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We plan a few
informal activities for these parties. The most popular is the
portfolio review -- people put their portfolios on my dining room
table; the table seats 10, and it gets covered 2-3 deep in portfolios,
so folks can see everyone else's work. Another activity, the
business card exchange, is popular, too.
There is one more
activity: I set up a little studio lighting setup in the corner
of the guest room. I usually move the furniture out of my living
room to make up a studio -- that gives us lots of space to work in,
but this little guest room studio setup in the corner is much more
confined. Therefore, we set up something simple, with that studio
cloth to soften the edges, a large softbox for the main light, and a
little spot light behind the studio cloth to add some depth. I'm
afraid only two photographers used the setup during the party, but we
left it there, and in the morning, once we woke up, Yulia & I
started our day there.
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The
top floor of the house is a
finished attic -- there are
little walls, about four feet
tall, then the underside of
the roof slanting up to a
central ceiling running down
the middle of the room.
Because of the odd
proportions, we start on the
floor. But somehow, I
don't mind.
The
main light soft box is close
by, creating a very soft &
inviting light.
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| I have
to admit that I like to plan my sittings, thinking through setups
& poses & concepts beforehand. This time, however, I
just didn't -- I was preoccupied with pulling the party together.
Fortunately, Yulia
& I have worked together a couple of times & we are
comfortable working together. Also, Yulia is an absolute angel
-- she's easy to be around & a dream to work with. And yes,
she's easy on the eyes.
I think about
photos a lot, and I think about what I consider are my strengths &
weaknesses. One thing I think I need to work on is getting a
little closer to the model. That's a joy to do when the model is
Yulia.
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thing I feel I need to work on
is photographing horizontal
models. So, we work on
that, too. And I like what
I see -- Yulia has an exquisite
figure, and the soft light
created by the close by soft box
works well. |
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| I
thought Yulia's neck looked
uncomfortable, so we added a
pillow. Good things
happen. |
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| A
non-standard composition.
I've got to admit that I like
this image a lot. Yulia is
in repose, her skin is smooth
& clear, and the studio
cloth softens all the
edges. This is a favorite. |
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We
abandon the horizontal &
work with Yulia
kneeling. In retrospect,
I should celebrate Yulia's
outstanding torso more -- with
her arms stretched up, she
looks fabulous.
But
in a moment, Yulia does
something that I just
loved. She moves her
hair with both hands, and I just love the way
that looked. I ask her
to pull her own hair.
See the next image.
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the first, and perhaps the best image that inspired the following
ones. I can't tell you why, but I liked it when Yulia
pulled her own hair. She has wavy crazy hair, and when she pulls
it like this, it's just so, I don't know, unexpected. I also
like to soft light, her feminine contours, and the lack of hard edges
in the image.
One terrific
advantage of working with the digital camera is its instant
gratification -- you can see the image a second after it is made, and
you can share the image with the model. We both like what we see
& we play with the concept more.
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I
thought I'd share a color
image, but to be honest, this
setup is almost monochromatic
to me, and I prefer the feel
on B&W photography.
We
do lots of variations on the
hair pulling idea. We
have tons of fun.
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| Y'know
-- there's good news & bad news in regards to working with models
multiple times. The good news is that when I get to know the
model, I get comfortable with her & willing to try more
off-the-wall ideas. I think lots of good things are working
here, and we continue to explore.
The bad news about
working with models multiple times is that it is a little
intimidating: I really want each sitting to be better than the
previous ones. I don't always know that I can produce, but
again, Yulia is a dream to be around. We are doing something
weird, and it's working for me, so I forget about expectations for the
moment.
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| Of
course, somewhere along the way,
we over work the concept
somewhat. I'll let you
decide the exact point where we
went too far. |
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| Eventually,
we abandon all the hair
pulling. The light is still
very nice, and we do a little work
on my desire to improve my ability
with horizontal models. As
always, Yulia makes it easy. |
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| I
have to admit that I was a little
reluctant to work with Yulia this time
-- I was focused on pulling together
the party, and I was concerned that
I'd be tired the day after.
Using my distribution list of local
photographers, I suggested that people
sign up for time slots with Yulia, but
folks just didn't. (It was a
Monday morning, and I suppose that
people had real jobs, but c'mon!
Where are your priorities?)
But
I'm already very glad she & I
worked together. Admittedly, we
started with less planning than usual,
but that's okay. We found some
fun thing. But it makes me
wonder: I think the little
studio setup worked out well,
providing some fine lighting -- I
wonder whether more of the
photographers at the party should have
been encouraged to use it the night
before.
This
sitting continues with Moving
Downstairs
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