Here’s an old set I shot at a hotel with a woman who prefer to remain anonymous.
She wanted something erotic; interestingly enough, the most erotic image, by far, is the one with the transparent knickers.
Please note:
Her fingers are not touching anything, on the contrary, she is lifting the fabric away to make her pubic area remain diffused.
But the folds of the panties seem to imply a closer connection.
We see what we want to see!
The light that is:
The main difference between these images is where I shoot from - in relation to the light:
The first is side/backlit; I’m mostly shooting against the light.
In the second, I’m shooting with the light mainly behind the camera and slightly off to the side.
And speaking of vintage lenses, this is my 50mm Canon ƒ0.95, shot at around ƒ1.2.
This lens has no EXIF data, so it’s purely by memory.
The first three were shot with my 57” Zeppelin. Notice the remarkable effect on the third image:
By going really low, I can see a reflection of sorts from the floor.
The last two images are lit with daylight from a balcony door.
By the way, the background is a couple of black Styrofoam plates.
I love shooting women with dark skin - I’m a sucker for the way the light reflects on the skin.
2024-05-27 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Gentlemen and Ladies
On June 8th, I'm hosting a Livestream workshop with Wiana Model and The Endless Sinner.
And as one of my Patrons, I have a fantastic offer for you:
Get 20% off - on top of the 10% early bird discount - if you sign up no later than June 6.
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Following Yesterday’s post, this was shot with a Lomo Petzval 56mm with Bokeh Control. Here, the swirl is very pronounced, and I love this effect.
I generally don’t care much about cameras, but my wettest dream would be access to 8x10” polaroids with negatives (you could get that back in the day). Then, I could shoot on an old Deardorf or even Sinar with magic vintage lenses like the fabled 2024-05-25 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
This set is from my first book, The Graces, with an anonymous model.
The monochrome with the attractive bokeh was shown with a Jena Biogon - my first vintage lens with a slightly swirly bokeh. I can safely say it whet my appetite for exciting lenses.
I love the vintage look of these lenses.
They are left Perfect and thus have a fascinating look i...
2024-05-25 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Sekaa at Capitol Reef National Park and the ghost hoodoo (first image).
These are “surplus” from my book Venus On Mars from two trips around the US Southwest.
2024-05-24 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is a fabulous set with wiana from Torrent De Paraei in Mallorca from Last summer.
Right next to the central rock, some smooth stone surfaces have probably been grinned by water for thousands of years.
The right side is a gorgeous yellow-green color.
Of course, every time I see something spe...
2024-05-23 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Wiana and Loulou models posing on the rock from today's set.
2024-05-23 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is another set from my Basford Hurst cottage workshop with Georgia Brown and Wiana model.
(If you weren’t there, you were missing out!)
Anyhow, we had a bit of light coming in through the window sprockets. I set up a shoot as a real-life sample of how I shoot, direct, and move about while explaining my thought process, evaluating the models, and refining them over and over.
Here are three of my favorites from that session.
Photographers and vault tiers get acces...
2024-05-22 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The stunning Daniella Carter is putting on a show.
Or something like that.
This is all-natural light from the windows in the studio, by the way.
Necessity is the mother of invention. As an old saying goes:
Since I use daylight a lot, it also means cranking up the ISO, and I’m still trained by the bad of days of film, where ISO 400 would be bad. These days, I’ll go from 800 to 1000 but not higher if there is any other way.
One way is to increase the shut...
I found a few more worthwhile images of Clara Sinclair from the set with the blouse.
I was looking for things that could be used without censoring, and quite like these.
I do not like that Instagram guidelines affect what we create. I keep thinking "I should also create a few pictures for Instagram.”
I’m painfully aware that this quickly leads to populism, the enemy of uniqueness and art.
2024-05-20 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Cassie on the couch
It's a sweet set with CB modeling on the studio couch.
Now, this may look like it’s natural light from my studio windows, but it isn’t; it was too dark outside:
I set up a lamp with barn doors to mimic the effect: Illuminate a large area to the side of the model. I could have diffused the light to be more even, but I liked the slightly harder look from this.
...
It is not art, but it’s sensual to me.
For the photographer out there, when photographing women, get down low to give the models longer legs.
2024-05-18 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Man, how I love working with Dancers:
And Lena is no exception.
When you have models like this, life as a photographer is much more straightforward: A dash of sunlight, some background that doesn’t disturb you, and Bob’s your uncle.
Check out the BTS movie if you are on the Photographer and Vault tier.
2024-05-17 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Belzen model at Kullaberg one early morning last summer.
