This is Rachel a girl I shot a few months back, she came to me by way of a fellow photographer. She’s a sweet lovely girl who has some high goals in life and has taken control of her life and her future. As is my custom we met for coffee first and had a chance to get acquainted. I worked with her schedule and we got together one Sunday afternoon. She was only my second model since my stroke and we worked together quite well. Again I didn’t want any undue pressure on me while I reacquainted myself with shooting someone nude. I made her familiar with my stroke so she knew I worked slowly and a little stiffly.
But the session worked quite well and I didn’t have as hard a time moving and squatting as in the past. I worked with a reflector and remember to adjust it as the light changed or her pose did. I finally got to work with a chair I had acquired just days before my stroke. We worked with my transparent dress first to get some quiet poses with her both looking at the camera and away. Classic portraits in B&W and some color. That’s the way I work, I use the B&W’s as my sketch pad before I bring out the color. I fine tune it and get a shot(s) that I’m comfortable with then redo it in color and work it a bit more. I think this is the best way for me to work, slow easy and deliberate. Some may differ but I think it’s a matter of personal preference. It give me and the model a chance to bring ideas out, I never hurry my models and let them get a feel for the pose. I have an idea of what I want to capture but it’s that give and take that helps me capture something special.
I want for my models to have something they can use in their books or show to friends. After all it’s a two way street I figure and too many girls have their books filled with nudes and nothing that capture their personalities. Again that’s personal preference on my part. Maybe it’s being older and letting the girls settle in and get comfortable before moving in for the kill. So then we did some nudes, pay-dirt! I got really comfortable with my shooting and handling the camera. We picked up the pace and everything seemed to just flow. The pacing was just right and I didn’t have to wonder if Rachel would catch on to what I was aiming for or trying, she worked really well. I shot some polaroids to show her what I was getting and what I was looking for. We started working on the floor and that’s when I really hit my stride creatively. We got just what I was looking for and then some, that’s the beauty of working with someone who understands the creative mind. We just filled the time with play and having fun. Then she called her boyfriend to pick her up and we had the polaroids to show him what we’d been up to. A perfect end to the day!
But the session worked quite well and I didn’t have as hard a time moving and squatting as in the past. I worked with a reflector and remember to adjust it as the light changed or her pose did. I finally got to work with a chair I had acquired just days before my stroke. We worked with my transparent dress first to get some quiet poses with her both looking at the camera and away. Classic portraits in B&W and some color. That’s the way I work, I use the B&W’s as my sketch pad before I bring out the color. I fine tune it and get a shot(s) that I’m comfortable with then redo it in color and work it a bit more. I think this is the best way for me to work, slow easy and deliberate. Some may differ but I think it’s a matter of personal preference. It give me and the model a chance to bring ideas out, I never hurry my models and let them get a feel for the pose. I have an idea of what I want to capture but it’s that give and take that helps me capture something special.
I want for my models to have something they can use in their books or show to friends. After all it’s a two way street I figure and too many girls have their books filled with nudes and nothing that capture their personalities. Again that’s personal preference on my part. Maybe it’s being older and letting the girls settle in and get comfortable before moving in for the kill. So then we did some nudes, pay-dirt! I got really comfortable with my shooting and handling the camera. We picked up the pace and everything seemed to just flow. The pacing was just right and I didn’t have to wonder if Rachel would catch on to what I was aiming for or trying, she worked really well. I shot some polaroids to show her what I was getting and what I was looking for. We started working on the floor and that’s when I really hit my stride creatively. We got just what I was looking for and then some, that’s the beauty of working with someone who understands the creative mind. We just filled the time with play and having fun. Then she called her boyfriend to pick her up and we had the polaroids to show him what we’d been up to. A perfect end to the day!
4 comments:
A beautiful nude photograph, and it's also very interesting to learn how different photographers work.
Glad to hear you had a successful shoot, and more importantly, that you both had fun :-)
Thank Lin it’s just the way I work with my models. Different people have different way of handling situations differently no best or worst way. But I believe that model who are doing TFCD should get something they can use in their books as well. It’s a trade off that works well for me.
How interesting you put up this post just as I was posting on the do's and do not's for photographers. Some of us have had this cosmic like-mindedness in our posts the past few days.
I love the image you posted. It makes me want to work with you. Only after meeting for coffee, of course.
Sounds like an excellent session. Clearly, you both got a lot out of it and it doesn't get any better than that. The artistic process flourishes when it's a two-way street.
Very nice post, Michael. Thank you!
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