Alternative Nudes

CREATIVE LIGHTING AND POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Yucel Yalim
as seen in Erotic Heritage Museum, Las Vegas
Copyright © 2015 by Yucel Yalim
All rights reserved.
All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:
Amherst Media, Inc.
P.O. Box 586
Buffalo, N.Y. 14226
Fax: 716-874-4508
www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins
Editors: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt, Harvey Goldstein, Beth Alesse
Associate Publisher: Kate Neaverth
Editorial Assistance from: Carey A. Miller, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder
Business Manager: Adam Richards
Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-862-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014955645
Printed in The United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience and opinions.
The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

Check out Amherst Media’s blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/

http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/
 Table of Contents

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1. Three-Light Setup: Sitting the Mood . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. When Is a Nude Not a Nude: Escher Cat . . . . . . 8
3. Is the Nude For You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. Postproduction Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5. Single Low-Key, Rim Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6. Using a Single Boom Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
7. Start with the End in Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8. Girls, Horses, and Sunsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
9. About Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
10. Shoot Window Light Behind Camera . . . . . . . 24
11. Reflective Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 17. Assemble Team Alice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
12. See It for What It Can Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 18. Mirroring of Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
13. Fantasy Digital Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 19. Shallow Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
14. Treat Eyes Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 20. Guerilla Shooting: Strong Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
15. Eyes Closed or Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 21. Lighting a Model on a Car Engine . . . . . . . . . . 46
16. Hotel Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 22. Open Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
 39. Corel Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
40. Postprocess Cheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
41. The Nude with Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses . . . . . 86
42. The Nude in Wide-Angle Images . . . . . . . . . . . 88
43. The Nude Through the Normal Lens . . . . . . . . 90
44. The Nude in Moderate Telephoto . . . . . . . . . . 92
45. Through a 135–300mm Telephoto Lens . . . . . . 94
46. Photographing Darker Skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
47. Photographing Lighter Skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
48. Directing Eyes with Vignettes . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
49. Flat Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
50. Chiaroscuro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
51. Working Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
52. Shadows Create Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
53. Concept Props . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
54. Small Change Goes a Long Way . . . . . . . . . . 112
55. Drawing the Eyes: Toes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
56. The Eye-Drawing Power of Hands . . . . . . . . . 116
57. Leading Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
58. Crop for The Blinky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
59. Filters in the Digital Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
60. Balance and Bright Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
23. Creative Impulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
24. Eight Keys to Boudoir Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
25. The Role of Banter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
26. Painterly Pinup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
27. Two-Light Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
28. Two Rim Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
29. Lighting for Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
30. Unusual Poses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
31. Puppet Warp for Nudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
32. Shooting Downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
33. Breaking Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
34. The Light and Dark of It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
35. Work to Get Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
36. Implied Nudity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
37. Graphic Art Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
38. Shooting from Above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

4 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 About the Author

Y ucel Yalim, international artist and pro-

fessional photographer with studios in
Phoenix, has created photographs celebrating
returning to his passion for photography, he
enjoyed a successful twenty-five year career in
sales and marketing management in the corpo-
the beauty of women for over 30 years. Yucel’s rate world of the semiconductor industry.
seemingly innate sense of composition induces Yucel’s photography indulges his eye for
onlookers to question their understanding and glamour and aesthetic features as evidenced
acceptance of what constitutes “being human” in his many images of women. Likewise, as he
within a greater sense of what it means to be has a long accomplished sense of the corpo-
alive.  rate world, he is committed to photographing
With keen eyes for composition and inter- high energy corporate events, impactful execu-
ests in the human form, Yucel’s photographs tive head shots which are tailored to convey
take on anthropomorphic characteristics which character and finely honed messages about his
capture the human body in extraordinarily subject, and select commercial projects such
angular positions. His art prints reflect bold as assignments for Google Business View. He
framings fully utilizing available technologies, often freelances for several magazines and is a
as exemplified by compositional choices of staff photographer for Swimsuit Illustrated. His
subject placement on canvas and clear willing- deepest photographic creative passions remain
ness to employ new methods to ancient sub- in fine-art nudes, boutique boudoir portraits,
jects. Yucel’s images will shake up your sense of and crafting quality headshots.
what is familiar and have you re-approach your
belief systems through fresh eyes.
While at John Hopkins University, where For More About Yucel Yalim:
Yucel received a BES in Electrical Engineering www.yucelphoto.com
and Computer Science, he took his first classes www.boudoirandglamour.com
in wet black & white photography. He later www.facebook.com/yucel.yalim
received an MBA in Asian Pacific Management www.linkedin.com/in/yucelyalim
from City University in Washington. Before

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
 1 Three-Light Setup: Sitting the Mood
Strong Areas of Light and Dark
What makes this image compelling visually is
the mirroring of feminine curves in body, hair,
and couch along with its series of strong repeat-
ing diagonals as seen in the model’s limbs.
Dramatic lighting was arranged to bring out
just such features.
What is dramatic lighting? To me, it is light-
ing with strong areas of light and dark contrast.
The image below shows what happens when
only two lights were used and where the over-
head strip light was not yet goboed.
The main light was a 10x36-inch gridded strip box
Lighting
behind the model. Rim was 10x36-inch gridded strip
Notice the legs of the model were in shadow at camera right. Hair light was 7-inch gridded cone
and hidden from view in this preliminary image, with barn doors between model and camera right.
bottom left, showing the lighting setup. She Gobo 1, a Calumet 3.5x6-foot reflector, was placed
between camera and rim light. Gobo 2 was a small
reflector above camera for main strip box. A reflector,
Calumet 3.5x6-foot reflector, was camera left.

was left awkwardly floating in space on ghostlike

legs. As can be seen in the final image, facing
page, adding a goboed strip light to camera right
opened up the model’s left leg, all the way down
to her toes and gave definition to her right calf
and foot. The gobo used, being silver on one
side, also acted as a reflector. Feather according
to your preference, taking care that the reflector
does not kick in too much light. There was also

Note the ghosting around the strip light. Proper gobo placement
between light and lens helps eliminate this ghosting.

Tech Specs >

Body: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS II @ 88mm
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/7.1, and ISO 100

6 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
a feathered reflector to camera left, sitting back the model’s hair only, which would have disap-
far enough to give the subtlest hint of definition peared without some direct light. Without tight
and fill to the left-side shadows. control on this light’s shape, it would have
The light-stand leg, seen in frame right of ruined all the fine contrasty shadows we worked
the lighting setup, was removed in post-pro- so hard to create in the rest of the image.
cessing of the final edited image. The choice
was made to leave the barn doors at top right
of the frame because this aided composition- It is . . . sometimes very effective
ally by balancing the local negative space.
to break conventions.
Removing the barn doors would have required
re-cropping the image tighter, taking away
from its current feeling of width. Interestingly,
the strip box above and behind the model not The goboed strip light to camera right was
only rimmed the couch, it also acted as the a low-to-the-ground, gridded strip box. Before
main light by casting the main shadows. This this light was added, we had an image that
was not a typical location for the main light. As appeared to float without a base. Adding this
seen here, it is very possible and sometimes very light brings into clear view the lovely diagonal
effective to break conventions. lines of the model’s legs, feet, and toes, which
The light seen on the light stand at frame mirror the diagonals of her arms and fingers.
right was tightly barn-doored and gridded. It lit
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 7
 2 When Is a Nude Not a Nude: Escher Cat
About the Print Setup
The image Escher Cat is one of my best sell- In going for a peek-a-boo effect with the
ing giclée art pieces. The piece draws attention hat, we are connected with the dancer with-
even when not purchased. Usually, it is printed out drawing too much attention away from
large, 36x54-inches or 32x48-inches. Except the main focus of the strong dance pose and
for special orders, I’ve stopped printing 36x54- graphic elements. A beauty dish was placed
inches due to the difficulty of transporting such below the hat line. Otherwise, the model’s face
large prints. Even at these sizes, there is plenty would have displayed shadows cast by the hat.
of image detail in the final prints. To keep with the direction of the main light
coming from the left edge of the image, the
The Suit beauty dish was placed just to camera left. This
When I first set eyes on the zebra-stripe body established a feeling of pleasing depth in the
suit, I knew I had to have one—so, I ordered image that lighting from the right may have
two. Turns out the suits were crotchless. If you excessively flattened.
look at the preliminary image on this page, The background was a heavy white seamless
you will see a bit of bikini area skin showing. Savage vinyl, which lies flat. The ceiling in my
The body suit itself is a great prop element. It current studio is high, flat white, and set at a
has strong contrasting stripes that really grab 45-degree slope. My favorite high-key method is
the eye. Being constructed from a transpar- to bounce a White Lightning 3200 directly into
ent gauzy material, any clothing under the suit the ceiling to light the backdrop and provide an
might be visible and take away from the strong overall soft, overhead light as was used here.
lines of dancer and suit.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 50mm f1.4/D
Effective focal length: 75mm
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/11, and ISO 100

