Keira Getting Started

This web site has been around for over 15 years, and it has grown to contain around 10,000 images. Because of this, I'm getting to be known in the amateur fine art nude photography circles. In addition, I work hard to nurture a local artistic community, and I participate on some of the better known modeling web sites. I also look at lots & lots of fine art photographs of the nude.
Through these activities, some of the top traveling figure models have become known to me. Models appear on the scene, become in great demand for a few years, and eventually fade away & move on. In addition, some photographers, producing the top quality images in the genre, become well known. I love visiting the profiles, portfolios, and web sites of these top photographers & models.

Keira has newly arrived as one of the top traveling figure models. Her figure is legendary, her face is lovely, and she is highly skilled and witty at posing & moving. She is confident & energetic. She is well organized, reliable, & professional. She is adventurous. She is warm, articulate, & intelligent. In short, she is the complete package -- she has everything one needs to be highly successful as a figure model.

And it shows. She has posed for some of the best figure photographers around, and has participated in the creation of many exquisite images. She travels a lot, and when I heard that she was coming to town, I jumped at the chance to work with her. I was very happy when she agreed.

'Tain't braggin' if it's true: I've had the pleasure of working with many of these top traveling figure models multiple times when they come through town. These include (but are not limited to) the following: Ashton, Betcee, Carlotta, Victoria, Yulia, and many more.

Some of these models are still very active; others not so much; and some are not active at all. I wonder what they are doing -- drop me a line, why don't you?

The Good News: It is a pleasure working with experienced models -- they are prepared & organized; they know how to present themselves. Perhaps most importantly, they are confident.
The Bad News: It is a little intimidating working with these top models. They've worked with excellent photographers, most of whom are better than I am. The things I might ask her to do are not new to her, and I have to resist the temptation of trying to reproduce the wonderful images that have already been made. Because Keira is always traveling, I won't get to work with her as often as I'd like. That means that I feel a little more pressure to make this session "count", and that in turn means that I'm inclined to play it safe.

Overall, I still prefer working with experienced models. I tell myself that

	I'm not going to be doing everything in this one session.
	If she enjoys the city, she'll return.
	There is no better time for taking risks.

But still, I'm nervous.

I got to tell you a story. Our session lasted for 3 hours, ending in the shower (as you'll soon see). That necessitated us taking a break in the middle of our session, before jumping into the shower so that we can feed Keira's parking meter.
What you see here is what Keira wore to my door, and this is what she wore when we fed the parking meter. As we were walking in front of my house, we walked past a couple of sidewalk queens -- ladies who were hanging out on the sidewalk, smoking cigarettes, and gabbing away at each other. I see these folks often, but we've never interacted -- at most, we might give each other a friendly nod.

Not this time. As we walked past, one of these ladies stopped Keira and told her, "Honey, you have a lovely figure, but I've got to tell you that I can see everything".

(To Be Continued)

(How I did these effects.)

(Continuing the story...)

As we walked past, one of these ladies stopped Keira and told her, "Honey, you have a lovely figure, but I've got to tell you that I can see everything".

At this point, all four of us looked at Keira's chest. I kept quiet; I really didn't know what to say. Keira shrugged her shoulders, said "thank you, but I'm comfortable with what I'm wearing", and we walked back to my house. Of course, we went back inside, and 30 seconds later, Keira was walking around totally nude. I mean, if Keira was uncomfortable showing off her figure, then she's in the wrong business.

The story doesn't end there. After feeding the parking meter, Keira & I worked in the shower, and we got her soaking wet. We ended our photo session there. There's a little flurry of activity at the end of a photo sitting -- I like to put away the delicate electronics (because otherwise, I'll knock them over), and the model pulls together all her stuff into her traveling bags. Keira's hair was still wet, so she put on only her shorts and was topless while she was packing up. I looked over at her & said, "Y'know -- that top really is see-through".

Well, I thought it was funny.

What do you think of this presentation of the artistic effect images (roll mouse over the above image)?

I love doing these "Getting Started" setups, where I photograph the model in the clothes she wears to the door & continue to photograph her as she removes them. For the record, these models are aware that I'm going to do this long before the sitting date -- I give them advance notice so that they can think about what they want to be wearing as we do this.
This is one of Keira's favorite tops. In fact, if only it was a little bit longer, she'd wear it as a dress, without the shorts.

Some additional observations:

	I do these "Getting Started" setups a lot, and I would guess that >90% of the models choose to remove their tops before they remove their bottoms. Keira removed her shorts first.
	With Keira standing in front of the window like this, if her top was ever going to be see-through, it would be in situations like this.
	I kinda think that perhaps all of Keira's clothes are see-through to a certain extent. I assume she likes it that way.
	Lots of the more experienced models show up not wearing constrictive clothing or underclothing (underwear); tight clothes leave marks on the skin & slows things down. Keira was two bad hands away from losing the strip poker tournament.

Okay, that's more than a little see-though. But then again, Keira has untied to cords at the back that held the bodice tight.
From a technical perspective:

	I love all the diagonal angles in this corner. I like how the mirror compliments the window, and how the patch of sunlight on the wall flows into the floor. The low perspective is important to create these angles.
	The camera is set at a wide angle setting, but I minimize distortion by keeping the lens axis parallel to the floor (cropping as necessary).
	Being backlit like this create challenges to find the proper exposure. I don't mind things becoming indistinct, but you want enough details in the shadows so that you can appreciate the expression on Keira's face.

From a personal perspective, I've been having troubles with my eyesight these past few years. I can still see out of my right eye fairly well -- I can still drive a car, for example, but overall my eyesight isn't as sharp as it used to be, and I can't see details. This is impacting my photography -- my images tend to feature light & shadow, shape & form, and I am becoming unconcerned when there is a loss of detail. In the past, it might have bothered me that Keira's lovely face is in shadow here, but nowadays, it's fine.

Keira has untied the ties at the back of her top, and she is preparing to remove it.

I try to be objective & constructive. I've also had the pleasure of photographing dozens of beautiful women in my home.

But I find Keira's figure to be absolutely breathtaking.

You've seen these initial images & how I've addressed the technical challenges of this difficult lighting. You've (barely) seen Keira's legendary beauty.
What you can't experience is how absolutely delightful Keira is to be around. She has a saucy wit. She is confident. She is clear. She wants to show off. She's up for a challenge. I'm thinking that she's the perfect figure model.

Keira In the Sunlight