thomasholmphoto

Playful Intimacy II BTS

Playful Intimacy in a Workshop Setting

This is from a 1:1 workshop I set up with an American photographer who was in Europe.

I can safely say it ended up with some somewhat erotic shots.

This is natural light from two windows in the afternoon, which gives a broad light and contours/shadows to the sides of the model.

The videos are with a lamp with a pilot light, but otherwise, the same. But it also gives you an idea about the playfulness of the models.

Sunset Magic with Kaela at Red Vortex

Kaela @v.wild.free (Formerly Venusdesierra) Kaela from Coyote Buttes near Kanab.

We came upon this place just after the sun set behind the mountains but decided to shoot a quick set there.
The colors were just magic.

My only regret is that we didn’t arrive there 30 minutes earlier when there had been a little more direction to the light…

ƒ.4 1/80 - 1/100

And btw, There is always a price to pay when staying out later than planned - in this case, an hour...

The heat is on

I occasionally do location workshops near my studio, and this is from the last one, where I introduced a new location: the old heating central.

Pretty cool, right?

The light is a direct lamp head (Profoto B10 with barn doors to slightly constrict the light).

ƒ2.8 1/80

You might wonder why I use 1/80 as shutter speed as I could sync to 1/160 - or even faster using High-Speed Sync (search for HSS on my Patreon if you want an explanation for what that is).

The sim...

Daylight Mastery with Regina Piil

From my first shoot with Regina Piil in 2015 in a massive daylight studio.

This was shot with a SONY NEX-7 and a 50mm 1.8 APS-C camera, which costs about $550 for the camera and lens (a similar current model is the Sony A6000).

Natural light in the studio from many windows and a large skylight.

There are also some black flags on the right side of both images. Without these, everything would be too flat and without direction to the light.

Ƒ2 1/50 and ƒ2 1/200 2024-08-18 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Zulame in Valley of Fire

Another from the series I shot with Zulame from some small slot canyons.

ƒ4 1/80 sek

This is an exciting location in that if you follow official guidance (which I think should be abolished), you will never find these two canyons:

Coming from one side, you are guided away and reminded that you have overshot the route.

The same is true when coming from the other side.

So, this place is effectively no man's land.

I’m not a fan of putting up too strict rou...

Zulame in Valley of Fire BTS

Studio Play with The Endless Sinner

Always eager to help, The Endless Sinner agreed to help me shoot with some honeyBirdette accessories I had purchased for the studio, and she never disappoints.

We made some nifty sets using the accessories, and I promise you’ll see more of them in future shoots.

The light here is natural light from my studio windows and a black flag on the shadow side for more contrast

ƒ5 1/40-1/60 sek

PS: 2024-08-16 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Studio Play with The Endless Sinner

Phew, did it just get hot in here?

Rocky Adventures with Zsan

Last month, I brought a Swede to Sweden, Pun intended.

She was already there as she lives there, but she had never been to my favorite hangouts, so we spent three days exploring Kullaberg and Hovs Haller in, erm, mixed weather.

The BTS movie from this shoot shows it well. (This is a screenshot from the movie.)

Zsan is pretty new to modeling but an excellent poser.
She always poses wi...

Rocky Adventures with Zsan BTS

Rocky adventures with Zsan

Zsan made this smal video from a bit of combined BTS footage. It gives a bit of insight on location photography.

Enjoy.

The Blue Rocks of Sweden with Katya Clover

Well, they are more black than blue, but when you shoot in the open shade in the afternoon with a deep blue sky, they will become blueish, which is a fantastic accompaniment to Katya Clover's color.

Katya is a soft-pørn star, and I wanted to see if I could create something that is erotic but with more lines into art nudes.

There are some more images available with Katya.
Search for her name here on my Patreon or click the tag to see them.

ƒ3.2-3.5 1/125

Shadow Play and Forest Floors with Roarie Yum

Roarie Yum from our very first shoot in ‘16.

The first two were exploring shadows using a string curtain. I’m still in love with the “shadow dress” effect from the first one.

The last image was taken on a forest floor littered with French anemones, which tend to pop up for a few days at the end of April.

Shadows: ƒ8  1/320 & ƒ5.6 1/000

Forest: 5.6 1/1250

How do you adapt your shooting strategy when conditions change rapidly during an out...

Reflecting on Mirrors

I find mirrors intriguing for a multitude of reasons:
When shooting women, I like the idea of using mirrors as they play into a subconscious vanity most women have.