A White Lightning 3200 was bounced directly

into the ceiling to light the backdrop.

Small adjustments in body position create huge differences in balance and views of
the model’s face and noticeable skin slippages. Note skin showing in bikini area.

The pose in this final image, Escher Cat, was difficult to hold. It was best shot
with a nude model, comfortable in her skin. Skin does show in some frames.
8 ALTERNATIVE NUDES Dance training is usually a plus for holding difficult poses.
 3 Is the Nude for You?
Art and the Nude The Setup
Art generates processes, forms, and ideas This image was taken in daylight using a White
that are groundbreaking. As a result, it is Lightning 3200 with a beauty dish for fill. You
not uncommon for culture clashes to occur can see the sun was to the model’s left by the
between societies and the artists who create highlight on her left breast. The fill at camera
art. Artists are people who often care more left cast the shadows and shows the definition
about their art than their own relationship to of her ripped abs.

The nude is a beautiful art form, Fill was supplied by a 22-inch beauty
seemingly without limit . . . dish on a White Lightning 3200.

the society they live within. As a photographer

choosing to work with nudes, be prepared to
be a lightning rod. Even if you live in a liberal
part of world, the world is remarkably small
and includes people who can become anxious
with the innovations and ideas they may see in
your creations. Ask yourself when you decide to
photograph the nude, what part are you willing
to play in the culture clash between artists and
societies? Choose your creative direction bear-
ing your answer to heart.
Slightly blown-out highlights on the model’s left cheek from the
Tech Specs > skim of sunlight were repaired in postproduction for final image.
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikon EF-S 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR1 @ 75mm
Effective focal length: 112mm
Exposure: 1⁄125, f/9, and ISO 200

Venues and the Nude

The nude is a beautiful art form, seemingly without limit in what may
be created and explored by photographers. This image, Angel’s Rock, is
a beautiful piece, which could benefit from wider public viewing. Being
a nude, it is considered too risqué for general viewing by many venues.
It often languishes unseen and unappreciated by those who might
otherwise enjoy it. Interestingly, at more sophisticated display venues
it might not be risqué or exotic enough. Working within and creating
avant-garde art in any culture is always an interesting challenge.

10 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 11
 4 Postproduction Reflection
Planning the Reflection frame as shown in the image below, with the
This image used a very slick postproduction model in mid-frame, it would still have been
method to make a reflection of the subject. The easy with this low-key, uniformly dark back-
shot was taken with the final composition in ground to make the reflection in post.
mind and a plan to complete it in Photoshop. Two gridded strip lights, placed end to end,
The idea was to leave about two-thirds of the above and behind the model, lit the image.
lower part of the image blank. If I had shot the Thus, we have a rim of light going from head

This image was utilized by increasing the canvas size in

postproduction and adding to the bottom. A foreground space
was created where the reflection was then placed.

Steps to Create the Reflection 5. Arrange the layers so the model’s blurred toes and elbows
1. Duplicate the layer that contains the model. align with the in-focus ones. Select one of the two layers
and use the Free Transform tool to move the selection until
2. Flip this copy layer vertically and reduce the opacity to the two images of the subject align with just a touch of
about 40–65 percent. space between them.

3. Apply a motion blur on this layer. The angle should be in a 6. Now create layer masks for both model layers. Selectively
direction between the two reflected halves. In this case, I paint the layer masks black to allow only the models to
used a 90-degree angle to get a vertical blur. Choosing a show through and to keep any distracting elements in the
pixel distance of 10–30 pixels should work fine. foreground of the top, in-focus layer from affecting the
reflection. Touch up this layer mask as needed to blend the
4. Position the layers so the original layer is at 100 percent two model images together seamlessly.
opacity and is on top of the newly copied layer. It is impor-
tant for the in-focus layer to be on top of the blurred layer The whole process takes about fifteen minutes. Very slick. It
to create a reflected-water look. Adjustments are easier and works faster if you leave foreground room in the original image.
more realistic with the focused layer on top. A lot less masking is then required.

12 ALTERNATIVE PORTRAITURE
 I have also created a bit of tilt using
Photoshop’s Free Transform function, which
We have a rim of light going from I preferred to a flat-on, level approach. Since I
head to toe, with darkness toward didn’t create space in camera, I created a larger
foreground area to fill black by growing my
the camera side . . . canvas in Photoshop. This was done in a new
layer, at the bottom of my layer stack to use as
to toe, with darkness toward the camera side of an overall background to avoid any holes in my
and under the model. In postproduction, clean final composition.
up any blemishes or smooth skin as needed to
prep the image.

ALTERNATIVE PORTRAITURE 13
 5 Single Low-Key, Rim Light
Low-Key Light and Skimming
Low-key light can be all about the shadows and
what happens in the bits and pools of light. In
this image, as in most low-key images, our eyes
are drawn to the lighter, brighter areas of the
composition. Rim lighting the figure with one
gridded strip light creates very dramatic forms,

Rim lighting the figure with

one gridded strip light creates
very dramatic forms . . .

which with nudes can be quite stunning. I

preferred to have the light skimming the figure
to create patterns of light and dark that serve to
emphasize the visibly womanly curves, angles, Tech Specs >
and forms. By skimming, the light comes from Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
the side of the figure and washes across from Lens: Canon EF 70–200mm f/2.8 IS II @ 75mm
the light side toward the dark side. Notice, Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/8, and ISO 100
for example, the smooth, gentle swell of the

While the form here is

arguably longer, sleeker,
and more pleasing, notice
the large dark area of the
model from her right hip
to her left hip. This area is
too dark, too devoid of
detail for my tastes. The
shot would be much
improved were the light to
wrap a little more forward
to illuminate a bit more
detail on the model’s
front—and so it sits on
the cutting room floor.

