We put away the scarf from the previous setup. I mentioned that Jessica had brought her boyfriend to the sitting.  If you've read my "FAQ For Models", you'd know that it's okay with me if a model wants to bring a friend to the sitting, but everything is fair game:  I usually put visitors to work.  So far during this sitting, Jessica's boyfriend helped make sure that the boom holding the hair light wouldn't fall over, and he checked on my dog when she needed attention (the dog is old & when she falls on the hard wood floor, she needs help getting up).  This fellow was great:  he was supportive, interested, helpful, and involved during the sitting.   Anyhow, I ask Jessica's boyfriend to participate more directly.

The brief here was simple:  I asked Jessica's boyfriend to hold her up, and I asked Jessica to really lean into his hand -- I wanted to get the sense that without his support, she'd fall. What results are some interesting pictures.    Okay, I'm really critical of my own photography (and if you get me to open up, I can be critical of yours, too!).  For the past few pages, I have been ripping myself because of unwanted side effects from the hair light, which created hot spots on Jessica's shoulder.  But when I look at the picture above, the hair light is doing exactly what it is supposed to do -- it is highlighting Jessica's hair, preventing her dark hair from disappearing into the dark background.  (Okay, there's a little hot spot on the boyfriend's fingers, but it's not too bad).  I'd like to claim credit for repositioning the hair light, but I can't -- this is pure coincidence.  I do like the skin tones in this picture, and leaning on her boyfriend's hand makes these pictures unusual & interesting.

Yes, the hair light hot spots are present for some of these pictures, and of course in retrospect, I've got to say that I prefer the images without these hot spots.  At last, I do something about the hair light, in the nest setup:  This sitting continues with the "Table Top" images.