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Okay
-- I am now working with my new PC monitor.
Wow! The difference is amazing! The old
monitor knew only three colors (charcoal, pink, and
pale green), and it had a contrast ratio of about 4. This new monitor is big & vibrant, and my
images look much better. Okay, when I originally
processed these images, I did amp up the
contrast a tad too much, and perhaps I've
oversaturated the colors, but I figure I'm not going
to reprocess the images, for consistency sake.
But, I've got to tell you, it is so gratifying to see
good tonality in these images.
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For some reason, we never got away from the big comfy chair, and we
never did get those leg stockings off.
But I did try some different lighting techniques. Natalia is
from a warmer climate, and even though I crank up the heat when I host
sittings, Natalia took the opportunity to put on her coat while I was
fussing with the lighting. Typically, whenever I change the
lights, I just ask the model to sit in place while I fine tune the
lighting & check exposure. There was no reason to remove the
coat while I did this, so Natalia stayed warm & cozy. But by
the time I was ready to start in earnest, I saw no reason to dump the
coat right away. We worked with it.
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Okay, wow again. With the new color
monitor, the colors are terrific.
This is close to the full frame image. Okay, I
cropped a little off the top to cut off the top edge of
the background.
Normally, I'm pretty decisive, but on occasion, I think
about variations. Let's see... |
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I
think I like the horizontal orientation better; it compliments her
arm poses. While the
colors look terrific on my whiz-bang new monitor, I am still
partial to the abstraction of B&W images. So, I try that
out... |
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I
think doing this image in B&W makes a big difference. I
know that some folks prefer color images, but I am still a big
B&W fan, and this particular warm toning is becoming my
signature style. So, that's a little view into my thinking
that goes into my image processing. |
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So,
I set up the lights, and I
like to colors of Natalia's
skin, her coat, the chair, the
floor, and the
background. But that's
not why we are here. I
ask Natalia to take off her
coat, and she takes her own
sweet, seductive time.
Enjoy.
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I should mention that many of these photographs, from this setup, were
Natalia & my favorites.
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Okay
-- with the new monitor, I can
see that I've upped the
contrast a tad too much, but
on the other hand, it gives
the picture a gritty kind of
feel which contributes to the
overall impact of the image.
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I often say this about Natalia -- I love the way she can give me a jog
to her spine, here by rotating her shoulders.
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Here's a
favorite. She looks so
cozy & cuddily, and we love the smile.
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I like the feeling of this picture.
Did I mention that we were having a great time being with each
other?
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I'm struck by
the range of expression
Natalia is showing me.
That's what makes today's
sitting so special to me.
Note to
photographers: in order
to get the best pictures,
you've got to interact with
your models. You can't
just expect them to sit there
& be beautiful -- the best
pictures come from
interpersonal contact.
That's why I partition the
technical stuff (setting the
camera on a tripod, setting
exposure, etc.) from the
actual image capture. I
hold the cable release in my
hand & focus entirely on
the model.
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Okay,
time for one last concept. The
general idea: it's a great idea
to give the model something to
do. It's especially a good idea
to keep their hands busy. So,
for our last setup, we try something a
bit off the wall.
This
sitting concludes with Gummy
Worm
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