14 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
model’s belly or the light–dark transition along Magically, many fine art black & white nudes cover, conceal, or
her chin to neck. While we see little more than otherwise turn away to de-emphasize the attention-grabbing
a partial outline, we clearly get the mental pic- power of faces and thus allow the viewer to concentrate on the
ture of a beautiful nude woman. pure forms of the nude and its composition alone, unencum-
bered by the context of expression.
Posing and Lighting
I had the model tilt her head away from the The lighting in the final image, above, and in
camera. Thus, the viewer is left to gaze unin- the alternate image, facing page, was the same.
terrupted at the forms, driven more by their The difference is that the model was instructed
graphic impact and less by the context of facial to roll and shift her right knee out to her right
expression. This is an effective technique for in the final image, thus also twisting her lower
nudes, which differs from our usual view of the torso slightly. With this slight shift, the light
world, where faces are exposed and bodies are over her waist increased and improved its skim
hidden. Be aware when the model gazes into the slightly, as did the overall light on her lower
camera, eyes can powerfully draw the attention body—by just the right touch.
of the viewer, as we’ll see in other examples.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 15
 6 Using a Single Boom Light

The Boom
If you are shooting in studio, seriously consider
getting a boom as soon as you have a second
light. Many multi-light setups can use a boom.
That said, the boom light could be used by itself
as in this image, Flaunt It. The C-stand was
sand bagged. Always sand bag lights on booms,
even in the studio. I have seen people hit on the
head by lights on booms, as they can be very
tippy. Be careful with them. With care, they cre-
ate opportunities to put light above the subject,
while keeping your strobe out of the picture.

Gridded strip light was placed on sand-bagged boom.

Postproduction
The postproduction treatments were all done in
Adobe Lightroom: I added a bit of a contrast
boost, converted to black & white using the Tech Specs >
orange filter preset, and added a small vignette. Camera: 5D Mark III
The orange filter brightened the skin and the Lens: Canon EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS II @ 85mm
couch somewhat, creating a bit more dark–light Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/7.2, and ISO 100

Shadows can
and do draw in
the viewer and
stimulate their
imagination.

Image before converting

to black & white

16 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
contrast, which I preferred with this image. It and illuminated the far side and a portion of
also created a sense of mystery and made the the model’s torso, while leaving her near side in
image considerably more sophisticated. mysterious shadows. Strategically plan and use
shadows in your black & white nudes. Shadows
Lighting and Shadows can and do draw in the viewer and stimulate
The single main light was overhead, on a boom their imagination.
arm, which was itself attached to a C-stand.
In this case, a gobo was used to keep lens flare
down to a minimum. The light was a gridded
strip placed just over the back of the couch. It
gave texture to the pleats, rimmed the wood,
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 17
 7 Start with the End in Mind

The End in Mind

Whenever you can, start with the end in mind, or
as much in mind as you can muster. This prin-
ciple led to the addition of pasties to this shot.
Why have we used pasties for cover-ups? With
pasties, the image, À La Trance, becomes a print
that may be displayed in a much broader set of
venues from which it may be seen and sold. It
goes from being a very tasteful nude, bottom left,
to a very tasteful “implied nude” depicting an
elegant dancer.
About this Image
The color image, bottom right, shows that there
Nude and Non-Nude Images is detail in the background. The main image,
Society being what it is, there is a market for an implied nude image such
facing page, has been treated in postproduction
as À La Trance, and the range of possible final in-home or in-corporate
to darken the blacks and bump up the overall
display options by potential purchasers has increased significantly by
offering an implied-nude image.
contrast, thus focusing attention on purely the
I love the nude and am at a point in my life where I am comfortable lighter-toned dancer and her form. This was
displaying a nude in my home. However, many people, even those who easily accomplished by using Nik Color Efex 4
love the nude, are not comfortable displaying nudes in their homes or plug-in’s Bleach Bypass filter in Photoshop.
places of business. Observe how the lighting was from the back
So consider the utility of crafting creative ways to turn nudes into and both sides. Notice, too, the darkest shadow
non-nudes. À La Trance has been displayed, for example, at high-end comes from the light to camera right. The fill
retail malls in Scottsdale, Arizona. The nude image below, in many ways on the model’s front was coming from a less
an excellent nude itself, could not be so widely displayed. strong light source to camera left.

Why have we used

pasties for cover-ups?

A 17mm focal length gives plenty depth of field at f/5.6.

No postprocess yet applied.

This image was shot without pasties.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 17–55 f/2.8 @ 17mm
Effective focal length: 25mm
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/5.6, and ISO 100

18 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 19
 8 Girls, Horses, and Sunsets
Working with Animals
Hiawatha’s Dream is a collaboration incorpo-
rating a number of my favored themes: body
paint, nudes, sunsets, and horses. In working
with animals, horses specifically, I always try to
have an experienced wrangler and model. This
is necessary for both safety purposes and to
ensure the best-possible results. The wrangler
and owner of this sweet yet powerful horse was
just out of the frame. The model is an accom-
plished rider, which shows in her calm, con-
trolled, and easy expression. Nonetheless, it is
always important to be careful with horses. This
said, working with animals and nude models
often makes for fun shoots and excellent shots.
Horses are tall beasts. To avoid shooting up
at them—boring—I was shooting down from a
ridge on a rise and placed the model below me
in a swale, which I scouted while the body paint
was being applied.

Lighting Equipment and

Blurred Movement
One of my favorite times of day to shoot is just
before and during sunset. I have tried this with
weak strobes and with powerful strobes. For
slow-moving or stationary subjects, it works
very well with something like the Paul C. Buff
White Lightning 3200. I have tried it with
other excellent gear, an array of Profoto gear,
and completely failed to overpower the sunset.
While Einsteins are new to me, I have had some
limited success with them, although I am not
ready to endorse them fully without further Look at the highlights on the model’s front, the horse’s face, and
experimentation. I want them to succeed, the bright tree branches directly above the model’s head. Notice
because I love shots with movement. The flash how the White Lightning Strobe easily overpowers the sun.
duration on the White Lightning was very
long. When shooting with studio flash, expo- for blurred movement. Many shots using the
sure times tend to be longer than 1⁄200 second. White Lightning had blurred movement. I have
Long exposures and long flash durations make some success freezing movement during sunset

20 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
with Einsteins, which have short durations, side with a beautiful golden glow. The White
in spite of half being the power of the White Lightning easily became the main light,
Lightning 3200. overpowering the waning sunlight to brightly
illuminate the faces of both the model and
Flash Modifiers and Ambient Light horse. Remember to set your exposure for the
In using flash modifiers, be sure not to use any ambient light first, and then adjust flash power
that cut too much power. A softbox cuts the as needed to overpower the available sun.
power output of a flash unit, often by several
stops. To keep a soft yet powerful light, my Tech Specs >
favorite modifier is usually a 22-inch beauty Camera: Nikon D90
dish. It seems to work great, so long as I don’t Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR 2 @ 27mm
have to throw the light very far. Effective focal length: 40.5mm
Notice how the sunlight gives great defi- Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/10, and ISO 200
MUA / Body paint: Visualize Creativity
nition to the horse’s rump, legs, and to the
Fantasy manipulation: Aglaia
model’s hair. Note too that it rims her left

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 21
 9 About Weather

The Sky Turned Interesting Rapid Posing, Lighting, and Shooting

This shot was basically in the camera with My model was sporting a red-and-yellow-
postproduction only used to enhance what was toned, painted phoenix that perfectly matched
already captured. One of my favorite times of the sky. I got her up higher than the camera
day to shoot is sunset. And as you can also see while I got myself down low. Using the Fong
in the preceding section, one of my favorite diffuser for soft fill light, I photographed
ways to shoot a sunset is to overpower the from 7:05pm until 7:09pm, by which time the
sun with a White Lightning 3200 and shoot sky was dark. Sometimes you get lucky with
directly into the sunset. However, on this a look like The Phoenix Rising in Phoenix. At
August day, I was shooting with a Nikon D90 times like these, use all your knowledge to get
and an SB-600 on-camera flash with a Gary the shots you can in the minutes or seconds
Fong diffuser attached. My available power available.
output was not high enough, and the sunset
was not very interesting. Then, the sky turned By 7:05pm the colors in this unedited image show the sky became
a bright red orange on a patch of clouds a gorgeous complement to the model’s body paint. Sometimes
toward the east! these things happen and end very quickly, all without much
warning. Do the best you can when they occur. The resulting
At 7:02pm, this unedited image shows the sunset was a standard shots are often exceptional.
golden color with no real promise beyond that.

