Art nude shoot with katy Cee part 2

Well this was fun! For the second part of my shoot with Katy I wanted to play about with movement and slow shutter speeds. I used 1/10th sec for most shots with D-lite + grid set to 3 as the main light and an SB28 popped behind the model for a bit of edge lighting.

I'd also got it in my head that I wanted to make an indian headdress for this shoot which turned out rather well I think. Once I'd got the materials together it only took an afternoon to make and was actually really quite an enjoyable project.

Most of these shots are quite heavily photoshopped in one way or another. I wanted to make them surreal, magical and unique and after the stark simplicity of part one of this shoot I really enjoyed indulging in some photoshop creativity.

Related links
See part one from this shoot here

See more of katys work here

And check out her fantastic photo props company here

Equipment: lightroom 4

This is an exciting week for photographers, not only do we finally see the launch of the eagerly anticipated Canon 5D markIII But adobe have just launched the very latest version of lightroom, which looks very good indeed with two whole new moduals for handling GPS tagging and book publishing as well as extended video support, soft proofing and enhanced social media integration.

But the really big news for me is the massive 50% price drop! For such a powerful program this is an absolute bargain.

These are the top new Adobe  Lightroom 4 features according to Adobe...

• Highlight and shadow recovery - Bring out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright highlights. Now you have more power than ever before to make great images under challenging lighting conditions.
• Photo book creation - Create beautiful photo books from your images with a variety of easy-to-use templates included in Lightroom, and then upload your book for printing with just a few clicks.
• Location-based photo organization - Find and group images by location, easily assign locations to images, or plot a photo journey. Automatically display location data from GPS-enabled cameras and camera phones.
• Extended video support - Organize, view, and make adjustments and edits to video clips. Play and trim clips, extract still images from them, or adjust clips with the Quick Develop tool.
• White balance brush - Get more consistent color across your image in scenes with mixed lighting sources. A flexible brush lets you refine and adjust white balance in targeted areas of your shot.
• Additional editing brushes - Expand your creative control by targeting particular areas of your images using new local editing brushes for noise reduction and moire removal.
• Video publishing - Easily share video clips in HD format on Facebook and Flickr. Or save HD clips formatted for phones, tablets, TV, and more.
• Soft proofing - Save time and ink and help ensure your prints meet your expectations. Soft proofing lets you preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers.
• Enhanced online sharing integration - Easily post images to more social media and photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr. With selected sites, online comments about your images are visible within Lightroom.
• Emailing from Lightroom - Email images directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice.
• Importing libraries from other software - Bring the power and elegance of Lightroom to all your images, new and old. Easily import photos from other applications.

Adobe Lightroom 4 is available for immediate download from Adobe.com.

Tweet
Add page to Stumbleupon:

Art nude shoot with katy Cee part 1

Katy is a wonderful model to work with, full of energy and giggles, we had lots of fun shooting this series.

There is very minimal post processing done on these images, most of what you see was done in camera. The coloured blocks where actually pieces of acetate which i suspended from the ceiling. of course I could have achieved similar results in photoshop, but then I wouldn't have got the same interaction between set and model.

Related links
You can read about what went into the planning of this shoot here.

See more of katys work here

And check out her fantastic photo props company here

Shoot Planning #1: Shoot Diagrams

Using shoot diagrams

Fig 1 Prep diagram for It is written

Shoot planning is a crucial stage in the photographers work flow, and in particular being able to communicate your idea's to the model and anyone else involved in the shoot. Personally I find shoot diagrams can be really useful at the planning stage particularly if I'm building sets or working with specific themes. It not only helps me to visualise what I want to achieve but also assists in conveying that vision to others.

Fig 1 shows a diagram I did a little while back, this idea ended up morphing completely into a short film that I made with  Lauren Marie called It is written.

How to make an effective shoot diagram

Fig 2 Prep diagram for Katy Cee shoot  ~ card hung from the ceiling

I use a very simple method for drawing shoot diagrams in photoshop. Firstly find a few images of models in various poses. It helps if these poses roughly align with your overall theme. Open a new document in photoshop and pop you reference photo in. On a new layer simply trace the models outline with a small hard brush (it helps if you have a graphics tab to do this) .

Adding details and props
At this stage turn off the ref photo and you can then begin drawing in props and set pieces, clothing and even colours either as swatches down the side of the image or as part of the image. In addition to this I sometimes find it useful to add thumbnail ref photo's to illustrate lighting, props and mood etc. Use your imagination there really is a massive amount you can do with this.

Shoot diagrams in practise
For my  art nude shoot with Katy Cee I wanted to create a set in the studio with lots of objects hung from the ceiling, at the planning stage I wasn't quite sure what these objects would be and using shoot diagrams really helped formulise my idea's and discuss them with Katy. The idea's I had in mind for what objects to use where; Leaves, feathers, petals, sheets of card or broken dolls. We both liked the sheets of card idea and in the end I found some wonderful sheets of coloured acetate in my local craft store that worked out even better.

Related links
You can see the rest of the images from this shoot here..

and check out more of Katys work here...
katycee.wordpress.com/

Katy also runs a wonderful photography props hire company specialising in stuffed animals, you can check that out here..
www.thehouseofdeads.com/

Shooting lingerie and nude with Allegra

When shooting nudes its very important to have the correct approach and attitude. Your model is putting themselves in a very vulnerable position and employing a lot of trust in your professionalism as a photographer. It is vital that you do everything in your power to make them feel 100% safe and comfortable. Here's a few rules of thumb that I use along with  some nude & lingerie images that I shot recently with a fabulous model named Allegra

Discuss levels and stick to them
It is very important that you are completely up front and discuss the levels that the model is comfortable with right from the very first correspondence. It is then even more important that you stick to these levels rigidly. If you try and push your model into something they are not comfortable with you will quite simply end up with a very unhappy model, rubbish pictures and a bad reputation.

Eyes above the neck line
Staring inappropriately at the model is a big no no, its massively disrespectful and at best will see you labelled as a lecherous school boy.

keep you hands to yourself
It is perfectly feasible to direct a model with words and demonstration, there is absolutely no reason why you should be touching your model.

Protect their modesty
Even at a full nude shoot you should try and provide a private area for the model to get changed and suggest that they cover up between sets.


Avoiding the smut.
There is a fine line here,whilst its good to be able to complement your model and bolster confidence its not a good idea to make overly sexual or suggestive comments.

To conclude
The bottom line is if you go into a shoot like this with respect for the model as a person with dignity (as a pose to a sexual object) and the attitude that you are there to make beautiful images, you won't have a problem.


Big thanks to Allegra, she's a really fantastic model to work with, highly recomended! see more of her work here ~  www.modelmayhem.com/1641825  

Other places to find me on the net...         WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

 
Tweet

Add page to Stumbleupon: