Arie, Getting Started

I have a new credo:

Often pleased, but never satisfied.

And I think that describes my previous sitting, with Jolie. Jolie was lovely, warm, willing, & fun, and I do like many of the pictures we made together. Yet, there were some elements that were less than satisfying:

Jolie & I made a hecka lot of images. To a certain extent, I felt like I was sacrificing quality while increasing quantity.
I hate to admit it, but I was pretty tired at the end of our three hour sitting.

It's insanity to do the same old thing & expect different results, so after Jolie, I figured I'd try a few different things.

Here's Arie. She's a culinary student from California who was spending a couple of months here in town doing her externship at one of my favorite local restaurants. She contacted me -- that's the advantage of having a web presence; another photographer referred her to me.

She suggested a sitting, and I agreed.

Quick aside: my new camera is still new to me, and I'm still learning how to get the best out of it. One problem: when I look through the images from this sitting, I think I'm growing dissatisfied with the quality of the lens -- I think it creates a lot of distortion when set at it's wide angle setting. I'm also learning how to set the camera to maximize image sharpness -- not something I accomplished consistently throughout this sitting.

Spring is a great time to be in the Pacific Northwest. The winter months are very dark. The angle of the sun is low, and nearly all the days are overcast. Couple that with my aging eyes, and in general, I tend to feel that there just isn't enough natural light available in the house for natural light photography.

But not today. Today, I start our sitting together with my typical icebreaker: the "Getting Started" concept where I photograph the model in the clothes she wears to my door, & I continue to make images while the model removes her clothes. This time, we utilize the big comfy chair & natural window light.

And I'm still a fan of wide angle images.

My previous digital camera was limited -- its smallest aperture was roughly f/8. Because of this, I got in the habit of setting it at ASA 100 when using the digital camera with the strobes -- with the slow setting, I could typically get the appropriate exposure within the technical limitations of the camera -- and at ASA 100, I would get optimal quality (i.e. noise-free) images. The new camera was capable of much smaller apertures -- not limited to the physical aperture of the lens -- the camera is quite capable of providing me with f/40 or smaller by making electronic adjustments.

Regardless, I've gotten into the habit of setting my digital camera at ASA 100. At this slow speed, I wound up with fairly long exposure times, which in turn results in blurred images when Arie moves (and she does move). That's okay -- I like blurred images a lot -- it's the best way to photograph movement.

Blurred images, continued: Here's Arie, sans coat, sitting still.

To be honest, at the time of this sitting, I probably didn't know how to change the ASA setting of the camera. If I didn't want the blur, I could have set the camera at ASA 400, but I didn't bother. Perhaps some of my complaints about the relatively low sharpness of some of these images are due to blur. Still, blur can be fun -- you'll see.

Embrace the blur.

After making several clothed exposures (see the Out Takes), I couldn't stand it anymore, and I ask Arie to remove her clothes. She is happy to comply. I am happy that she does comply.

I do this "Getting Started" concept a lot, and I fully expect to continue to do it. It's funny -- nearly all models start by going topless before removing their pants.

Okay, this image, like several in this session, isn't exactly sharp. Two elements contribute to this:

Long exposure times result is slightly blurred images.
I haven't quite figured out how to control the camera's focus.
The low ASA often meant using the lens at it's widest aperture, which often isn't a lens' sharpest setting.

I like this picture a lot -- I like how Arie is framed between the window & the bookcase; I like how she's topless but not displaying any of her girly bits, I like the various textures, I like the stack of pillows, and I love the light.

Wish this image was sharper.

I mentioned earlier that I wanted to make adjustments to my typical sitting, after the sitting with Jolie. Here are the things I was doing differently:

We decided on a shorter session. Before this, my typical sitting was three hours long, and at the end of these sessions, I'd be pretty tired. This sitting was only two hours long.
I planned three different concepts, each in a different part of the house. Before Arie arrived, I had set up each concept, so that all we had to do was occupy the space & get started.
I tried to be more selective in choosing when to make exposures. With the digital camera, it's all too easy to become shutter happy, snapping away without being discriminating.

