thomasholmphoto

Maara from Riga

This is Maara, also shot in Riga.
The first image is pure daylight with some reflectors; the other two are the same lame softbox I mentioned on the 22nd. 

It works better in this scenario where I’ve set it up horizontally just above the camera. It still doesn’t do what it’s supposed to, but here it works better.

Real life superhero

Man, I love to shoot with Ballerinas.

They are real-life superheroes defying gravity and reason. And most of the can move like no one 

In Voluptas Mors

A self-portrait paying homage to Philip Halsman and Salvator Dali. The models are Sigrife and Rakel Osk; none of the others models anymore, so I’ll leave them anonymous.

I recreated this image In Voluptas Mors (Beautiful Death) to raise money for the November movement focusing on men's health.

It also taught me something precious:

The setup of this was a puzzle, so I had prearranged with all the models that I would be doing a timelapse of setting it up.

But at the en...

Naomi in the studio

The great (and very Tall) model Naomi.nsh 5-6 years ago. Images 1+2+4+5 were lit using a 57” zeppelin deep umbrella but with the diffuser removed to give more punch.

The third image was daylight (sun) through a window.

I loved working with her, but we had a mishap that prevented me from shooting again: We had arranged for me to pick her up the next morning at 4 am for a sunrise shoot north of Copenhagen.

So I woke up a 2.15, showered, packed, and drove to her hotel, where ...

Bondage of the day with Betty Moon.

I saw a picture of this breast harness somewhere and wanted to try and recreate it on her.

These were all lit with my 57” Zeppelin - but in a way so I would have a noticeable light fall-off like I would have if she were close to a window.

It’s interesting; I currently seem to veer away from “more perfect” light in favor of more realistic light. I find it offers a different presence.

If you are on Discord, you should check out the extra material.

Don't know how ...

Being Hip BTS movie

Being naturally hip

An anonymous model with intoxicating hip bones

They were created with two different types of light:

The color ones are diffused sunlight coming in through a window, and the monochrome is a direct light source (a fresnel spot) and a large white umbrella between the spotlight and camera to soften the hard shadows a bit.

A day at the beach

A lot of people have asked me what I look for in a model.

It’s hard to articulate, but obviously, a great body (I’m not a massive fan of obesity), but beyond that, I think character and versatility are among the most important traits.

And Roswell Ivory has that in spades. 

We shot this series on a nude beach called Bellevue just north of Copenhagen (well, she was naked, at least) one early morning.

I’m a total sucker for the third image. But what’s your fa...

Sasha in Riga

This is Sasha from Russia. I met her in Riga, and we shot some amazing images at a studio during my trips there.

The light here is (one of the worst-designed) soft boxes I have ever worked with.

I’m guessing it was 60x120cm and equipped with a continuous light bulb. But as you can see from the shadow, this light failed severely in reflecting the bulb to achieve a soft light.

Frankly, it was some cheap piece of shit - but I still managed to get something nice out of it.

Shasta in stripes

This is the incomparable Shasta Wonder.

It was my first experiment with the fringe curtain on a dark-skinned model, and I loved the result.

The cool thing about using this technique is that you accentuate the model's curves and notice them much more than you would indirect light.

First time around

I had this gorgeous woman, “Mai’s Art,” ask me almost ten years ago if I could shoot her naked, she had never shot nude before.

I was happy to oblige and shot the series using only natural light and a lot of reflectors.

It was shot in a large daylight studio.

3-4 years after, I met up with her again, and she told me how much that photo session had meant for her self-confidence.

It’s always great to learn you have had a positive influence on other people.

Financing models

Here are some images of Sophia Blake (Sophia's selfies these days on Instagram.)

I had Sophia over to do a private workshop, and whenever I have a chance, I always try to secure some extra time for shooting myself. It's one way that makes photographing great models more approachable - when you can have others help pay the fee via, for example, a workshop).

All of these are shot with natural light in the studio.

Wall of light

This shot with Naomi was in my old studio with medium-sized but highly placed windows.

I had been looking at this light for a long time and tried setting up different backgrounds, but I ended up building this wall to utilize the light in the early afternoon.

And that wall has paid dividends!