But it also offers the opportunity to photograph something from multiple perspectives.
Lighting, of course, can be challenging, but as you probably know by now, I enjoy being challenged.

The one thing I don’t enjoy is that there always seem to be dust and marks on the mirror, regardless of how careful I am whe...

Reflecting on Mirrors

Just a teaser, you know where to find the larger series.

Delicate Tones: White on Green

The sweet D Genvievre on my green couch.
She has a highly white and delicate complexion, and here, I had to remove some saturation and play a little with the color of the sofa to make it not compete for attention.

I could have made the images B&W, but I like the pale pinkish skin color, which is somewhat unusual.

Natural light from my studio windows.

ƒ4.5 1/60-1/00 sek.

When light goes up and down, as it often does, I prefer to keep the aperture fixed at wh...

Midday Challenges with Lena the Dancer

I love playing with light and shadow, especially with a flexible model that can move.

This is Lena Dancer, and the shots were made around 13.40, which is midday in Denmark over the summer. The high angle of the light could be better for the body, but integrating shadows as a part of the composition  - and sometimes using extreme body angles - can take the attention away from this.

The main challenge here is to ensure that the shadow side holds enough detail to attract attenti...

Shadow of a dancer BTS

Black Dahlia with Fatima

The amazing Fatima at Arsenic House in Hollywood last year.
I recently reviewed the sets we shot there over 3-4 hours and edited a few more.

I have never created so many incredible images with a model anywhere in so little time.

I suppose our chemistry aligns, and we love the same things from images.

And are both good at what we do.

Natural light on a balcony.

ƒ7.1 1/60-1/125 sek

Have you ever experienced a particularly productive shoot where everything...

Carpet Yoga with Loulou

Loulou dropped by the studio, and we decided to shoot a couple of sets.

Here, direct sun was streaming through my windows at a steep angle, so I set up a Lee opal filter to soften the light slightly.

When you do that and expose for the highlight, you can make the environment quite dark, and you can help that further when retouching.

I do love Loulou’s body: Strong, lean, and flexible.

2 to 3 hours of daily yoga and the occasional marathon help create that temple of a...

Black Dahlia BTS

The wonderful Fatima performing her magic (ps. It seems this one might have dropped a bit too early 🤪)

Cove in a Cove - and how to shoot TFP

This spring, I visited some friends in Kanab, Kaela, or @v.wild.art and Ingrid @ingyannajones.

I also met Vivian Cove (and Clara René, Goblin Goddesss, and Earthy Eve), and we explored for a few days.
We shot these in a place (lovingly) called “not so many pools,” and there are some run-off pools, although not that many.
And I shot Vivian in one of the dry ones.

Many people wonder how I manage to shoot on a TF basis with so many models.

I don’t always do t...

Bunker blues with Lilith Etch

Lilith Etch (a good friend) was in Denmark in June and asked if I wanted to go to Løkken to shoot in some bunkers.

I had never shot at these, so I was obviously game.

It’s about a five-hour drive away, and we arrived facing frigid water—almost a storm striking the coast head-on—but with enough time for some location scouting.

We had to discard many of the locations—including the images in this series — because we couldn’t get to them.

2024-08-06 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Kissov's curtain

This is Maria Kissov and a string curtain in my old studio.
I prefer bodyscapes like these over the more traditional kind: All the lines on the body almost work like a topographical atlas of the model's body, outlining every nook and cranny and showcasing her anatomy in the best possible fashion.

Pottery Games BTS

BTS from shooting Wiana and Valentina.Art

Continued Creativity with Wiana and Valentina Art Model

This set is shot in the same place as yesterday, with Wiana and Valentina Art model.

Same light as yesterday (natural light from a window) ƒ2.8 and shutter from 1/60 - 1/100 sec as the light changed up and down.

One of my pet peeves when photographing groups is they need to engage:

There should be a more or less apparent reason why they are there (and nude). So, they must interact with the environment and, ideally, with each other.

I’m not a massive fan of two “...

Wiana Slomo BTS

This is what SloMo was invented for!

Shooting at The Kiln: A UniqueExperience

Shooting at The Kiln: A UniqueExperience

When I travel for workshops (or with a camera in general), I always try to plan some shoots around; I love the opportunity to shoot in different environments.

This set with Wiana was shot at The Kiln in Stoke-On-Trent, a rental studio where the owners also create teacups and pottery. It was shot in the dusty environment where they make the cups before glazing (apologies for not getting the trade terms right—I’m not into pottery). The ow...

BTS Wiana at the Kiln

A bit of proper BTS when shooting Wiana