22 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Postproduction
Postproduction consisted of a mix of treatments
to get the look of The Phoenix Rising in Phoenix
Contrast and the highlights were
that I was looking for: skin smoothing, bright- adjusted down slightly to take the
ening of the eyes, and so on, was done using
Photoshop, Portrait Professional, and Perfect focus off the brightness of skin.
Portrait. The sky texture and saturation was
brought up using HDR Efex Pro 2 followed by
Tech Specs >
increased clarity using Lightroom’s clarity slider.
Camera: Nikon D90
Lightroom’s Crossify preset improved the overall Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4
contrast and the highlights were adjusted down Effective focal length: 75mm
slightly to take the focus off the brightness of Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/4, and ISO 200
skin. Everything was masked to taste. The whole Fill: Nikon SB-600
process took only 20 to 30 minutes, once the Body paint: Heather Aguilera
decision was made on which direction to go.
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 23
 10 Shoot Window Light Behind Camera
Window Light Depth of Field and Focus
There is often plenty of indirect light near win- I stopped down to f/2.8, which was still
dows, as long as you stay near enough. Window pretty fast with a fairly shallow depth of field.
light falls off according to the inverse square I positioned the model to be perpendicular to
law of light. This means you must be close to the camera, placing her entirely in the plane
the window, because the light drops off sharply
over a short distance. This is a reason many Shadows were muted and softened due to the distance
window-lit shots have the model leaning against from the window and bounce from the white sheets.
the window or are shot from the side with her
standing next to the window.
Shooting with indirect window light, where
the window is behind you, will not supply much
light. A model four feet from the window gets
four stops less light than a model one foot from
the window. This four-stop difference is 1⁄16 of
the light. At eight feet from the window, it is
1⁄64 the light at one foot and 1⁄4 the light at four

feet from the window respectively.

The quality of indirect window light, where
the subject is relatively close to the window, is The 4x5-foot window was about 5-to 7-feet from the model.
very soft and flattering, especially if the window
is large. Thus a window can act as a very nice
Preliminary image.
softbox. We must be as close to the window as
possible, shooting at higher ISOs and with faster
lenses. Shooting at ISO 400–800 allows most
mid-to-high-end, modern DSLRs to capture a
high-quality image. Newer cameras, especially full
frames, are often able to reach even higher ISOs.

Shutter Speed
To shoot a 50mm lens hand-held without image stabilization, and
freeze most shots, I kicked the shutter speed up to over 1⁄100 second.
If shooting a crop-sensor camera, as was the case with the D7000
used, try a shutter speed closer to 1⁄125 or 1⁄150 second. While you can
hand-hold these lenses at perhaps 1⁄25 second on a full-frame, the shots
sometimes get blurred. It is a 1 in 2 or 3 chance per exposure for camera Tech Specs >
movement blur for most photographs. With these images, we were Camera: Nikon D7000
not so worried about the model moving—unless there were fleeting Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4D
expressions—as we were with camera shake. 1⁄125 second was perfect. Effective focal length: 75mm
Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/2.8, and ISO 400

24 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
of focus. So, f/2.8 worked fine. I focus on the the window that was fanned out, and its gray
model’s eyes, always keeping them in focus, side was hung along the wall, which was near
unless I deliberately choose not to. the model’s feet. The white sheet in addition
Nikon seems to do a pretty good job of to a 42-inch reflector angled toward her feet
putting lots of focus points in the viewfinder. I provided as much light as I was able to redirect.
often move the point of focus off center. Nikon And overall soft light hit the model straight-on
cameras seem to have more focus points than with bounce all around her.
Canons. The Canon 5D Mark II has only nine
focus points. The 5D Mark III Canon begins to Postproduction
get near the focus-point spread of the prosumer Postproduction consisted of smoothing the
Nikon D7000 family. This reduction in focus model’s skin, removing the right leg, which
points with Canons is a major readjustment to I felt enhanced the curve of her flanks, and
my shooting style. converting to black & white. Blowing out the
whites and light grays in the bedspread reduced
The Setup the sheet’s shadows, which detracted from this
The model was placed on a white sheet that high-key nude. Only the darkness of the model
provided a nice background and also acted as remains to draw the eye.
a lighting fill. There was a blackout blind by
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 25
11 Reflective Flooring

Lighting
Reveries Maid French was shot backlit by north-
facing window light on highly reflective wood
flooring. Two 3.5x6-foot reflectors provide fill,
one on either side of the camera, positioned
between camera and model.

Reflections and Leading Lines

Notice how the flooring lines point toward the
model, specifically toward her feet. If the lines
had been going horizontally across the frame,
instead of the rows leading toward her feet, and
directing eyes from there visually up the model’s
impossibly long legs, our eyes would have been
arrested before ever reaching the model.
The shine on the floor makes the floor act Tech Specs >
Camera: Nikon D7000
almost like a mirror. The edges of the model’s
Lens: Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8 @ 11mm
shadow on the floor are sharp. Window light
Effective focal length: 16.5mm
is relatively soft; see section 10 about win-
Exposure: 1⁄80 second, f/4.5, and ISO 800
dow light. With soft light, we tend to get soft
shadows to the light transitions. Yet here, the
reflection on the wood has hard edges, even
though backlit by soft light. This is because of
the mirror-like quality of the floor’s shine. If
the floor had been less shiny, the model’s legs
reflected in the wood flooring would have been
much more diffuse, and in my opinion have
had less effective. As it is, the sexy shoes seem
almost identical to their reflections. This helps
the reflected lines of the legs on the flooring
continue to direct our eyes up the model’s
actual legs.
The triangular form of the pose keeps the
eyes moving in kind of a clockwise circle.
Leading lines are present in the counter at

Note the busy colors in this initial image compared to the

simplified dignity and high impact of the final image in black &
white on the facing page.

26 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
frame left and the stool
at frame right. The moiré
lines that the two layers of
doorway screening have
created are in a diagonal
wavy-lined pattern. These
diagonal lines also lead to
the model, forming more
triangles with her mop.
These moiré lines usually
are not visible until after
you take the shot. They
can occur with any repeat-
ing patterns in photog-
raphy. Here I feel moiré
helped the overall final-
ized black & white image.

Wide-Angle Effect
The use of an ultra wide-
angle lens has distorted
perspective, making the
leading lines in the floor-
ing and the model’s legs
seem longer. This can be
sexy, though in a freakish
way, sometimes uncon-
sciously so, especially to
those unaware. I often
like to shoot low and
lengthen a model’s legs in
this fashion. While I like
the look and find it artis-
tically pleasing, many find
the effect disconcerting
for a more standard por-
trait. Know your audience
before you create inten-
tional distortion through I often like to shoot low and lengthen
the use of ultra wide-angle
a model’s legs in this fashion.
lenses.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 27
12 See It for What It Can Be

Save Images for Revisiting

Know your postproduction capabilities, and
leave room for growth in skill and mastery.
What do I mean by this? When you see an
image, know what you are capable of turning
it into. When you see an image that cannot be
salvaged, know that in a month, a year, or a
few years, your skills and/or software improve-
ments may make the impossible in due course
possible. Catalog, keyword, or otherwise
safeguard your images to revisit and re-edit a
prizewinner on rainy days to come.

