Page created July 5, 2006
Sitting date:  May 25, 2006

 

I'm a big, big believer in building a local artistic community.  If the group has the right attitude, there is nothing but upside to such an arrangement:  we can share resources, communicate opportunities (like traveling models), hold multi-photographer & multi-model sittings, share location ideas, and share recommendations.  Sure, building & maintaining the community takes a bit of work, but it's well worth it.

Case in point:  I first heard about Lynsey Joy after she posed with another local photographer, R.J. Young.  We got in touch & decided to work together this Spring.  Here are the images from our first sitting. 

  

 

So much of "fine art nude photography" is abstracted:  you get to see light & shadow & shape & form.  While I have nothing against such images (and I reserve the right to make such images now & in the future), I find myself going in a different direction -- for these first sittings with models, I'm trying to get to know the model, and as such, much of what we do could be characterized as "nude portraits".

I love, love, love these "getting started" setups, where I start by photographing the model in the clothes she wore when she showed up at my door, and we make a series of images as she removes her clothing.  For me, it builds the anticipation, it reveals quite a bit of the model's personality, and let's face it, it is exciting. 

So, I ask Lynsey to sit down & get comfortable. 

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I also notice that lately, I've been photographing models with their jeans/pants still on.  I have no interest in producing "gynecological" images, but with their pants still on, models are much more comfortable -- they don't have to worry about making sure that their poses are demure.  

For each sitting, I like to plan several different concepts (communicating these concepts to the model before the sitting if possible).  This is difficult for a first sitting, because I don't know the model or how she will react to some ideas, but I think I already knew that Lynsey & I would do both some "getting started" images and some "pants still on" images.

 

I am immediately impressed with Lynsey's overall physique.  She is fit & muscular & very feminine.  Some men are "breast" men; others prefer a woman's butt; I would like to think that I just appreciate the whole package, but if pressed, I would have to say that I like looking at a shapely model who has definition in her abdomen muscles.  Lynsey is the total package.  I'm quite happy. 

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Lynsey also impressed me by being very prepared for this sitting.  In fact, she brought her own music -- a collection of pleasant new age music, which I enjoyed quite a bit, too.  

("New Age", spelled "newage", which rhymes with "sewage".  I actually have quite a lot of similar music in my collection.  I sometimes call this music "underwater music" because it makes me feel like I'm swimming underwater.)

 

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After giving me an enticing glimpse of her wonderful breasts, Lynsey suggests that she does some posing wearing her denim jacket, and I readily agree.  I'm a big believer in "less is more", and often models have great ideas.

This is a favorite image from this sitting -- while it is exciting to realize that Lynsey is topless, the whole feeling of this image is quite restful & pensive.  The lighting is good.  The shape/pose is somewhat unusual but it looks natural. 

(Note:  I'm going to start outlining my favorite images from a sitting, like I did with this one here.)

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Lynsey loosens up a bit.

I get comments from viewers, requesting a little more detail about how lighting is set up.  Here's what I'm using right now:

  • There's a medium-large (3'x4') softbox as the main light, just to Lynsey's right.  I find that the light it produces looks best if it is as close to the model as possible without intruding into the image.
  • There's a small softbox to Lynsey's left, positioned a bit behind her.  That's what's providing the fill light on the left side of her face.
  • Both soft boxes are positioned so that only a bit of light falls onto the backdrop.
  • Lynsey is sitting on a little bench which is covered with "studio cloth" -- a fairly heavy colored gauze.  There is a third light on the floor pointing up -- it is under the studio cloth, and you can see that highlight behind Lynsey on her left. 

 

I usually don't set out to make sexy images, especially with a new-to-me model, but I've got to admit that when you have a beauty like Lynsey moving around in an open denim jacket, you can't help making some darn sexy images.

However, I'm also interested in getting to some nude images, too, so I encourage Lynsey to continue. 

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We are definitely making progress!

While this is one of the first views of Lynsey's magnificent breasts, my eye is drawn to her flat & muscular belly.  Then, when I pull my eyes from there, I am particularly drawn to the lovely light on Lynsey's face.

One challenge to photographers of the nude is finding a lighting setup that works well for both the figure & the face -- this is one such setup. 

 

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I finally ask Lynsey to remove her pants.  Doing it so sexily was all Lynsey. 

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I love working with models as toned as Lynsey, and I am quite gratified with the lovely light.    

 

One of the things I look for when I work with a new-to-me model is that I look at how she moves.  Certainly, I usually assume that a model who poses nude has a good deal of self confidence, but I do find that some models naturally limit some of their poses.  Lynsey, however, appears to be very confident and very uninhibited.  From talking with her, we both know that neither of us are interested in producing "low brow" images, and we aren't worried about it.  

One note:  lately I've been thinking a bit about camera position -- in particular, how high off the floor should the camera lens be.  I believe that beginners tend to put the camera up in front of their faces, so that if the photographer is taller than the model, the resulting image is looking down on the model, and that can cause the model's legs to look a little short & stubby.  Here, the camera is at the model's eye level, and that is good.  But the images that I've been liking the most lately are the ones where the camera lens is about mid-figure level -- that produces figures with the least distortion. 

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Here is Lynsey in all her glory.  And yes, "glorious" is a word I'd use to describe Lynsey's beauty. 

That last point I made, about where to position the camera (i.e. how high off the floor) -- here's an example.  It's a subtle thing, but I think I would have preferred to have the camera a tad lower for this image.  But it's not a big thing -- just something to think about for future sittings.

 

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One final image, before we move on.

When I first started making images, I think I had a lot more fun with unusual compositions, and somewhere along the way, I've gotten away from that.  Now, I try to remind myself to try an unusual composition every once in a while -- like this one, where Lynsey's figure occupies only the top half of the image, and the studio cloth texture anchors the bottom half.

What do you think? 

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We are off to a good start.  Lynsey  has a superb figure, and she is quite comfortable with all sorts of poses.  I'm also impressed that she's brought ideas (and music) to the sitting.

I remember that I wanted to make some images with Lynsey wearing her pants.  She puts them on, and we spend a little time exploring the house.

This sitting continues with About The House

 

(Remember -- feedback is always appreciated) 

All images (c) 2006 Looknsee Photography

Lynsey Joy #1 Out Takes

Over 100 more images from this sitting are available in the Out Takes Galleries, which are available to those who have made a donation to the upkeep of this web site.  See this FAQ question for more details.

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