thomasholmphoto

Stripes of beauty - BTS #2

In the second BTS movie with Michela, at the very end, you can see the beginning of a third setup for a previously posted series available in the Vault tier - search for Michela if you want to see it.

10 years ago

In 2014, I went on my first model-shooting road trip.

Before picking up a model, whom I was traveling with for three days, I shot a couple of others who lived nearby.

This particular one, which I’ll let remain anonymous, illustrates the issue of seeking a “pretty face' without modeling skills.

These are the best four images from a 3-hour session.

Two images are Ok but not great, and the last two illustrate what happens when the model can’t express emotion (excep...

Moss Kingdom

Poppyseed frolicking on the soft-looking moss in a granite quarry in Sweden.
The moss was indeed soft, but the granite, not so much.

We both appreciated the juxtaposition, though.

In my opinion, it’s hard to beat the grace of a dancer for posing.

Do you have a favorite among these three, and if so, what makes that one better than the others?

Moss Kingdom - BTS

A short camera setup movie with Anna. The reason for the B&W is I usually set my camera to show me images in B&W because it makes it easier to evaluate light and shade. So when shooting a little video, it also become monochrome

Rigmor getting squared - BTS

BTS from shooting Rigmor on the sofa and chair, it should make it clear what the modifier does.

Rigmor being squared

This is another set in which Rigmor and I tested lighting modifiers I have never used despite having had them lying around for more than twenty years.

This particular modifyer is square, white on the inside, and akin to a smaller beauty dish.

It is equipped with a grid, which creates a fairly straight beam of light that seems both hard and soft.

2025-02-18 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Fern Heaven

The gorgeous Sylph Sia is on the north side of Kullaberg. It is a small spot littered with ferns, even up the cliff sides.
Being on the north side, it receives soft light from the sky as it is shaded from the sun.

I retouched it ages ago but never got around to share it.

Unboxing Becky

This is Rebecca Perry from a workshop I did in Copenhagen 2 weeks before the world shutting down for COVID-19.

I was in a huge rental studio with three models, and on that day, there was a crowd of 18 participants (purely for demonstration, no participant photography).

I was using a 2x2m/6x6' diffuser screen with a lamp shooting through that to create a large but still hard lightsource.

<...

Oh, Hello

Dharma says hi 😎

I hope she’s had a discount when getting this set of lingerie, as it seems to be missing some crucial parts ;)🧐

Kaylee Lounging

I shot this in LA some years ago.

I had rented a small guesthouse in the back of a garden, but nobody seemed to be in the house, so I decided to shoot on the proper house terrace.

And THEN someone peeked out of the window right behind her. 🧐

I think it was the maid, but we returned to my guesthouse.
I needed to check out about an hour later, so I would rather spend the time shooting inside to get the most out of it.

I was full-on shooting up to 10 minutes b...

Shibari Exposé

When I shot with Emily Moon some month ago, inevitably, at some point, the shoot was nearing its conclusion, and I asked her if there was anything in particular she’d like to do. Instantly, she said "Shibari."

I was obviously on board with this, so I asked a follow-up:

"Would you like to do something where you can move and pose or where you are fixated?"

Both, she replied.

We did the nonfixed first (That series will be posted later), and then we did this set....

Venus in Joshua Tree

These are from my first shoot with Venud De Sierra, now known as V Wild Art.

We had tried to get to work together for years, but logistics failed.

Then, I was going to the US and set off a few days before other engagements.

Kaela was supposed to be at a festival at Jtree Campsite.
She offered to set up a tent for me, but the logistics of driving 3 hours - after an 18-hour flight - and then trying to find a random tent in pitch black campsite you've never been to, at 2 A....

Phew, is it hot in here or what?

This is from the first time I shot (and tied) Shibari with Wiana and Vicky during a private workshop in Scotland.

I’ve posted the second image before, but I don’t think I ever posted the first.

A funny by-story: I did some exhibitions and had the “knot” picture prominently on the exhibition. It spurred a lot of fun conversations.

A lot of men commented that they loved it and thought it was hot, but you couldn’t hang that at home. Then they brought their spou...

Bad experience

Every time I scroll through my image archive, I get annoyed when I see the name of this model, so I have never published any of these.

Essentially, she is near the top of the "most unprofessional behavior list".

Initially, we discussed the concept, and she said she didn’t want anything where you could see her private parts. I looked at her portfolio and said I’m okay with it if we can do something like this, this, and that from her page, and she accepted.

And to be clear...

A Copy

Update: For some reason, Patreon didn't show the third image, apologies for that, hopefully it works now 🤷‍♂️

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This is one of the rare occasions where I knowingly copied something.

I have a pretty good visual memory and remember seeing an image with the same general characteristics. I didn't register this while shooting, but afterward, I’ve had these untouched for 7 to 8 years, as I didn’t feel like editing them.

They were shot on my old Sony N...

A Copy - BTS

A short - in camera of Aja jetting in position for this.
It's not a trivial matter, even for a ballerina.

Goblin Goddess gone wild.

