photography you jumping off a
bench -- we'll do some with you
frozen in mid-air and others with
your figure being nothing other
than a blur").
So,
I'd say that my typical sitting is
50%-60% preplanned and the rest
improvised on the spot within the
context of the setups.. I
usually manage about two to four
setups per sitting, and within the
original concept (which can be as
simple as "use an up
light"), we
experiment.
We
experiment with a few different
poses, here -- here with Yulia
leaning forward. |
|
Another
digital (left) vs. film (right)
comparison.
The
digital image on the left is a
favorite -- I like the lock of
hair dangling in front of
Yulia's left shoulder.
Crazy curly hair!
|
|
Yulia
is far exceeding my expectations
(which were high to begin with).
Intelligence is not a prerequisite for
being a good model, but Yulia is quite
bright. She understands the
overall setup & easily finds ways
to contribute with movement &
poses. She takes direction
easily -- often she doesn't even need
direction. Oh, yes, she's
gorgeous, with a world class figure
and a beautiful face. Add that
she has a unique feature (her crazy
curly hair), and she is the total
package.
This
sitting concludes with More
Studio Light
|