Nude In Water Studio Photography

Over many years I have always enjoyed creating images using a nude in water, whether outdoors on location or in the studio. First starting with the beauty photography, where water is one of the most commonly used elements to show a healthy moisturised skin I then moved on to beauty nudes where it was just as useful and later on with some glamour photography as well.

Water has a chameleon like quality and is a very versatile tool for the photographer to exploit because of the way it can be used to change the feel of an image from fresh and energetic to sensual, sultry or peaceful, so while there are definitely some tricks to learn it offers many benefits and is also one of the more cost effective props you can use in your photography.

Just for starters, think of all the locations you can choose to photograph a nude in water including waterfalls, streams, lakes, rivers, the beach, swimming pools, jacuzzis and hot water pools etc. Many of these are also surrounded by interesting landscapes or buildings that offer a useful backdrop to your images.

Another great advantage of working with water is that it often brings sense to the picture and gives your model something specific to do, which always helps to create more interesting images if the model feels engaged in the shoot but not in a way that makes her feels awkward and self conscious.

When shooting a nude in water at a studio it’s obviously important to take a few precautions, especially if you are using flash, so you should make every possible effort to maintain a safe distance between any flash packs and splashing water or even an excessive build up of moisture that could be dangerous. Above all make absolutely certain that any lights are securely positioned so they cannot fall in any water. You have a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those who you are working with.

Another factor to consider is the temperature of the water, which ultimately has to be comfortable and safe for the model. That means it can’t be so hot that it burns, but equally if you are shooting outdoors remember that a frozen landscape with rushing water may sound fantastic but there’s a good chance you’ll end up calling the emergency services when your model starts suffering from hypothermia… In the meanwhile you’ll probably have nothing but a couple images of a model in pain with bright pink skin covered in goosebumps.

When shooting a nude in water, remember that you have incredible scope for experimentation such as altering the movement of the water and playing with the shutter speeds to achieve varying degrees of blur and movement. Then you can apply oil to the skin and also look at how the water interacts with other elements in the image such a frosted sheet of glass or the pebbles on a beach. The opportunities and choices are incredible.

You can see a couple examples of images I have done with a nude in water at my website.

Art Of Boudoir Photography With Speedlights

Art Of Boudoir Photography With Speedlights is the title of a PDF eBook written by Michael Zelbel, which looks specifically at the area of how to shoot boudoir images in a bedroom with simple portable speedlight flash and how to make it work reliably, so that you come away with good images.

Not so long ago it would have been considered impossible to do images like this without studio lighting but thanks to advances in digital cameras and off camera speedlight flash, countless photographers are now looking seriously at ways to do this on a tight budget.

Although it’s great having all the equipment in the world, sometimes it’s a distraction and I like Michael’s minimalist approach and as he demonstrates how it’s possible to put together a fully functional lighting kit for just a few hundred dollars if you are careful.

Instead of including a selection of images from various shoots Michael Zelbel chose to concentrate on just one extended shoot using a single model and shows how to work with the situation to your best advantage. He concentrates specifically on using minimum amounts of equipment, so it’s light and easy to setup, while also allowing space to work in. Practicality is the core message in the Art Of Boudoir Photography With Speedlights.

Although this isn’t a huge eBook it does manage to contain quite a bit of practical information such as:

• Balancing your light sources
• Choosing the right equipment
• Exploiting the natural props found in a bedroom
• The right choice of lingerie
• How to setup your lights
• Warming up the skin tones
• Model posing (including a cheat sheet)
• Mistakes to avoid

There is also some helpful advice on working with the model, finding the right body shapes and explaining the importance of experimentation so it’s not just limited to a technical discussion and should be of interest to anybody interested in working with models.

You can find out more about the Art Of Boudoir Photography With Speedlights and download a copy at Michael’s site. 

Fine Art Nude Shape Study

The above fine art nude image was shot with a 50mm lens on a 35mm SLR. It was simply intended as a bit of fun following a rather mundane commercial shoot. The model had a lovely personality and was happy to do more images, just for the enjoyment and as a chance to experiment.