I shot these with the fantastic Goblin Goddes during a hiking adventure.

I brought her, V Wild Art, and Clara René to a place called Edmayers Secret in Arizona, where we found some fantastic rock formations.

Whenever I work in a place like this, I first walk around the structure and get a feel for the perspective and light. If you compare the two image below I'm sure you'll agree the experience of the rock is vastly different, and they are made just 2m/6' from each other.

<...

Abstractions in Grey

I shot this set with Jitka V on a bunch of stacked-up round bales in the low sun on a pretty cold day in Autumn. The combination of the low sun and Jitka’s skin color made it a bit hard to get skin tones to look good in color, so I had to revert to B&W.

It would have been much easier if I had remembered the oil that would have made the body shiny (or my iPhone for making a BTS video).

Anyway, the series turned out ok, but one of the images is vastly better than the others. 2025-02-07 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Shoulder tap

Wiana Model and Valentina Art are in a messy Ceramic workshop.

This is a bit of a contradiction, as I don’t generally like messy environments, but I do like workplaces.

Case in point: I only shot this one duo as I couldn’t find other ways or angles to maintain the models in front of the metal sheet, which is the only more or less calm background.

1/60 sec ƒ 2.8

Hats off to Julie

Julie Carole is a model I worked with a couple of times early after I started shooting nudes.

This is from our second shoot, where I experimented with more fashion lighting (Images 2-4).

The first image was my second attempt to shoot stripes with a flash (a fringe curtain with a light meant to cast a hard shadow).

You need a focusable spotlight for the (like yesterday's post).

The good thing about the spotlight is it has a lens, so the light comes from a point.<...

Rigmor Noir

Here is another from my exploration of light modifiers I rarely use:
A Westcott focusable spotlight with built-in Gobos.

The trick with the gobo's is you can set them to create straight (or not straight) lines and focus them so the shadow will become very hard - or soft - as you please.

I s...

Feburary on Patreon

Gentlemen and Ladies

I'M SORRY I’M LATE:

I usually announce what’s on before a month starts, but I did not have time to before now, so without further ado:

We started the month with Mai’s most beautiful orbs, followed by Jitka’s. Then Celia makes an entrance wearing a collar and harness, Rigmor gets lined, Hats off to Julie C, and Wiana gets tapped by Valentina.

Jitk...

Celia on Chester

Celia Cassiel looking awesome on my Chesterfield sofa.

Like yesterday, it’s daylight daylight from a window.

Three images are shot with my 50mm 0.95, and the rest with my go-to Sigma Art 24-70mm zoom.

Can you guess which is which?

DON’T READ THE BELOW IF YOU WANT TO GUESS
The giveaway is the bokeh, which becomes distinctly different because of how the lens elements are built.

Jitka’s heart

I’ll freely admit I thoroughly appreciate this view of the female anatomy.

Or, as I read in a meme at some point:

"If you can’t appreciate a great ass, there’s something wrong with you."

Which I suppose must mean I’m perfectly normal.

Daylight from a window, and shot with my 50mm ƒ 0.95,

Around ƒ1.2 1/200 sec

Mai’s artful orbs

I was the first photographer to photograph Mai's Art (model name) in the nude 2012. These shots are from a reunion a few years later. It's daylight on a gorgeous booty from a previous studio's windows.

Here's a funny story from the first shoot:
She brought a friend - a boyfriend, I assumed - to the shoot, which is fine.

I had this idea about making a mustache above her private parts, playing into something I was working on related to Movember.

Anyway, the small chocolate...

Pool Queen

I rented a house as workshop base and accommodation for my two Workshops in September/October last year.

I was sitting in the pool and chatting with two of the models on the last day before we had to fly back.

One of the models walked by, and something about the scene made my brain jump into gear.

None of the girls were wearing make-up, and we only had about an hour of light left.
So I had Wiana jump into her heels, put on sunglasses, and stand on the edge of the pool wh...

An Evil World - BTS light setup

It's not the easiest setup in the world, but it works very well, especially when the body is oiled up a bit.

It's a 2x2m /7x7' Lastolite frame with a translucent cloth to diffuse the light from a large silver Beauty dish. The beautydish creates a little hotspot, but also illuminates most of the rest of the frame which is essential.
Flags are placed in the rear of the frame to prevent the light from hitting the background, and vanity flags are placed in front to avoid flare in the cam...

The Boiler Room Mistress

This is Mistress Varvara in the Boiler room.

I suppose it’s all in my imagination.
Again.

But one can always dream, right?

The Boilerroom Mistress - BTS

25 min BTS with Varvara in the boiler room. I'm afraid the quality of the particular BTS isn't that good:

The color balance was way off, and I had to do a bit of colorcorrecting, noise reduction, and sharpening.
It is still better than the original, but not amazing.🤷‍♂️

Nat in control

Well, she is in the control tower, at least.

Nice golden light streams from the window room into the hallway, where I’m mainly using the edge of the light.

The specifics are in the BTS movie.

Check out the post from Jan 18 with Depani: It’s the same place but photographed from the opposite direction.