Create Imagery in Postproduction

Try rotating the image. Try cropping it differ- With mature models use a softer light, especially on her
ent ways. Try turning a few images in a series face, if the face is central to the image. Here one large
to various types of black and white, or try softbox was used as the camera was shot straight down.
other presets. Lightroom presents an easy and
quick way to try variations of presets. Often
one preset or another will do wonders in one
case, and another preset will do wonders for Tech Specs >
another group of images. Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4D
This image in particular shows what can be
Effective focal length: 75mm
done in postproduction to create impressive
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/4, and ISO 100
imagery from what many will otherwise pass by.

Image as shot. Try rotating

the image. See if that
improves how it looks. Try
different croppings. Throw in
a few quick filter effects. See
it for what it can be before
you discard what might be
the real winner. See it for
what it can be.

28 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
I have often seen images, like the original here, This image was a favorite. It came as a surprise some
which look very unimpressive only to become months after the original shoot, after I learned the Treat Eyes
client and personal favorites once processed. Process (see section 14) which makes the image sing.

About This Image

This particular image was rotated 180 degrees.
Then in Photoshop, a Color Efex 4 filter Catalog, keyword, or
was used along with a Silver Efex 2 filter.
Additionally, some darkening of low lights was otherwise safeguard
added to create mystery and draw eyes to the
brilliant playful expression of the model. Eyes
your images to revisit
were treated to improve catchlights using the and re-edit a prizewinner . . .
Treat Eyes Process (see section 14).

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 29
 13 Fantasy Digital Manipulation

The Model that was different from the model’s coloring

The model for the image, Tinker’s Belle, is would have worked easily to select the model
truly a phenomenon. It was a once in a life- out for our fantasy expression. There are many
time opportunity to collaborate with someone suitable shades of gray available for back-
talented in makeup, styling, and dance, as well grounds. You have less chance of casting color
as beautiful beyond words. She was a joy to onto the model when you work with white,
work with. gray, or black backdrops.

The Backdrop
We shot on a heavy polyester gray backdrop. I
love the color, yet am always frustrated by the
creases in these solid-color, non-black, cloth
backdrops. The black cloth drops may be fine if
made of sufficiently heavy weight materials like
the Westcott brand.
Here we selected the model out of the
background. When we do not, there may be
countless crease marks to remove from the
background. Beware of cheap imitations. While
paper looks amazing as a backdrop, it is heavy
(which can be a safety issue), tears, and gets
dirty. Cloth is durable. For white I prefer heavy The main light was a 47-inch Paul C. Buff octobox
vinyl like that from Savage. Lightweight vinyls placed on the right of the model at eye level. A strip
may be bargains, but they are too hard to keep box for fill was left of the model.
from wrinkling and may be too light to lay flat
underfoot.
If you cannot afford to construct a perma- This is the
nent, built-in cyclorama wall (a.k.a., a “cyc image as it
wall,” pronounced “psych”) the heavy gray was shot.
cloth will be satisfactory. Here, any solid color

Collaboration Tips
• While one may pay thousands to work with talented collaborators, often the
costs may be well under $100. Look on the Model Mayhem website for collabo-
rators. Ask what the charges are. Make sure you retain full rights to the final and
initial images. Your results may awe and inspire you.
• Do give feedback to your collaborators and contractors on what is right and
what needs further attention.

30 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Stay Faithful
Though the overall effect
is quite lovely, much
was required in the way
of postproduction and
integration support. There
were a total of nine proofs.
Even when working
with a very capable team of
collaborators as I was here,
if it is going to have my
name on it, I must exercise
control to keep the illusion
fully alive, and keep the
final product in line with
my overall vision.
Inspired by a Tinker Bell
theme, collaborator Eithne
Ni Anluain envisioned and
created the full manipula-
tion for this image. It was
brilliant how she played
off the rose tattoos on
the model’s lower calves,
by placing her captive in
a rose bush, as she breaks
free of the glass bell
jar. However, an earlier
preview from Ni Anluain
lacked depth in the ped-
estal. The glass lacked full
highlight applications to
give the illusion of a fully
curved form.
While many options
were under consideration
and construction—includ-
ing flipping the image and adding wings—it
Tech Specs >
is ultimately up to us as photographers to Camera: Nikon D90
provide artistic direction and keep our vision Lens: Nikon 18–200 f/3.5–5.6 VR @ 38mm
alive and in place. We should only present the Effective focal length: 57mm
most perfect final product we are capable of Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/8, and ISO 200
orchestrating.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 31
14 Treat Eyes Process

Treating the Eyes

The eyes of the subject have been treated in
this image using a process that is employed by
several Photoshop professionals and by many
classic artists when they painted eyes. Many
of my images use this effect. It works bet-
ter on the eyes of some subjects than it does
on others. Try it and develop your technique
to see where you like it. Try using it on your
image applying different levels of magnifica-
tion. Sometimes, it looks great applied on a
small image, while on a large image it may look
overdone. Scale affects all images.

Steps for the Treat Eyes Process The snooted strobe was directed on the model’s face.
• Sharpen the eyes a bit using your favorite
tool. Remove some red veins in the eye
whites. Remove the catchlight in the eyes
using a clone or stamp tool. This is a close up of the color raw image
• If the eyes are dark, dodge them a bit lighter. before treat eyes process was applied.
Do not lighten or over lighten light-color eyes.
• Create four empty layers in Photoshop.
• In the first empty layer paint small white
catchlights. Put a Gaussian blur at about
1.5–2.5 pixels on the layer. Make sure each
catchlight is in a plausible position, usually at
10–11 or 1–2 o’clock.
• In the second layer, place a second set
of slightly larger white catchlights in the
same locations. Again, use a 1.5–2.5 pixel
Gaussian blur.
• Turn down the opacity to taste on both of
these layers. You now have your catchlights.
• In the third layer, paint a half moon crescent

Tech Specs >

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II @ 145mm
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/7.1, and ISO 100.

32 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 shape in the iris, opposite
the catchlights. Apply a
Gaussian blur at 3–7 pixels.
The color used tends to
be light greenish/yellow
to light bluish/green for
blue/green eyes and light
yellow/orange and vari-
ous golden/honey tones
for dark eyes. Experiment.
Once the eyes are painted
and blurred, try different
blend modes and lower the
opacity level to taste. The
Color Dodge mode can
work, as does the normal
mode. Sometimes the
opacity can be as low as 4
percent, sometimes it can
be much higher.
• On the fourth layer, place
a smallish football-shaped
mark in the center of the
half moon you made in
layer three. Use a similar
but slightly different varia-
tion of the color palette
than used on layer three.
Apply Gaussian blur at
3–7 pixels. Vary the blend
modes, and turn down
opacity to taste.
• Lastly, burn the dark ring
between iris and the eye’s
whites to taste. About
5–10 percent exposure in
the midtones or shadows
works nicely.