Working out of my rather cramped studio in Milan, where I was based at the time, I rolled down a piece of black unlit Colorama paper to create the background. I then simply placed a fairly standard rectangular softbox to the side of the model, from not too far away. We then applied oil and water to her skin for a more sensual look.

Normally, this light would render everything in quite a hard way, so I started by attaching various pieces of black board; masking down the area of light, until it became just a small slither of light, which produced more pronounced shadows and greater mood, while ensuring the light did not spill over to a wider area that might have ruined the feel.

The model was from Venezuela and had a naturally dark olive skin, but to accentuate this, I fixed a piece of orange coloured gel to the font of the softbox, creating a much warmer look and measured the light levels with a Gossen flash meter.

I like the way that the black pants blend into the background on this image, helping the composition. A straight cut off with skin, at the bottom of her waist, would have had less visual impact. Overall I wanted to combine the feeling of a fine art nude but with an added sensual warmth and sultry mood.

A fine art nude does not need to complex either in lighting or in composition. In fact trying to be too clever may well backfire and it is often better to concentrate on simple interpretations making use of light, shadows and warmth to create sensual images.

The video above is not specifically related to shooting models or even photography in general but it manages to perfectly sum up the approach of certain companies and individuals who attempt to obtain something for nothing in business. Nowhere is this problem more evident than in photography…

Unfortunately this kind of attitude is something that countless professional photographers face on a regular basis. How many times has a client said “we don’t have much budget this time” as though it was somehow different last week or will change next week…

Then there are those classics about doing the first job cheaply or even free as a test. Why should somebody who has been shooting professionally for years have to prove themselves with a test? Do you ask an electrician to rewire your house for free as a test?

Then we have that old chestnut called recognition with the infamous credit line. Let us publish your pictures for free and you will soon become a legend in Council Bluffs Iowa! In reality of course you’ll just be a soon forgotten struggling photographer who was taken in by a scam artist. The next time you get a request like that try asking the other person if they are paid for their work… Usually they are paid a nice reliable salary.

It’s frustrating and we’ve all be there at some point or another but for some reason photographers are generally far too “understanding and reasonable” (read gullible) when work discussions go in this direction and I think it has become much worse in recent years for all kinds of reasons.

There are far more part time photographers nowadays. These are the weekend warriors of photography with a day job who want to throw their hat in the ring without ever really considering the true costs of doing business. They figure they have a digital camera and that makes them a professional photographer but how long did they spend as an assistant learning how to deliver pictures according to the brief, on time and within the budget every time? How expert are they in colour management and preparing files for commercial print? This list goes on.

The stock agencies selling images for peanuts also deserve special mention… They take a pile it high and sell it cheap approach that grossly devalues both the perception of photography as a profession and the real monetary value of images by selling at prices that reflect neither the photographer’s costs nor the value to the client. They can only do this because they didn’t have to pay for the model, makeup, location, styling or retouching and just before I forget to mention it the photography!

On the other side of the equation there are substantially more corporate bean counters working in companies who only care about an immediate short term saving but have no real clue about the value of good photography and how an experienced professional can help their business. This makes it harder all round and is short sighted from every perspective, not least for the clients themselves.

It is the nature of a market economy that people are free to enter discussions over price and on the whole that is a good thing but the simple fact is that business exists to make a profit. As a professional photographer you need to make a profit, so you must know your real costs and price accordingly to earn a profit. It’s not rocket science and if you fail to make an adequate profit you soon go out of business.

The next time somebody approaches you and wants you to work for free or at below cost price just say no. Chances are you’ll lose that “client” but at that point you can breath a huge sigh of relief because it then becomes somebody else’s problem. Somebody else’s loss if they accept the deal.

Rather than worrying about it spend time on finding clients that are prepared to pay a fair amount for your work and looking at ways to bring added value to your work by improving your skills as a photographer. Fighting to become the cheapest is a miserable business model.

In recent years it has become much more common to see composite images (sometimes known as a montage) like the one above where a subject is inserted into a background photo during post production retouching. Sometimes it produces amazing results but frequently I think photographers are getting it badly wrong and the final image can be quite poor.

