There are no
Out Takes for these bonus pictures.
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The premise
is simple. I have a DSLR camera that I use for the "serious"
images, but I also have a handy little point & shoot
camera for when I'm walking around. With the model's
permission, I whip out the P&S camera to make some snapshots
as the model arrives, during the session (between setups),
and after we are done. I do this with the models that
I have good chemistry with, and for the most part, models
are quite comfortable having their picture taken.
So, it's a win-win. |
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The premise
of the "Getting Started" setup is that I would
start photographing the model in the clothes she wears to
my front door, and then I would continue to photograph her
as she removes her clothing, transforming herself from someone
you'd see on the street into a beautiful nude fine art goddess.
It really
works that way -- this is what Keira looked like after I
opened the front door. See? She is wearing the
same outfit that we started with in the "Little
Black Dress" page.
I love
that. I love that there is beauty all around, and
all you have to do is open your eyes & look.
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It's a pretty
good bet that nearly all nude models are comfortable being
nude in front of a photographer when it's time to make pictures,
but in my experience, most throw on a robe or a t-shirt
or sweats or something between setups. Not Keira --
I believe that if she could, she'd spend all day, every
day nude. I made this exposure when I was setting
up the "New Leather
Jacket" page. I love that about her.
To be honest, I'm quite older than these models, and sometimes
I feel like a voyeur (or worse, a dirty old man), but with
a model so casual about her nudity, I sometimes just forget
that she's nude. (You had to be here to know what
I'm talking about). |
One of the
things I like about my point & shoot camera is that
it has a super-wide lens setting, the 35mm equivalent of
an 18mm lens. In fact, I like that 18mm perspective
so much that I'll have to save up my $$$ to get one for
the DSLR. (You can minimize the wide angle distortion
by pointing the lens axis parallel to the ground).
It was
a sunny day that day, as you can see from the "Little
Black Dress" images. Bright sunlight is great
to feel on your skin, but it's horrible for photography;
it's difficult to get a good exposure when there's bright
sunlight involved.
Also,
doing a photography session in your home is kinda like letting
a tornado loose in the house. Things get moved around &
lost & found. Things might look organized in the
picture, but there's often chaos all around.
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For the most
part, Keira poses for fine art nude photographs, and if
you look at a lot of fine art nude photographs, you'll notice
that nearly all of them are serious. That means that
the model neutral expression on her face, and that there
is no back-story or dramatic context for the images.
Personally, I prefer a little context for my images.
Keira
has a dazzling smile. I just don't get to see it enough.
My rule of thumb is that if you see Keira smiling, then
she isn't posing; she's just being herself.
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This session
took place in late summer, and summer days are very long
up here in the Pacific Northwest. This session also
was a Sunday.
Sometimes,
for special models, I invite them out for dinner after the
session, and this time, Keira accepted. We decided
on sushi, but we just couldn't find a good sushi restaurant
open on a Sunday. That's surprised me a lot.
As it turns out, we walked around town for over an hour
looking for sushi.
Here,
we stop in a little sculpture garden next to the Portland
Art Museum.
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That's a
huuuuuuge glass of water!
We eventually
give up on finding sushi (after covering several miles &
trying ~5 different places), and after all that, we wound
up in a nice hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant that's right
around the corner. As we were figuring out what to
order, I whip out the P&S camera, and Keira plays with
the super-wide angle distortion.
That's
Keira to me -- she has a clever, playful, & mischievous
personality. She is quite fun to be around.
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Ha! That's
just not quite as sexy as I thought it would be.
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When I'm making
my "serious" exposures, I do have the habit of
stepping away from behind the camera. I just like
looking directly at the model and trusting that the camera
(on its tripod) is covering what it needs to cover.
My eyes aren't that great for close up viewing, and I have
difficulty seeing through the SLR lens. But the downside
to this technique is that I have to remind the model to
give eye contact to the lens & not to me. If she
looks at me, we get pictures like this one.
But here,
it doesn't bother me at all -- Keira is giving me eye contact &
smiling. I believe that I'm looking back at her, and
trusting that the camera, which is resting on the table,
is looking at her well enough.
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So, we stop
back at my place to pick up Keira's bag, and then she's
off.
My house
is a duplex -- the ground floor is a rental unit, and the
steps behind Keira lead to that unit's front door.
I'm standing at the top of the steps that are in front of
my front door. There's a little courtyard between
these steps, and they are unusually clean this evening.
I manage
to snap one last picture as she is leaving. I'm left
with the memory of Keira's dazzling smile and a whole lot
of fun images.
Buh-bye,
Keira! 'Til next time!
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