The catchlights have been created at about 2 o’clock in both eyes, with lightened half moons
opposite them. The burned outer iris ring creates lovely targets to draw in the viewer’s eyes.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 33
15 Eyes Closed or Open

Beautiful Women Look Directly at Us

I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty face. Eyes Tips
especially draw me into an image. I love look- • Eyes, mouths, hands, and womanly areas draw attention
ing deeper and deeper. While eyes draw every- more than anything else in images of women.
one in, a direct gaze can frighten many of us. I • When photographing a model looking at the camera, cap-
find myself a minority, drawn in very deeply. ture the appearance of genuine emotion or your image may
A pretty nude woman looking into a camera lack impact, context, or veracity.
creates challenges in photography. It creates • If the model is not exceptionally expressive or outstanding,
a bit of a girly-show impression, and girly you may have to take many images to get a keeper. Try hav-
magazines have many images along this vein. ing her turn her face away or close her eyes. Closed eyes may
Personally, I love girly magazines. Indeed many be even more beautiful on some subjects than open eyes.
of us aspire to shoot images similar to those in
a magazine like Playboy.
In the pages of girly magazines, in movies, at softened. Many viewers will feel safer looking at
strip clubs, and perhaps with our lovers or close her while she looks away.
friends, we may find beautiful women looking The final image is obviously of the same
directly into our eyes. Be aware of this and use beautiful girl, with beautiful eyes, looking
this knowledge to create striking images. directly at us. She is wearing the nicest bit
of body paint, which I enjoy very much and
Assessing the Images
Notice how easy it is to look at the image
below on the left. The model with eyes closed Tech Specs >
looking down and away can generate any Camera: Nikon D90
number of possible stories in the viewer’s mind. Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR 2 @ 105mm
Many people will feel more comfortable with Effective focal length: 157.5mm
this image than with the final image (facing Exposure: 1⁄60 second, f/8, and ISO 200
page), even if framed to include the breasts. By MUA / Body paint: Visualize Creativity
having the subject looking away, the image was

Even though it’s not the most

powerful, this demure image
is the most universally
appealing image of this set. It
might be easily used in
advertising, or might be on a
wall somewhere. This is often
an unexpected crowd pleaser,
so try having the model close
her eyes.

Alternate pose

34 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
which the model may also
appreciate. It differs from
the easy-to-look-at image
with the model looking
away. Note the contrast
in this final image, where
she looks back, challeng-
ing the viewer.
While the model was
nude, notice how your
eyes go first to her eyes,
and keep going back to
her eyes. The eyes and
lips are so compelling
that we don’t instantly
notice that she is nude
but for a bit of paint on
her all-but-forgotten,
perfectly perky breasts.
This image demon-
strates the power of faces,
especially beautiful or
expressive faces, with
openly challenging eyes
looking at the camera.
This model is so beauti-
ful that she almost cannot
take a bad portrait. Yet
look at the right-hand
image on the facing
page. While she is clearly
beautiful, the expression
is neither as effective nor
as captivating as it should
be for a final image. When
we have a weaker image,
we start to notice things
like her left palm and her
A beautiful portrait of a beautiful woman in body paint, whose appeal, to
right nipple, maybe even
people who don’t know her, as a print they wish to own, is rather limited.
her armpit. Expressions count.

This image demonstrates the power of faces . . .

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 35
16 Hotel Rooms

New Surroundings Inspire touch of fill from the reflector, was all that was
Look for a location that is something other needed to pull out a very sexy image (facing page).
than the same old backdrop or the same tired Wide-angle lenses are a favorite of mine, and
surroundings of your home or studio to inject here I used the Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8. When
a new feel into your images. Try a hotel room, shooting with crop-sensor cameras—I often use
a room where you live, or set up a shoot while Nikons—I love this lens and used it success-
out of town. Just being in new surroundings fully on many shoots, without complaint. I did
inspires me. Hotel rooms are a great, inexpesive have an issue when I tried using it on a Nikon
way to expand your location-shooting looks. D3100. The D3100 body will not autofocus
If traveling to another location, it probably this lens, as there is no servomotor built in.
means that new model and talent arrangements Here I used a Nikon D7000 and focusing was
may be made, making for a double win. This not an issue.
model was found using a casting call on Model
Mayhem before a planned trip.
Experimenting
Equipment As lighting in a room may be on the dark side, try setting up
Traveling light, I had only my camera, a 5-in-1 your shots near the largest window. Windows themselves,
as with these images, can make a lovely backdrop. Curtains
style 42-inch collapsible reflector, and a couple
may be a nice prop touch, too. In the images on this page,
of lenses—all anyone needs for great shots. The
note that the curtain’s colored patterns are too busy and
available light from the window, with perhaps a distracting. After the shoot, cropping the curtains out or down
created issues with the window frame becoming obviously
The distracting reds and greens of the curtain pull the eye
non-square, or the lines of the window frame then seeming to
away from the subject in the full color original.
more prominently cut the model at the knees.
Cropping closer creates distractions where the window Try black & white. Working in black & white eliminates a
frame becomes obviously not square. number of distracting colors. We can now focus on the sinewy,
smooth S curve of the model, from her hand to the tip of her
platform-shoed toe. She seems impossibly curvy, yes? The
model’s curves are in stark contrast to the strong vertical and
horizontal lines of the window frame. In the final cropping, the
curtains, with a slight vignette, soften the feel of the image
periphery, while our eyes are drawn to the model and her
outline against the stark whitish window light.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8 @ 14mm
Effective focal length: 21mm
Exposure: 1⁄320 second, f/4.5, and ISO 800

36 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 37
17 Assemble Team Alice

Teams and Roles

In photographing female nudes, the models know
they are being photographed. This is the case
in most/all ethical nude photography pursuits.
In photographing people who know they are
beauty dish
being photographed, we are effectively involved
main
in a team effort working to produce a picture
together. As the photographer, we are generally
the chief cook, bottle washer, and director.
As director, we are generally orchestrat-
ing the production of our team of players.
Each member of the team can be a valuable
contributor. In the case of many great shots, ceiling bounced fill and side-wall bounced fill
the team may include makeup artists, hair and background light and background light
prop people, retouchers, Photoshop wizards,
printers, art directors, set designers, and so on. The Alice Team
Even if it is just a photographer and a model, Several Photoshop wizards were consulted to
we have teamwork going on. Assemble and come up with various Alice themes—but one
surround yourself with the best teams of people photo-manipulation professional, No Regretz,
you are able to gather, and your road to success was the stand-out winner of the bunch. The
will be substantially smoother. creation of the image, Alice, included a large
team. Key among these was Visualize Creativity,
Tech Specs > who acted as body painter, makeup stylist, prop
Camera: Nikon D90 stylist and wardrobe stylist. Further, the initial
Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR1 @ 29mm Mad Hatter/Alice in Wonderland theme was
Effective focal length: 43.5mm largely orchestrated between the body painter
Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/10, and ISO 200
and model. As the photog-
rapher/director, I remained
always in control of the overall
process. Once the group for
Alice was assembled and the
paint was on, which took about
4 hours to apply, shooting
began on a large white muslin

The whole shoot was done on cheap

white muslin from a fabric store.

Notice the cluttered, non-directed look

of the frame’s upper-right elements.
Small adjustments here made a big
38 ALTERNATIVE NUDES difference in the final look.
background. I got
the background
inexpensively by
buying the widest
available material
from a fabric outlet.
Alice is a crowd-
pleasing favorite. It
has been produced
as 4x6- to 36x54-
inch prints. The
image always draws
attention wherever it
hangs.
The right-hand
image on the facing
page is the initial
proof from No
Regretz. Notice
the right side of the
image? The curved
blinds are not draw-
ing the eye properly
into the frame.
The playing card
is also distracting,
attracting too much
attention. A couple
of quick comments
to No Regretz and
the revised image
was much closer to
completion. The
image still required
some delicate touch-
ups here and there
on the skin and
in the details. All
responsibilities for
the final image were
mine, acting as the
photographer and coordinator.
As director, we are generally orchestrating
Thank you, team! the production of our team of players.
18 Mirroring of Forms

Forms and Textures

Often in photography, we mirror or juxtapose
forms and textures. In this image, Hatchlings, I
have taken my theme along several axes. First,
the forms in the image are repetitive smooth
curves. I have created a slightly sepia and
two-tone look in my post-processing. This has
given the yet egg-colored egg a color cast that
is closer in tone to the skin, which in the final
expression looks tanned.