I do like lean models -- I like their strong lines that highlight the underlying architecture to the human physiology. Yes, Arie is marvelously lean & a culinary student, but she says that her challenge is to create good tasting, healthy food.

Let me pause to share a story from my college days. My thesis advisor was the most famous professor in the University, and as such, he was insanely busy & had to account for all of his time carefully (in order to satisfy the various grants he was working on). At one point in my thesis, I needed his approval for a decision I wanted to make, and his secretary granted me a 30 second meeting with him. That's 30 seconds -- you can probably hold your breath for 30 seconds! So, I figured, I'd take 10 seconds to describe the problem, 5 seconds to describe my proposed solution, 10 seconds to answer any of his questions, and 5 seconds to get his approval. And that's exactly how the meeting went.

When I worked for a living, I often related this same story & asked what I should do differently if the meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds. My answer: not much. When hosting a meeting, nothing keeps it on track & nothing ensures the needed results better than good meeting preparation.

That's what I was doing here. I was prepared for this shorter session, because the various setups were all waiting & ready before the model arrived. It had the added advantage that it reduced my mid-sitting stress. The disadvantage is that I might sacrifice a little spontaneity, but I didn't notice that this time, this being a first sitting with a new-to-me model.

Arie is marvelously comfortable with her body & has few posing limits. Now, I'm usually not interested in, umm, gynecological poses, but on the other hand, I do get tired of the cliché poses that ensure a model's modesty. Here's an example -- I like the open casualness of this pose (and no, I probably wouldn't have done this if Arie was totally nude). Still -- this image is a favorite.

Love the light, especially on Arie's beautiful face.

I ask her to remove her jeans. There are two advantages to tight jeans: 1) they look great, especially if the wearer has great legs, and 2) it takes a while to remove them. I like watching Arie remove her jeans.

I like it when a model has fun during our sittings together.

Here's a token color image for you. Arie is finally nude, and we decide to embrace the blur. It's simple: I ask Arie to toss her clothes in the air above her, and I snap the shutter at the appropriate moment. I like these images.

Whee!

I have to admit that I like good blurred images, and this one is a favorite. Bonus: I love giving the model something to do with her hands & keeping her involved in the image making process. Conversely, I dislike images of models sitting around waiting for the photographer to snap the shutter; I don't have this problem with Arie. She is bright, engaged & engaging, and up for anything.

I should note that I couldn't make images like this with the old digital camera -- there was a sizable pause between pressing the shutter & exposure; it took a while for the camera to focus & calculate exposure. The new camera is very quick -- I can lock the focus, and the exposure was practically instantaneous.

So, I was having fun.

I like this picture, too.

Just look at that blur! That's her jeans moving above her head (I think we are just a split second before those landing on her head). I think that the blur of her right hand is something special, too.

At least part of every session should be devoted to play. Heck, the whole session should be devoted to play.

I'm doing a better-than-usual job of moving in close & stepping back wide. I like this wide image. There's a good deal going on -- that lower bookcase holds framed images from long ago that I haven't gotten around to hanging on the walls; Arie's jeans are on the floor, etc. With the exception of the jeans on the floor, this is what this corner tends to look like. (Yes, I have beautiful, naked women in my living room all the time -- it's not bragging if it's true).

I'm greatly enjoying my time with Arie.

This is one of the images that is convincing me that this bargain lens has a bit of distortion when used at its widest settings.

Arie is simply charming, and I'm enjoying the time we are spending together. So far, things are going well.

Meanwhile, I am aware that time is marching on, and that we have scheduled only a two hour sitting. I am loath to stay with any one setup too long, because I know there are two other concepts I want to try, and I don't want to rush us through them. So, an added benefit is that I'm more focused, ensuring that I get to the heart of the concept as quickly & efficiently as possible.

This sitting continues with Back Stairs Canyon.