We were down on the rocky beach quite early, and just as we were beginning to shoot, we were greeted by some rain showers, so we huddled up in a cave.
Coming out of the cave, I noticed all the rocks glistening, which I had to take advantage of.
Shot in natural light on an overcast day, but with a large rockface to the model's right.
You can tell something is blocking the light if you look at the reflections in ...
2024-05-16 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Frog perspective
touched upon different perspectives a few days ago, and here is another example:
I can’t remember exactly how we started on this, but I seem to recall The Endless Sinner picking up an inspirational image that we then twisted in this way.
The light is a 2’ October with a grid pointing down at a steep angle to restrict the angle of the light and create some deep shadows.
It’s pretty effective, I think.
For Photographers and Vault tiers, ...
2024-05-15 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
MOvie showing how to retouch the shot with Georgia from my workshop at Basford Hurst cottage.
2024-05-14 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I taught an art-nude workshop at Basford Hurst Cottage in late March with Wiana Model and Georgia Brown.
Here are two of the setups from the two-day workshop: The first is what I call the 5-shot challenge:
The rule is the model is not allowed to give you anything without you asking:
She will act like a life-drawing figurine, and you can pose by asking her to sit/stand/kneel, lift an arm, and turn her head.
But you get nothing offered by the model.
The goal...
2024-05-14 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
This is backlit from my two studio windows. Backlight is by far one of the most accessible and most stable lighting scenarios possible:
Place the model approximately at 90 degrees and to the window/or light source. Ensure the light mostly shines in front of the model so there is a larger feather around the shadow side instead of the light source pointing directly toward the model.
Subtle differences between these, do you have a favorite - and why?
2024-05-13 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Gracie sweet in my old (new to the studio) chaiselongue chair. Notice the difference in character between the first two and the last, which use sidelight, and three and four, which use backlight.
For 3+4, I moved the chair further away from the window to create a harder and lower light source; other than that, the light is the same.
I always find it valuable to get around the model and shoot from all possible sides, even from above or below.
You may have a plan that works fi...
2024-05-12 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Grace and the late winter sun came in through the windows.
I love hard light and shadows, and more so when they restrict the light in other areas, so the light works as a form of framing.
Of course, I have accentuated this in post-production, bit it closely mimics what I normally do with flags.
It just feels even better when naturally occurring.
2024-05-11 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I know this is a bit far away - it's 4K though so I hope it's still useful.
2024-05-10 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Herodiade and an expensive learning experience:
We were shooting this near Lago Verde in Lanzarote. My car was (apparently) trespassing on a natural reserve. They waited 6 months to send me the fine, which they said would be between €700-7000 + legal fees if it goes to court.
Unless you settle fast, then it’s only €500. Morale:
Don’t fuck around with the Spanish law.
They are masters at blackmail.
The images were great, though; I like the part about having...
2024-05-10 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
This is hardly art, but it’s a lovely example of how easy it can be to light an art nude (and, by extension) a fashion image:
Let the light come 10-30 degrees in front of the body to accentuate the abs and sternum.
Depending on your preference, turn the face away for a more mysterious look or have the model face the light for a more portrait/glamour shot.
Easy does it.
2024-05-09 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is a sweet little set with ISI Luxova on my Eames chair. It started as a flash shoot.
My camera (Sony A7RIV) has a sweet function called Live View that shows how an image will look.
I can even superimpose a B&W filter while still shooting raw in color.
When you use Flash and have a Profoto air trigger, it can’t predict how the light will look, so it just opens up the ISO to give you a workable preview instead of a black viewfinder.
Seeing how the natural li...
2024-05-08 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Madam Sophie is on the tarmac near the old airfield beside my studio.
Hard sun.
Frankly, I was a bit perplexed when shooting with Sophie. Her tattoos are very dominant, and I find it hard to integrate into the environment.
It’s probably my aesthetics.
How do you feel about showing models with a lot of tattoos?
2024-05-07 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
It seems Dixie somehow has misplaced her panties for this series, which, of course, happens 😆
No, seriously, I mostly shoot full nude images, so we thought we’d spice things up a bit and add a Bra to make things more sexy.
It worked; what do you think?
It’s pure daylight from two windows in my studio.
For Photographers and Vault tiers, check out the bonus material on Discord.
Don’t know how to connect your Patreon with Disc...
2024-05-06 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
This is an older series with Mack, a pro bodybuilder, horse trainer, and remarkable woman. It was shot in the studio using a white reflective umbrella around 52” - I think it was called Westcott Apollo.
2024-05-05 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post