Hatchlings brings together

two separate objects having a Sharply defined shadow edge was cast by the
egg. A tightly gridded strobe raked across the
similar function . . . skin and egg to enhance textures, bringing out
curvature details of both belly and egg.
Second, I sought to accentuate the textures
on the surface of the eggshell and the taut,
slightly goose-fleshed skin on the belly. These
textures were emphasized by the use of a Tech Specs >
single, dramatically hard, gridded spotlight that Camera: Nikon D7000
was positioned to rake across the egg and belly Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S @ 48mm
from the upper left quadrant of the frame. Effective focal length: 72mm
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/8, and ISO 100

Before cropping and

color treatment
along with slight
retouching of the
navel, the illusion
and effect were less
pronounced.

40 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Communicating the Theme The model had to lie on her back to keep the egg in place. Note
Many who view this image at first see a nipple the fine textures on the eggshell and skin.
on a breast. By coming in close and removing
many contextual reference points, the swol- Both belly and egg represent fecundity and
len belly, which natural though it is, is a rare the ripeness of womb in life’s circle. Hatchlings
and unusual sight in modern America, where brings together two separate objects hav-
interestingly we see many more breasts. Many ing a similar function, and the viewer sees the
heads turn away too soon to see what is truly abstractions of their texture and forms echoed
here. Those that linger are often delightfully in each other.
and smilingly surprised.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 41
19 Shallow Focus

Lenses and Reduced Depth of Field an f/1.8 and an f/1.2 is seldom noticeable
Reducing the depth of field by shooting with beyond f/4. In the days of film photography,
wide apertures can provide worlds of interest- we dreamt of having an f/1.4 or f/1.2 so we
ing images when shooting nudes. I almost could have enough light to capture an image.
never shoot wider than f/1.8 when shooting With digital photography, we can shoot eas-
normal and telephoto lenses and seldom wider ily and clearly at ISOs of 800 on up, and even
into ISO 3200 for many shots. This greatly
diminishes the value that ultra-fast normal-to-
Reducing the depth of field medium telephoto lenses had once provided
still photographers.
creates softened details, The depth of field on an 85mm lens at f/1.2
where the viewer can fill in is very shallow. It is extremely difficult to get
both of the subject’s eyes in focus—and even
with their mind’s eye. more so with any head twist or tilt in a head-
and-shoulders type shot. The plane of focus
is so extremely thin, I find it frustrating even
than f/2. So, I do not see the point of some- trying to focus both.
thing like a 85mm f/1.2 in the realm of digital Lenses slower than f/2.8 tend to focus more
photography. While the fastest lenses tend to slowly and create darker viewfinder images. So
be sharper, the degree of sharpness between there is definite value to fast glass when you
mean f/2.8. Also, when you get wider than say
50mm, for example, 35mm or a 24mm, then
f/1.4 may play a useful role as this will counter-
act the depth-of-field increases of wider lenses.

This Image
This lovely image was shot at f/2.5 using a
50mm Nikon f/1.4D, a very sharp lens, if one
stops down past f/2. Notice how the depth of
field just covered the model’s lips and started to
soften past her nose toward the foreground and
her chin toward the background.

Tech Specs >

The main light was diffuse window light. The dark com- Camera: Nikon D7000
plexioned model was lying on white sheets. A reflector Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4D
provided smooth even fill. Effective focal length: 75mm
Exposure: 1⁄400 second, f/2.5, and ISO 800

42 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 Reducing the depth of field creates softened This is about as shallow as I typically like my depth of field. By the
details, where the viewer can fill in with their time we fade down to nipples, we have a clear hint of their blurry
mind’s eye what may or may not be happening presence. At the thighs, there is only assumption and mystery
in an image. It also serves to refine details that that makes us imagine and linger.
might otherwise be considered more vulgar if
totally in focus. In effect, the model is clothed get until you take the exposure. Many cameras
in a very sexy soft focus. actually show an image around f/2.8 in their
finders, then open up, or stop down the iris
Shallow Focus automatically when you release the shutter to
Shallow focus can work to improve the con- capture the image. You will have to see how
tent of an image by hiding any variety of sins, you and your equipment are performing.
such as unsightly backgrounds or parts of the Experiment with different depth of fields
model you may wish to have out of focus due by varying your aperture and focus points, and
to distracting marks, blemishes, and so on. shift perspective by moving your vantage point
Conversely, one can focus clearly on the wom- around. In shooting shallow focus, any slight
anly parts, and let the face go anonymously variation in aperture, focus point, or perspec-
out of focus. tive will provide markedly varied results. Focus
In shooting shallow focus, use the back of may work best on an automatic setting, but try
your screen and vary your focus points, as it manual, too. You may be greatly pleased.
is very difficult to know exactly what you will

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 43
20 Guerilla Shooting: Strong Lines

The Setting/Location critical, and perfecting the pose was not possi-
This guerilla-style shot took some care and fast ble in the time allotted, I had the model slowly
shooting to pull off. A private room was just crawl along the hallway, while I followed, hand-
out of the frame with door ajar. Our ears were holding the camera, closely behind.
cocked for any sound that might indicate a door
opening, or people approaching. A bathrobe The Pose and Model
was within arms reach. If you shoot guerilla, The pose was contrived to accentuate the
make sure you stay legal. That said, it could feeling of fast receding depth. This was accom-
provide some really unusual and therefore out- plished in part by having the model keep her
standing shots when you get them right. butt up and lowering her shoulders. If she
dropped her head, it created a disembodied
Strong Lines look, so she kept her head held high, which also
The graphics of recurring strong diagonal pat- really shows off her lovely head of hair. This
terns in flooring, strong slanted vertical lines in model already has a long shapely body. Her
wall décor, the wall edges at door cut-outs, and long body works well to enhance the infinite
the corridor’s converging lines suggestive of a feel of the hallway. A shorter or wider model
railroad track lines that eventually meet on the would not have worked as well with this hall-
horizon, were all too irresistible not to hazard way and pose.
getting this shot.
The best lines and flow occurred with the Desaturate
model’s legs staggered as shown. As time was Much of the image has been desaturated, except
for the hallway flooring. The green and contrast-
Tech Specs > ing lavender create a subtle pull, which I found
Camera: Nikon D7000 pleasing to retain. As you can see from the image
Lens / focal length: Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8 @ 11mm
on the facing page, color added confusion to the
Effective focal length: 16.5mm
scene. Desaturating had the effect of increasing
Exposure: 1⁄30 second, f/4, and ISO 800
the impact of form versus the chaos of color.
Black & white conversion, or desaturation, can
often rescue an image shot in complex surround-
ings. Knowing this, if the graphical elements
are in place, take the shot anyway and see how
it looks in black & white. Try previewing it on
your camera preview screen, if your camera has a
black & white feature.

