Yulia & The Back Stairs

Usually, first sittings with a new-to-me model make me nervous -- you never know what to expect, chemistry wise. Sometimes, you find yourself somewhat uninspired by perfectly wonderful models; sometimes, you are surprised by how much fun the sitting is. Over the years, I've learned that the best pictures are produced by great chemistry with the models, and the best models are capable of achieving top chemistry with many photographers.

So, typically, my objective of the first sitting is "get acquainted". I like to work with models multiple times (and I find that my third, fourth, fifth sittings with models tends to be my best).

Last March, I attempted to build a little artistic community here in Portland by hosting a party for local photographers & models; fifty people showed up, and Yulia traveled the furthest to attend. Yulia is from Seattle, 150 miles away. I was impressed by that, and I found Yulia to be beautiful, interesting, and charming.

Typically, for a first sitting, I meet the model about ten minutes before she's nude in front of my camera, but in this case, I got to know Yulia a little bit before the sitting. I like this better.

Perhaps I should make the effort to talk and/or meet with models before working with them. I'll have to think on this a bit.

In fact, I was so comfortable with Yulia that I offered her my guest room upstairs for the long weekend trip she was spending here in town.

During the summer, I've been trying to use some more natural lighting -- in fact, my previous sitting (Kira's Fourth) was spent on location & used nothing but ambient light. So, we start on the back stairs. The guest room is at the top of these stairs, and next to it is a bathroom with good lighting for make-up application. Yulia comes downstairs wearing this red robe, and we utilize the best natural light in my house.

Lately, I think I've been making too many digital exposures & not enough film exposures, and I'm sad to say that this is true for this sitting, too. The film exposures have such a different "feel" to them. Here's a film exposure on the back stairs. The tonality is totally different to me -- especially look at the difference in the tonality of Yulia's hair.

Unfortunately, the film camera is a bit too chunky for the cramped quarters on the back stairs. I don't make too many exposures there.

I've got to admit that it is the sitting itself that is the most rewarding part of this artistic process -- the resulting images are of secondary interest to me. I think you can see that there is great contact between Yulia & the camera. I am exceedingly comfortable with Yulia, and I'd guess that the feeling is mutual. I think it shows.

Here I'm working with the digital camera, set at a somewhat wide angle. Lately, I've been loving wide angle images.

I love the light on Yulia's crazy curly hair. This is a favorite from the sitting. You'll definitely see more wide angle shots very soon.

Okay, if you've looked through my site, you'll know that I've had many different sittings with dozens of different models. Despite that, it's still a thrill for me when I see a new model nude for the first time. Sometimes, I like to start with the model clothed, just to extend that anticipation. I had Yulia keep that robe on for a while.

When she removes her robe, she takes my breath away. She is fit, beautiful, and expressive. Her skin is smooth & clear, her figure is inspiring, and you can get lost in her face. On top of all that, she has crazy curly long hair that is definitely fun to play with.

This image is a definite favorite from this sitting.

More play with wide angle images.

For you photography enthusiasts out there: when/if you are considering getting a second lens for your camera, consider getting a wide angle lens (35mm equivalent of a 24mm lens) -- you'll find lots of usage for it. Certainly, using a wide angle lens indoors is great -- you can get more of the room into your image, but I think you'll find usages for the wide angle lens in outdoor landscape situations, too.

With practice, you can control the amount of distortion.

Think about it.

Here's an observation: the younger the photographer, the more energetic they are during a sitting. A young photographer will be jumping around, standing up, lying down, exploring different angles, and generally doing stuff that would wear me out.

As I've gotten older, I am less energetic during a sitting. I tend to set the camera up at a specific spot & let the "action" occur in front of me. This is not a good thing -- I should expend more energy during a sitting, if only to inspire more energy from the model. Hence, this image, where I stand above Yulia.

I don't have to be as frenetic as a youthful photographer. Beginner photographers are like shotguns, firing away & hoping that one of their pellets (exposures) hits the mark. For me, I previsualize images before making the exposure, and each exposure is preceded by considered intent. Thus, my style is more like target shooting -- I expect each exposure made to hit the target. Not all of them do, but each exposure is backed by thoughtful consideration.

One last image on the back stairs. For most of these images on this page, I'm facing east at the bottom of the stairs. Here I climb the stairs & am facing north & down. The idea was to get the northern light from the window highlighting Yulia's hair.

This image is a good addition to the collection, as an alternative to the rest of the images, but it doesn't quite stand on its own.

As always, I find the "near misses" (like this one) and the outright failures (none from this sitting!) to be the most thought-provoking and thereby the most educational.

It's funny, but I feel that I really don't know what a person looks like until I've photographed them myself. In Yulia's case, I had seen tons of wonderful photographs of her, and these photographs represent a wide range of expression (a testament to Yulia's ability as a model) . In this case, I am surprised by Yulia's beauty & grace & confidence. As I've mentioned often before, we are having a conversation during the sitting, and Yulia is focused. Her eye contact is terrific -- I particularly like the feeling that her brain is engaged in the process.

A challenge of working with a model for the first time is that it's difficult for me to pick setups designed just for her, and that's what I like to do. I've seen prolific photographers who manage to be productive by designing a few basic setups & working with insignificant variations of them, over & over -- the lighting & props & "feel" are all the same; the only thing that changes is the model & perhaps the color of a prop. I think of that as a rip-off. If you are supposed to be an artist, you need to be creative all the time -- if you use the same setups over & over, you are being a craftsman, not an artist. Now I admit that my creativity is limited, and I revisit familiar setups fairly often, especially with new-to-me models. That's why I like third+ sittings with models; by them, I've exhausted the standard setups & am willing to try new things.

It's difficult for me to be that creative when working with a model for the first time -- all I'm trying to do is to get acquainted with the model. So, all that being said, I invite Yulia into the living room, where I've set up the studio lighting.

This sitting continues with Yulia & Studio Up Light