Nude in chair
Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Most of my photo work was performed outdoors in nature. I wanted to see if I could mix the beauty of a woman within the beauty of nature. Where I live there is no studios to work in so I tried to set up a small studio in my garage. It worked well for some of the models I photographed but I had a limited supply of props. I located a studio about two to three hours away in Lawrence, Massachusetts and they provided a variety of props and lighting set ups so I didn’t have to bring studio lighting but I did. I wanted to see how my lighting would work in their studio setting. With a studio that far away I had to either bring a model with me or find one that was from that area. I chose to locate a model from that area. I found this beautiful model by the name of Valada. I viewed her profile photos and absolutely loved them so I made contact with her to see if she would model for me. She agreed and I set up a time with the studio and made the arrangements with Valada. This was my first time using a professional studio and I loved it.Time
Seeing how I would be doing most of the traveling plus I found out that my model was hired to do another shoot right afterwards I planned it for two hours before her other shoot. I chose noontime and planned for two hours. There were several rooms to choose from at the studio so I arrived early to check out everything. When you set up time with this studio, only you and your model have full run of the place with the owner staying in his office. The time I selected worked out great for me because I could take my time driving down to the studio and check the studio out with all they had to offer.Lighting
There isn’t much to talk about with lighting. There were softbox lighting and studio lights to use at the studio but I set up my two umbrella lights. I just concentrated on not having harsh shadows in the background and to make it look as natural as possible. By keeping the model away from the background gives you the opportunity to soften any harsh shadows. I kept the lighting off her left center shooting through an umbrella and another off my left side also shooting through an umbrella. You can tell by the shadow of her right hand that the lighting was closer to her than the one to her left.Equipment
I’ve shot for years using Pentax cameras. I started with the K1000 then went to the A3000, which is a motorized version of the K1000. During this shoot I was using a Pentax *ist DL and set my camera at an ISO of 200, f-stop of f/11, exposure speed of 1/180 sec. and my lens was a 28mm. I use a slik tripod to hold everything steady. I’ve upgraded since the *ist to a Pentax K10D.Inspiration
Inspiration came from the prop and the model. After sitting her in the chair I started to pose her and she flipped her hair away from her breast because she thought I wanted them showing. I explained to her that I don’t look to display the models body parts but to display a comfortable model that is comfortable being nude. She fixed her hair and gave me a little smile. I took the shot.Editing
Using a 28mm lens there was more to the photo. I find it’s better to have too much in a photo than not enough, so the photo is cropped. I also check levels and sharpen the photo. My model, Valada, had a full spray-on tan done for her modeling shoots that day so I didn’t have to do any skin tones or blemishes.In my camera bag
In my camera bag, now-a-days, I carry two Pentax cameras, my *ist and the Pentax K10D. I have a Sigma 28~200mm lens and a 50mm lens. On my Pentax K10D I have the extra battery set up so I have the battery charger in one of the pockets. I have the in-camera flash and haven’t found a reason to buy a flash for my camera.Feedback
Advice for other photographers is first be up front with your model and explain before the shoot what you’re hoping to accomplish. This is a start to make your model feel more comfortable with you as a photographer. Valada and I talked about the way I was going to pose her and it made her feel better. I’m not sure who she worked with before me but they sounded like they were not up front with her. I spent two hours with her posing her as I wanted. She worked four hours after me with the photographer just pointing the camera at her while she was looking for direction. She told me later she hated that. Make sure of your equipment and how to use it. I use umbrella lights on stands and know where I want to place them. I also have clamp-on lights to hide in the background for backlighting. Use a tripod for slower lens speeds. That helps tremendously. Lastly, have fun at it. Photographing nudes can be nerve racking and you want to feel not only comfort for your model but yourself as the photographer. After a while you don’t realize your model is nude.
