Ashton
Gray is a wonderful, wonderful model
from western Canada. On
occasion, she travels through Portland
on her way to points South. I
had a terrific time working with her
during her
first sitting, and when she
announced her travel plans, we agreed
to work together again. Like the
previous sitting (Kira's
second sitting), this was an
unusual sitting in that we got
together in the morning -- most of my
sittings are in the afternoon or
evening. |
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| I've
done photography on the back stairs, and I've done "Getting
Started" series (where the model removes her street clothes), but
I've never done both together. During Kira's second sitting, I
discovered & enjoyed this low angle perspective.
This is what Ashton
wore to my front door. I then requested that she remove her clothing. |
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Ashton
is a real dream to work
with. Some models,
despite being breathtakingly
beautiful, have body
issues: some think they
have a big nose or that they
are carrying too much fat or
that their breasts are the
wrong size. Ashton, on
the other hand, is more of a
what-you-see-is-what-you-get
kind of a person. Her
earthy attitude makes me think
that she's like a farm girl,
capable of reaching up a cow
& pulling out a
calf. She is 100%
comfortable inside her skin
& is happy to have
anything photographed from any
angle at any time. (Oh,
and she's got that "breathtakingly
beautiful" thing covered,
too!) |
| I try to
be considerate with my models -- on chilly days like today, I turn up
the heat in advance of the model's arrival. But with a morning
sitting, the house hadn't had much of a chance to get warmer.
Besides, the heat on the back stairs is only moderate.
When Ashton removed
her clothing, she started with her pants (most models start with their
tops). That was because she wanted to keep warm. Her scarf
was the last thing to go. |
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Okay,
let's work our brains -- I
like working on the back
stairs because the main light,
coming from the model's right
(or the left side of the
image) is Northern
light. Well, if the
direction of the left is
North, then the camera is
basically facing East.
This was a morning sitting,
and unlike the last sitting
with Kira, the weather this
day was a rare winter bright &
clear one.
Bottom
line: as we were working
on the back stairs, the
sunlight started to stream
bright & strong through
that back window that you can
see here. The result,
some of the more interesting
lighting we've seen on the
back stairs. Ashton's luxurious
hair looks like it's catching
fire. It certainly
catches the sunlight. |
| Here's a
favorite from this sitting.
With this
super-bright back lighting, I could see a fine "peach fuzz"
covering Ashton's torso. I mention it, and she calls it "Canadian
Insulation" -- it keeps her warm during the cold
weather. |
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