Supine Venus
Apr, 2017Views
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Winner in nudes from above Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Genius
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in an apartment in the West End of Newcastle. Alexa Edwards (the model) was visiting the area and had booked the apartment based on online images she had seen. What we found was a pretty run down property (who says the camera never lies!) and this meant that we had to be creative in terms of composition to keep some of the problem areas out of shot.Time
This was mid afternoon on quite a sunny day, but with the curtains drawn in the room the natural light had little effect.Lighting
I was alternating between an octobox powered by two speedlights and triggered with pocket wizards, and a Bowens gridded reflector. For this shot I'm pretty sure I used the soft box so that the shadows were less harsh. This was positioned to the right of shot as you can see from the catchlights in her eyes.Equipment
Shot on my Canon 5d III with 24-70 lens at f6.3. I was shooting at the top end of the shutter speed range for syncing flash because I was standing over her on the bed and the mattress wasn't stable!!!Inspiration
I wanted to take advantage of the crumpled sheets, and lighting from the side gave these more definition.Editing
Yes quite a bit. Firstly the area of carpet at the top of the picture was unsightly so I darkened this to be unnoticeable. In addition my foot was visible bottom right in the original shot so I removed this, though you can still spot where I used "content aware fill" because I was a bit half hearted with the dodge and burn I used to "draw" the creases. The model also has two hypertrophic scars which she asked to remove. Once this clean up work was done I could concentrate on toning. Whilst in the other shots I took with her I accentuated the redness of her hair and boosted the contrast of the ink in her tattoos, I wanted something more subtle and artistic here so chose to desaturate the image, and particularly her hair. I then used some Jessica Drossin actions to give the whole shot a creamy tone.In my camera bag
Aside from the body and lens referred to my go to options also include a 70-200 2.8, and then depending on whether I'm shooting people or places either a 17-40mm f4 or an 85mm 1.8.Feedback
Be prepared to experiment but be careful not to make your model uncomfortable. Joining her on the bed might have been a step too far for some but I asked Alexa and she was happy. (The alternative was a dodgy set of drawers!). In the same apartment we also used plain walls, a narrow staircase, and a band of fuscia pink paint to produce something really bright and jarring with her red lingerie (also in my gallery)