On the black bed

A few months ago, I did a private workshop with a US photographer alongside Wiana Model and The Endless Sinner.

He wanted to know about studio lighting but with easily available equipment, so no fancy Fresnel Spots or booms. We did that, and I expanded this to include ambient light indoors.

And that is exactly how this set was done.

Those two models truly are Fire together.

Intimate Tango

Mynte and Lilith intimately intertwined

The lady of the lake - BTS

BTS of the gorgeous Tania. BTS video by the other model Eowyn Luna.

Lady of the lake

A few summers ago (During Covid), the UK opened up for a few weeks, and off I was to the Lake District. I had shoots scheduled with, among others) Tania Aresti. You can see how the light works in the BTS video's first seconds.

I’m particularly fond of the picture with the diagonal light reflection.

But as you can see, a lake and a hill behind it allow for a lot of variation in the background.

Gentlemen and ladies, warning: pure sales ahead:

I want to share this from my Email newsletter, and only because it is a VERY good deal.

Actually that doesn’t even cover it…

Vicky Laursen

Way back when Vicky Laursen brought her bodysuit to a shoot, we just had to shoot her in that, didn’t we?

Daylight in a daylight studio.

And in case you wonder, yes she went clubbing in this outfit ;)

A hint of Mint

The stunning Mynte Model is chilling on the floor in front of my 57” Zeppelin with a soft grid.

You’ll see that in the first image; I’m breaking my “rule” about not having the model's body face the light as the cheat and torso generally become flat. In this case, the overall expression and shape of the image trumps that, in my opinion, so you have to live with it ;)

Poolside

I shot this series with Fatima Kojima at Arsenic’s house in LA last September.

But somehow it underscores my latest online workshop on shooting in Natural light:

How do you get away with shooting in the hard sun midday (and it’s not more gentle in LA, which is a desert)?

As shown here, one answer is to twist the model's fa...

Poolside BTS

Mount Venus

Speaking about gorgeous hip-bones (as per yesterday's post)

This is WIana Model.

This was shot with a 2’ octobox with a soft grid placed behind and to the right of the model to optimize the shape of the pelvic area and hip bones.

I’ve always been intrigued by this piece of anatomy

.One of my favorite parts of the female anatomy.
Apologies for the" reconstructive retouch" on this; it's to keep it in line with Patreon's guidelines.

If you are on Discord, you...

On the black bed

A few months ago, I did a private workshop with a US photographer alongside Wiana Model and The Endless Sinner.

He wanted to know about studio lighting but with easily available equipment, so no fancy Fresnel Spots or booms. We did that, and I expanded this to include ambient light indoors.

And that is exactly how this set was done.

Those two models truly are Fire together.

The end of mrs. Y

A couple of shots of Regina Piil hot during the last day of a 3-day trip at Månstorp Gavlar in Sweden. I love places like this where you can do other things than just stand. It makes the images so much more interesting.

All were shot in natural light.

Torre Volger on Mallorca

I was in Majorca shooting the “prequel” to my Artnude on Location workshop, and we came upon this gorgeous tower on the northeastern coast.

The only issue was it was under construction, so we, erm. Allegedly, jumped a fence, and all of a sudden could shoot there 😅

Oops.

It was scattered sun so that I could sh...

Editing masterclass

A few months ago, I released an online masterclass workshop about retouching and optimizing your workflow when working with model images.

These are a few of the demo images used to prove my points.

If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. 

Kayla Boxed

This is also from a private workshop with a Mexican photographer and art model, Kayla.

It’s shot in the corner of my studio using a 52” Apollo Umbrella, a deep white reflective umbrella. Then a v-flat on the left to shield the light on the background and a flag from the top to further limit the light hitting the background.

By isolating the light to hit the model mostly she will stand out from the background.

BTS of the Cement Kiln

A day in the life

This was one of the most interesting days in my photographic life:

I was embarking on the second of the trips shooting Venus on Mars.

The evening before, we had dinner in Vegas, meeting another photographer I knew who was traveling with Kayla and Sierra Totten.

We agreed to see if we could meet as we had both planned to stay at the same hotel the following evening.

The next morning we picked up Sekaa and had lunch with Angie Marie and another model whose name I can't r...