Anonymity HelpsĪnother thing that we discovered as we went along is that the shots where my friend’s face was turned away from the camera were somehow more photogenic than those in which she was looking at the camera.
I also had a 70-200mm lens which came in handy towards the end of the shoot when we did some shots that focused upon taking some more close up shots of parts of her body – almost abstract type shots. I had started off shooting with a 50mm lens but ended up using a Canon 85mm prime lens that I’d borrowed from a friend for most of the shoot and was very happy with the shots. Perhaps it was partly that I wasn’t up real close and personal as I took my shots and this allowed my subject some personal space – but the shots when I used a longer lens were better than those when shooting with short ones. This will probably vary from person to person but we found that things worked best when I shot with longer focal lengths. It’s hard to pose and look relaxed when you’re shivering! Make sure the heating is on! I actually didn’t notice the coolness of the room (I had my clothes on after all and perhaps had a bit of adrenaline at the thought of messing up the shoot) but my friend certainly did. Ok, so a practical tip and perhaps an obvious one. They became less about the body in the shots and more about the shapes, the light, the shadows etc. In doing so I noticed that the shots completely changed in their look and feel. I had been intending to shoot in color and convert the images to black and white later but on seeing her reaction to the shots I’d taken decided to shoot in Black and White.
PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL TECHNIQUES FOR NUDE & GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY SKIN
She is a beautiful woman but even the best of us have a few blemishes or blotches on our skin that can be quite eye catching in shots. The results were quite confronting to my model. Try Black and WhiteĪt the start of our shoot we were shooting in color. Taking nude shots is not as simple as grabbing a camera and getting your gear off – it helps to know what shot you’re attempting to get. Knowing what we wanted to achieve in this shot helped a lot. We saw this ‘classic’ nude shot in a couple of different books and thought it’d be a good place to start. We chose a pose that we wanted to start with – a shot of her standing with her back to the camera – the focus being her back – lit from the side to accentuate her curves.
We decided to take a break and I pulled out a few of my photography magazines and books where I knew there would be examples of some poses that we could aim for. The first shots I took were quite bad and we quickly realized that we (or I) were not prepared. What ended up happening with us is that when my friend arrived for the shoot and we started taking photos we quickly realized that we didn’t really have too many clues when it comes to posing for these types of shots. Know what you’re looking for before you start shooting Below are some of the lessons that I learned from the experience. We set up a time for the shoot at my home and I set up a simple make shift home studio. She wanted someone that she could trust and someone who she thought could take a decent shot.Īfter attempting to convince her that perhaps I wasn’t a good enough photographer for the job – I eventually agreed. They’ve been married for 10 years and she wanted some tasteful shots – nothing too risque or explicit – that she could give to celebrate their anniversary. At first I thought she was joking but she was quite serious.