Nowadays we see examples of composite images in all kinds of areas from glamour and nude photography through to general advertising, so I thought it would be worth looking at the philosophy and some best practices in creating images like this. I’m not going into precise technical details because there are endless tutorials out there, so I just want to look at some of the basic points that are frequently forgotten.

First a step back in time…

I took the picture above for a cosmetics assignment about 10 years ago when images like this were remarkably rare compared to now. Photoshop was quite limited in what it could do at the time with few of the clever tricks we have available now. Professional retouching was hugely expensive…

The 8 Core Mac Pro I am using today has 32 gigs of Ram but ten years ago very few photographers even had 1 gig of Ram installed. Previously if I wanted to save a 500MB file including a few layers it took several minutes, whereas now it takes about a second. That kind of massive increase in performance has played a large part in the rising popularity of composite images because they are so much quicker to produce now, especially with the advances in Photoshop.

Given the choice I would always choose to shoot something straight and create the right look in camera given enough budget but it’s not always possible, so if you do have to shoot a composite image or perhaps you really want to there are a few things to consider.

First of all you really need to select your background image before you photograph the model. This is essential so that you are able to study the lighting and composition, enabling you to photograph the model in a way that makes sense. Do the shadows on your main subject match the ones in the background image and is the colour temperature a good match? Try to visualise the final image as a whole rather than as separate elements.

I think the worst errors occur when the photographer shoots a model in the studio with no similar element or lighting to help blend in with the background image. In the photograph above I managed to use some real white sand taken from a beach in Greece and shoot the model against a blue paper backdrop, which was a close match for the blue sky. That allows you to do a far better job when cutting out a path and blending the two images.

Although it’s quite possible to do a good selection path yourself in Photoshop, when I look at the workflow of various professional photographers I know almost all of them are sending this work out to companies who do the job quickly and cheaply to a high standard. I think it’s one of those areas where outsourcing really makes sense, especially if you have a number of images to do.

Another point where photographers often fall down is when there is a large difference in file quality between the background image and the main subject, so when they are joined the difference becomes really obvious. In an ideal world both images should be shot with the same camera and lens but if that’s not possible at least try to ensure there isn’t a huge discrepancy so that you can blend the two images as well as possible.

Ask yourself if the final composite image makes sense. There are some incredible examples of photography that would only be possible with composite techniques which are visually inspiring and technically superb but ask yourself honestly if the combination you are creating really works or if it’s just a badly done gimmick…

The only way to learn though is through experimentation so why not have a go?

Portable Flash Photography Training Online

Recently I was in contact with a professional photographer called Phil Steele based in the US who runs a series of effective online video training courses in various aspects of photography and Photoshop that I am sure many of your would find very useful. These are available in high-def or standard-def so you can choose either one depending on your connection speed.

Phil is very well known for his photography training and his obvious enthusiasm was clear as he showed me his site including some free tutorials. He was also kind enough to let me take a look at the courses, which I immediately knew would be of interest to my blog readers.

The first one I wanted to tell you about covers portable flash photography and is called “How to Shoot Professional Looking Headshots and Portraits on a Budget with Small Flashes“. Although not specifically related to nudes or glamour the same basic theories and practices would apply and this is good information that will be useful in practically any sphere of photography involving portable flash photography with models.

I know from the many emails I receive that several of you are interested in how to create professional looking images with small portable flashes rather than large studio lighting for all sorts of good reasons ranging from questions of cost through to practicality and simple fun.

In fact I’ve done posts before on this blog involving portable flash photography showing how I used a Canon 580EX inside an apartment to light a glamour image, so it’s something I both understand and practice myself at times.

Small portable flashes have been around for years but the technology allowing you to shoot reliably off camera to create more dynamic effects is relatively new and Phil does a fantastic job of explaining everything in very practical terms including how to equip yourself for on a budget along with the techniques used to produce great looking images. On a side note it amazes me how many attachments have emerged recently for portable flash photography that allow you to create effects that were previously only possible with high end studio equipment.

I particularly liked the way the courses are presented in a very direct manner with clear fact filled information and I even learned a couple things myself about some interesting pieces of budget priced equipment that I had never heard of before and the ways they can be used. The cost of the course is easily justified by these cost saving tips alone…

It’s not just a series of videos though because the pages include links to further detailed information on specific equipment and where you can find it. Better still the site includes regularly updated information, so you know you are always getting the most up to date facts and opinion.

The course starts with a basic introduction and moves on to cover many aspects including: * Equipment

* Assembly and testing

* A four step formula for manual flash and camera settings

* Various photo shoots both indoors and outdoors including models

* Several items of bonus material

The site is well worth checking out for anybody who is interested in exploring the potential of small portable flash units and how they can be used in all kinds of photography from basic head shots through to advanced portraits and glamour images. For all but the most experienced and advanced flash users who obviously don’t need any training this is a very good investment.

Phil Steele’s Portable Flash Photography Training Online

Warm Skin Tones In Nude Photography

The warm skin tones you see in the above image were greatly helped by the use of a folding gold Lastolite reflector, which was used to bounce the bright sunlight back onto the model. Having used reflectors like these for over 20 years I find they are very useful to help achieve the kind of warm skin tones I generally like in glamour and nude photography.

The key advantage of these reflectors is that the are light and very portable plus they seem to be reasonably resistent to regular use, so they should last you for years with careful use. You can also use them with flash lighting of course to give a soft warm fill if you find the ambient levels need a boost.

The biggest disadvantage I find is that they can be tricky to keep steady if there is any kind of wind present, so you either need an assistant or some kind of suitable support. To remain steady the support will often need to be weighted down which loses the initial advantage, so on balance I generally find them best adapted for indoor use, where you just need a lift in brightness and warmth, while making use of the available light. For outdoor use there are more heavy duty alternatives with rigid frames that are probably a better choice.

Although a gold reflector will help to create warm skin tones it can still look a bit strange if you have a particularly pale model, so there is a lot to be said for choosing a subject with at least a base tan. Remember also that the reason we often want to see warm skin tones is because it makes the model look healthy and relaxed.

Something else I have found is that the actual reflectors can vary dramatically in the way that they reflect light and some of them produce a very brash gold reflection that is too obvious so I prefer to use ones that have a softer almost matt finish, which produces a gentler more natural reflection. N.B Be careful about choosing a reflector online because it’s really difficult to judge what they are like, so this is one of those cases where I would advise a trip to the camera shop.

Another point to be wary of is when you light your model with a gold reflector but then find the background looks very cold in comparison, so a degree of care is needed here and if necessary you will have to make some changes. It’s much easier of course with digital cameras and post production retouching to correct small imbalances.

In the past reflectors tended be either white or gold for example but nowadays you can find all sorts of combinations and they all have their uses. I have one for example, which is basically a diffuser but it comes complete with a zip on cover that is black or white on one side, however if you turn it inside out you then have the option of gold or silver, so it’s remarkably versatile and really easy to pack for a shoot.

When using reflectors with daylight the effect you see on the subject is what you get so it’s extremely reliable to manage but you also need to look carefully at your subject to make sure the balance is attractive and subtlety is the key. Also remember that these reflectors can make it uncomfortable for a model to see, so you need to be careful and make sure you don’t end up with strained looks.

In the image above I used a hand held incident light meter and started off by taking a reading of the white curtains and then taking it from there to get the balance right. It wouldn’t have looked right if the curtains looked dull and grey but the model was brightly lit…

There are of course other techniques and tricks for achieving warm skin tones including some in post production using Photoshop. Nothing beats a natural glowing tan but even then a little lift of some golden light can work wonders.

Try the reflectors from Lastolite or California SunBounce for warm skin tones.

Lastolite

California SunBounce

Boudoir Photography is the title of Ed Verosky’s latest eBook and evolved by combining some of the content from his last two boudoir related eBooks and then updating them with additional information.

Boudoir is is not my speciality but like all photography involving models there are common elements such as developing your ability to make the model feel comfortable, which is especially important when you are not dealing with professional models.

