WARNING: All images used in this journal are proofs--no retouching has been done--and this is a shoot where the images will only "shine" when fully retouched.
I did a shoot with the lovely Emma
, this last weekend, and it was interesting for a number of reasons. First (and most important to me, really!), I had recently purchased an ExpoDisc, and this was the first time I'd used it in a shoot...and I have to say--it's AMAZING. Using it, I was able to set my white balance quickly and easily, and I got very close to perfect colors straight out of the camera--which meant I spent less time fixing proof colors--which translates to good news to my workflow.
(So for those of you out there who've been thinking of getting one--I highly recommend it--it's everything they say it is!)
Second, as most of you know, I rarely work with people with darker skin. Nothing against them--but since much of my work is inspired by a particular artistic period, and one of the characteristics of that period is an obsession with extremely fair skin, it means that I more easily achieve the look I'm going for by using fair-skinned women--and making them look even more fair-skinned. Darker skin--even tanned skin on caucasians--just isn't something I'm looking for most of the time.
But Emma's just so darn *sweet* looking,
that I couldn't resist working with her, and doing sort of a "fusion" shoot. That is--she wanted all the fun of me dressing her up--and I wanted to try to do what she wanted, while still meeting her aesthetic, and without trying to fit her into a hole she simply didn't fit into. Oh yeah--and she'd brought along some of her African outfits--most made by members of her family--and so I wanted to try to shoot her in at least one of those--despite the fact that they were all very light, and would be in danger of overpowering her.
The results were, well, worth experiencing. Emma was pleased--(it's good when someone's jumping up and down and squealing, right?
), and I learned a good deal...and wound up with some images that should be fun to work with. (Yes, that's artistic ambivalence you're hearing there.
)
The other interesting feature of the shoot occurred after I'd told her we were done. I still hadn't felt like I'd really gotten *quite* what I'd wanted out of the shoot--and I suggested we try some glamour shots. (Now, I don't do glamour, am not familiar with the lighting or the conventions, really, so I was flying by the seat of my pants!) She was already in her jeans and a corset (left over for the early parts of the shoot), and for her last "costume", all I'd done was pull the corset straps off her shoulders, and drape some fabric over her--and I suddenly remembered I had a length of golden charmeuse satin and a "tiger skin" rug--and I asked her if she wanted to go a bit over the top.
And that was it--that's where it all came together--I'd found the right "look" for her.
Her natural sweetness and look of innocence kept the images from the heavy sexuality that doesn't appeal to me--instead, I tried to capture more of a sense of a young woman playing around in front of a mirror, in the privacy of her own home--admiring herself, and how pretty she can look. (I don't know if guys ever do that sort of thing...but c'mon ladies--you all know what I'm talking about!
I think most of us went through a stage in our teens where we were obsessed by our face, and spent hours locked in the bathroom, draping things over our head, around our bodies, flirting with the mirror, figuring out which angles made us look our best...ignoring siblings pounding on the door, wanting us out of there...
)
We had a great time, and I learned a bit about what does and doesn't work for glamour shots. I don't see myself doing this sort of thing very often...so many people already have it covered...but it's always good to experiment, and develop new skills--you never know how you'll be able to use them!
Some of my favorites from our "glamour" set are:
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One of my favorite entries, in my all-time favorite blog - Creating Passionate Users. Prepare to be challenged by it!
Experimenting 
)
Devious Comments
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Please spay or neuter your pets!
--
Any great work of art ... revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world—
--Leonard Bernstein
--
Please spay or neuter your pets!
--
Any great work of art ... revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world—
--Leonard Bernstein
--
Please spay or neuter your pets!
--
Any great work of art ... revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world—
--Leonard Bernstein
--
Please spay or neuter your pets!
Weird!!!
I need to remember to do something nice for my mom--it's her 60th birthday this year...the 24th So much to do, so much to do...
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Any great work of art ... revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world—
--Leonard Bernstein
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My DA print store: [link]
my photography site: *vcrimson-photography
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