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The Cold Embrace



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Model - My Fragility
Headpiece & Chestpiece - Hysteria Machine
Claws - Arma Medusa
Photography - Laura Sheridan's Art...
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Model - My Fragility
Headpiece & Chestpiece - Hysteria Machine
Claws - Arma Medusa
Photography - Laura Sheridan's Art
Read less

Views

2279

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Awards

Member Selection Award
Featured
Editor's Choice
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
B-Framed jdmarks64 carmiawaterstone josfrias GeminiGirl73 PORNrasanaga Verokark +42
Outstanding Creativity
DanaCarruthers gaschenf JeffreyDeCristofaro maggiemabon bayaann xaiyang genarogutierrez +38
Top Choice
michaelmohanjoshua amanda_edirisinghe Romea edwardlrose nitti kjartan RubenCardona +36
Superb Composition
Free-Spirit linchienchoy rwardshipman FlorenceDinah freew8 rickhawkins tandruchowitz +35
Love it
JlithengWKS Jennifergoode Samer-Bayda rogerkaiwildbear Helerand robswit achyutam +17
All Star
Kunstschuss Contant Hood georgehewitson benthic_photos FotoPhantasia Cindimclemore +4
Magnificent Capture
Resquin MEL1 JayneBug luigilombardi julie_cavell Montethephotographer dianeammann +2
Superior Skill
diegoscaglione DIXIEDOLLYMAMA SettingSky Hoberg MaggieMays ElieserC giovanioliveira7 +2
Genius
AllThingsNotLost AprilRoseMore Henrymarbel allenmonk
Virtuoso
CreativelyUnique

Emotions

Impressed
veusa_cirrus Janett McCasland Kai17

Top Ranks

Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank
Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank week 1

Categories


13 Comments |
ashleekraus504
 
ashleekraus504 February 04, 2016
THis is breathtaking !
john_arsenault
 
john_arsenault February 05, 2016
i will definitely have to visit your viewbug page!
vivianann
 
vivianann February 05, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
joshuabenson
 
joshuabenson February 11, 2016
I happened by your page the other day and very much enjoyed your work. Later on I saw and read the article on being a great photographer. That was also a great read. I had just been thinking that this is not a competition it's a community. Though there are contests to be won here I think the greatest prize will be having people like yourself to learn from. I think that I have already become better just by browsing through this site and paying attention to my likes and dislikes. Much like your work, your article was spot on in my opinion. Thanks!!
Billyboy
 
Billyboy February 13, 2016
This is truly fabulous portraiture.
Somehow the Absolute Masterpiece button didn't work and you got stuck with a "Peer Award" from me… will try to do better next time.
For so many reasons I would include this in my top 10 photographic portraits of all time. Yer stuff rocks.
Drumrollstudios
 
Drumrollstudios February 18, 2016
superb!
brandohosty
 
brandohosty February 24, 2016
I love this composition! This picture really just had me staring!
EvaThomsonWhorley Ultimate
 
EvaThomsonWhorley March 03, 2016
Beauty and the macabre! Loe it. Well done.
StuXD1 Platinum
 
StuXD1 May 12, 2017
Majestic!
mellapietra
 
mellapietra January 09, 2018
The balance of light and dark is absolutely spot on. Thank you for sharing your eye and your vision.
AllThingsNotLost Platinum
 
AllThingsNotLost February 18, 2022
Lovely!
carmiawaterstone Platinum
 
carmiawaterstone April 07, 2022
¡Bellísima!
B-Framed
 
B-Framed September 14, 2023
Ashlee took my comment, this is truly breathtaking, and somethink to aspire too.
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo has been taken in my (tiny) home studio. It's a 1m35 backdrop where I have a few rolls of paper for to change to color. But most of the times I swear by my black one! Just like here. I also had to sit on my bed to capture this shot as it was back in my temporary place and I didn't had much space to move around …

Time

Around noon I think? Me and My Fragility are machines when it comes to shooting! I've known this model for seven years now (she was one of my very first models here in Antwerp) and every time I need something special or ethereal, she's my model to go! I also love her hands. Anyway, let me get to business: this was one of the many sets we just did to finish up some collaborations I had before more came in, but I ended up creating one of the best series I've did in the past few months. Everything came together so perfectly and I felt the usual magick between us. We where very tired already but somehow these kind of shots make my heart race and forget everything! I can shoot on all times of the day & night .. but this ended up as a small meet-up to a whole set to create magick!

Lighting

I have one of the easiest set-ups ever: I only use a big octabox. That's it, no fancy extra lights or two softboxes to light it all up (in fact, I didn't even have the place for it). I prefer to use these soft lights as it gives everything a very soft and ethereal feeling with no harsh edges. Especially when using so much white! I had to shoot on a very low strength of light and flash because I didn't want to white out the gorgeous chestpiece she was wearing. My best advice is: keep it easy. You don't need much!

Equipment

My trusted 5D mark I and my 50mm 1.4 ; I rarely to never take this lens off. For the rest I only had my backdrop system with a black backdrop and my octabox for the light.

Inspiration

Actually it was one of those (to be honest: the many) where things come together in a blink of an eye. Sometimes I work with very specific themes but those shoots take weeks to months to produce! But shoots like these happen in some weird way where even I can't follow the process in my head where I put things together and make it work. I'm very blessed to be able to work with Hysteria Machine so often and I had these pieces in my possession at the time. At first I wasn't sure how to shoot the headpiece, but combined with the chestpiece it suddenly became this magick ensemble I love!

Editing

I do! I always post-process my work but I have one golden rule: I don't add what isn't there & I never retouch my models. This doesn't mean I don't do some minor polishing like skin or slimming an arm a tiny little bit if necessary to have a nicer composition, but in general I try to get everything right on set: light can do amazing things for smoothing the skin and bringing the atmosphere in. In post-processing I bring in the feeling with colors and working around the clarity, contrast and shades. In this one it was just a matter of getting a bit of desaturation in, making my color temperature more blue and move on to polishing those cold shades of color and light into a very minimalistic pallet. The whole shoot took me about 15 minutes to retouch in total!

In my camera bag

Just like in my studio: I'm taking things easy. Not only to save my back (!) but also because I'm so used to working with minimalistic gear due to budget issues that I now can't imagine carrying around two bodies and fives lenses and an extra flash. I always carry around three cf cards, my body (5D mark I from Canon), my 50 mm 1.4, my 85mm 1.8 and food. Very important (for both me as the model). I also try to bring along my flash just in case (not that I ever use it on location …) and some random things and props.

Feedback

Practice, practice, study, study some more, practice, study another book or fifteen, put it to practice and LISTEN to critique! I used to be so so so stubborn and refused to listen to my teachers & surroundings because "it was my style". God how I was wrong … when I realized I had to listen when they told me in my second year of photography halfway that I wouldn't pass if I wouldn't pick up myself in the next three months. So I did a big emotional crash followed by studying my own work and those of photographers and artists I admired & came to one conclusion: they where right. I don't say they are always right, but I try to take all the feedback & critique into consideration. I want from busy and chaotic and dark to minimalistic, stylized and contemporary. And my style has never been so "me" as before! It's very hard work and a lot of tears (especially if you're a crybaby like me) but if you love what you do, you are able to push through and become a shining creation. Believe me!

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