Most of the time boudoir photography is done with wives or girlfriends who want an opportunity to feel beautiful and special. Sometimes they might want to have pictures done for themselves to improve their self confidence and at other times it might be an engagement present for their future husband. Every situation is different and the author shares a good deal of his experience in this area.

In many ways boudoir and glamour photography have much in common. They both try to create an image that is sensual and alluring, so that the model appears as attractive as possible. As a photographer, if you are interested in shooting nudes you could very reasonably view boudoir as a first step along that road as you build your skills in dealing with models, while learning about lighting and posing etc.

Let’s not forget though that boudoir photography can also be a profitable business for the professional photographer, so a great deal of marketing skills, lighting technique and much more are also discussed in this book. To become successful in this area you will need to learn about locations, wardrobe, makeup, props, photo retouching and it’s important that you grain a strong understanding of these subjects. Keeping the client happy is all important.

No matter whether you are already shooting boudoir photography or if you just thinking about getting started this eBook should be of great value to you.

You can read more about the book Boudoir Photography which is available for immediate download at Ed Verosky’s own site.

If you look around there are clear signs that the days of backing up our images on discs may be rather fewer than many of us had previously imagined. I’ve come to this conclusion after piecing together a few sparate bits of information and wondering what impact this could have on us as photographers in the long term. Regardless of whether you are shooting nudes or landscapes, digital asset management is of vital importance to professional photographers, so this is something we need to be aware of.

The motor company Ford has just announced that no new cars will be fitted with a CD player. Instead they will include a connection point for portable MP3 players and wi-fi connections to access music via the internet. You may be asking what that has to do with photography but I think it shows manufacturers are heading towards a world where information can be accessed from anywhere, so there is no need to maintain physical media like CDs. That can be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

In another example Apple has just released the latest Mac Mini with no optical drive, telling us we don’t need one nowadays because we can always download installers from the internet. Software like Aperture is now only available via download through the App Store with no physical disc like before.

To make all of this feasible on a practical level a massive leap will need to be made in supporting technologies that would allow everything to be stored online and above all reliably retrieved when required. At present most of us are not there in terms of broadband connections if we need to upload several gigs of files on a daily basis. A photographer based in the centre of London may not find it too difficult to obtain a fast cable connection and store all their files on Amazon, but what about those who are living somewhere remote and struggling with a slow 2mbps connection?

Personally I am not wild about the idea of storing everything online and I like the idea of keeping something on a separate medium rather than just relying on hard drives. Does anybody have any thoughts about where we are headed over the next few years and how best to adapt? I’d be interested to hear your opinions…

Update: If you are interested in digital asset management (and you should be) it’s worth checking out the excellent book by Peter Krogh called The DAM Book.

Nudes In Simple Daylight

Nudes In Simple Daylight

The photograph above is an example of how nudes in daylight can be done with the simplest of props, lighting and equipment. It was shot with nothing more than natural daylight coming in from a frosted window behind the model with the budget priced Canon 50mm F1.8 lens.

Any lighting you can see on the front of the model is simply reflected back from the white wall tiles and the image was shot at 400 ISO. The camera was hand held and rather unusually for me I relied on the camera’s built in meter, though in this case I knew it would do a fairly good job.

Just like with many other nudes I have photographed, for me this picture is all about the atmosphere and feel. It tells a story that is both sensual and natural but above all I like the way that attention is drawn towards the hands and the tiny drops of water splashing off the model’s body. Forget about the cheesy grins or forced sexy looks. With nudes in simple daylight you can do so much better than that…

There was no need here for a dozen lights, exotic lenses or even a makeup artist. In fact I think it works in large part, precisely because all those elements have been stripped away, so we are left with nothing more than an image which captures a moment in time like a piece of reportage. It shows us a glimpse of pure feminine beauty, rendering fancy Photoshop work and complicated lighting effects as nothing more than pointless distractions. The use of colour in this case wouldn’t have added anything extra either. Shooting nudes in black & white is generally more effective.

The only point of this particular blog post is to say that in photography and particularly when Shooting nudes, sometimes less is more and simple is better.