The Big Comfy Chair

Graceful movement is Natalia's strength, but today, her movements are more subdued. Still, there's plenty to look at.

Composition note & observation: One mistake that beginning photographers often make is that they stand up & place the camera to their eye, which often means that they are holding the camera at a spot somewhat above the model's head. That often means that the model's figure is distorted -- her legs tend to look short & stubby.

Here, I counteract it -- I'm much taller than Natalia, but you can see that the camera is set a little lower -- the lens is about the same level as her shoulder. Still, her figure is distorted a bit -- her lower legs look a bit stubby.

I should have lowered the camera even more -- it would have been better if the camera was down at the level of Natalia's belly.

Still, there plenty of pleasing stuff to look at here.

So, here, the camera is lowered a little bit, to Natalia's rib level. It's better, but I still think now (in retrospect) that the camera could have been lowered just a tad more.

I use the digital camera a lot. I like the immediate gratification, and there is no need to spend days in the dark room is definitely a plus, too. But I do whip out the film camera every now & then. I switch to the film camera for some images of Natalia standing here.

I'm struck by how radically different the film images look.

Natalia has a lovely back, and photographing it tends to show off her luminous skin.

I don't often photograph models' backs. I tend to talk with them during the sitting, because I like images that show them with their brains engaged. So, if I'm talking with the model, I'm typically facing them.

But often times, when I do ask them to turn around, I'm often glad that I did.

We use the pillar to another purpose, and we take advantage of the freedom we have when Natalia keeps her jeans on.

Note that the camera has been lowered a bit. It could have been lowered maybe 8 inches more, but this is good.

Here's a sitting favorite. I like how the light is striking Natalia's face. I also like the non-standard pose -- on Natalia, it looks graceful. I like the textures.

Here's another film based image, with alternative post processing.

Can you guys look at these images & determine which are from the digital camera & which are film based? I can.

Note: The camera is at about Natalia's waist level. That's just right for these images.

When in doubt, get her hair moving. At worst, you'll get some sexy, messy hairdos.

I like to preplan much of each sitting. I figure out some setups & lighting schemes beforehand; that way, the sittings are efficient. This time, however, Natalia arrived feeling a little under the weather, so we threw out a lot of the planned ideas & opted instead for a more subdued sitting.

We move across the room & play in the big comfy chair near the living room windows.

This sitting concludes with The Big Comfy Chair