Lighting was unmodified available light, so it had a strong yellow

tungsten cast. This original image just looks like a dark, useless,
muddled mess. Notice, too, how the end of the corridor degrades
the infinite feel of the final piece, where the distracting rear wall
has been cropped away. Learn to see the image for what it can be
and work toward that end.
44 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Lens and Lighting I were moving. The 1⁄30-second shutter speed
Use of ultra-wide-angle lens further increases caused a few of my frames to be blurry due to
the sense of perspective and depth, which was either motion blur or camera movement. I shot
exactly the feeling I was going for. Lighting was as fast as I could to get a keeper shot, and I am
low, time was short, and both the model and pleased with my results.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 45
21 Lighting a Model on a Car Engine

Challenging to Light
While it may not be immediately obvious until A 7-foot reflective umbrella lit the floor and right front
you try, lighting models in cars can be very fender. A softbox lit the interior of the hood, engine com-
challenging. Cars have small compartments partment, and model’s left side.
surrounded by metal and glass. All of the metal An overhead skylight
creates obstacles to light and limits camera provided mid-day sun.
angles, placing restrictions on camera place-
ment in the cramped car cabins and such. The
glass creates obstacles that are difficult to pho-
tograph through, as glass bends light creating
reflections and other effects.

The Car
This 1955 fully restored and custom-painted
T-Bird was one of the easiest cars to light. What
made the T-Bird easy is twofold. First, it was a
Teal gelled strobe
convertible, and the cabin had easy access from
intensified color on
the top and easier access from sides. Second, left quarter panel and 47-inch Octobox lit the interior
its hood opened forward. As you can see in the on the model. of car through the open door
image, I could shoot the engine compartment and provided fill for model.
from inside the car.

Positioning
In the case of Funz, who is an extremely ath-
letic model, we were able to balance her on
one foot on top of the supercharger. I precisely
positioned her right hand about twelve inches
in front of my lens to get the exact framing I
was looking for.

Lighting
Placing a teal gelled strobe at about the top of
the driver’s door created the teal color on the
model’s right side. There was a large parabolic
reflecting 7-foot Paul C. Buff umbrella in front
of the car hood. This gave some light and

Notice that all the colors in the final image

are in this unretouched image.

46 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
definition to the shop floor, and it also
created that nice highlight on the right-
front headlight housing area.
There was a skylight above. It was
midday. The sun was beating through
pretty hard. You can see its catchlight
in the shift column. While the impact
of light is minor on non-reflective
surfaces, any light will show bright on
reflective surfaces. The effect needs to
be a pleasing one, as it is here, on your
overall composition.
The main cabin light comes from
a 47-inch octobox placed just next to
the car at about eye level to the model.
The right car door was open to allow
light to enter the lower parts of the
passenger compartment. The driver’s
door was left closed to keep the teal
light away from this beautifully textured
white interior.
Finally, there was a small softbox
just ahead of the windshield to light
the engine compartment and car hood.
Without this light, there would have
been unsightly shadows cast by the
model from the octobox onto the hood.

Postproduction
Note the image as first shot (facing page)
with the original colors. Many people
believe that the colors of the car and
There was a black area by the driver’s seat that was my left foot. I succeeded
model were created in Photoshop, but
in removing it in postproduction.
the basic colors existed in the original file.
Initially, One Stop Photoshop had intensified
Tech Specs >
the colors a little and provided an undersized
Camera: Nikon D90
file, which proved too small for the size prints
Lens: Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8 @ 13mm (effective: 19.5)
I wished to make. The color intensification Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/7.1, and ISO 200
process was simply to play with Photoshop Body paint: Lalo Cota and Thomas Breeze Marcus
HDR filters, contrasts, saturation, and vibrancy MUA: Vicki Vong
settings until I got the final image. Hair styling: Nancy DeOrta and Custom Car: Widow Industries

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 47
22 Open Shade
Focusing section 19 about the challenges of shooting
These shots were taken in open shade with a shallow focus using ultra-fast, wide-angle
a Nikon 85mm f/1.4D lens at f/1.4 using a lenses. However when it works, it is worth it.
crop-sensor body making the effective focal In this image the focus was acceptable, and the
length 127.5mm, though with the depth of fast fade of the focus made the image sensual
focus of an 85mm lens. Everything is true in and sexy instead of tactlessly graphic.
The price to pay for shooting shallow focus
The set of eyes from the main image is the lower left. Only the was many unusable frames. While the final
lower-right image was tack sharp. Shooting at f/1.4, only image is quite lovely, look closely at the image
10–20 percent of the shots randomly had the focus point where to the left. The eyes are various degrees of
I desired them. blurry in all but the lower-right image. My
focus was on the eyes in each image; only one
of these was tack sharp. That is why photog-
raphers get a 85mm lens; it is supposed to be
sharp. And it is, if you can get the focus right
on. This is not easy for a moving subject like a
model, or while handholding the camera. To
have a successful shot, it is best to have focus
points in the viewfinder where you need them.
Tech Specs > Turning the subject’s face up toward the openly shaded sky
Camera: Nikon D7000 reduces unsightly shadows on the face. To achieve this, be sure
Lens: Nikon 85mm f/1.4D you can get your camera angle right. I was shooting down from
Effective focal length: 127.5mm a stepladder.
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/1.4, and ISO 100

6-foot earth tone wall 3-foot earth

North tone wall

Camera angled down

from ladder.

The building (right foreground) and the two walls

(behind and angled left of the model) were earth-toned.
They both served to reflect light.

48 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 About one in five images was truly
focused. I am pretty good at getting
the eyes in focus. It is my objective.
Lots of pretty poses get ruined due
to poor focus. Moving to black &
white and bumping up contrast helps
increase the appearance of sharpness.

Open Shade Solutions

You have covered or closed shade
if the subject is in shade under an
overhang. If your subject is shaded
by a vertical structure, like the side
of a building, truck, or cliff with
no overhead shading, overhang, or
covering, that is open shade.
Open shade is a soft light with
a generally overhead direction. It
casts shadows under eyelids and
other facial features. There are two
easy solutions to these undesired
shadows. One is to have the model
turn her face up toward the open
sky as in the facing-page (bottom)
image. The light hits her more
directly on the face. Open shade
also tends to have a bluish cast,
so watch your color balance. This
image was desaturated toward black
& white in postproduction, so it
was not a concern.
A second solution is to use fill
light to open up undesired shadows.
This can be done with fill flash, or Note the direction of shadows on smile lines, under breasts and
when shooting outdoors with reflectors. by ribs. Main lighting is visibly from the open sky above.
Remember, buildings, walls, and other sur-
faces act as reflectors. Light-colored walls work feet away. The whole space was less than 6-feet
great. Dark colors work to darken that side of wide, and yet it was perfectly sized. Based on
your image. Any color on walls will cast into the available choices of space and light, I found
your image. the best space with optimal light that I could
With these images, I had the model with her use and modify. I used two 3.5x6-foot reflec-
back to the open sky and facing a light earth tors, one on either side of the model, to kick
tone building from which she sat only a couple light back toward her front.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 49
23 Creative Impulse

My Creative Impulse
Creative impulse can come from anywhere. The
way I cook often has me rummaging through
the kitchen and mixing and matching to taste
what is there until something delicious comes
out. At other times, I will have the end in
mind before I start. The same is true for my
photography. My creative impulse comes from

Beautiful image of a beautiful woman, yet totally lacking

the context of Makossa.

7-foot reflective umbrella with diffuser placed

about 12 inches above models’ eye level.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4D
Effective focal length: 75mm
Exposure: 1⁄80 second, f/8, and ISO 200
Body paint / MUA: Visualize Creativity

Color renditions proved very

difficult to balance out the
skin tones and tan lines
around the eyes. Notice how
white the woman’s hands
look, and how they draw
attention away from the
faces toward frame right.

This exposure was a

compromise to keep detail
in the whites.

50 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 seeing my models and sur-
roundings, and then mixing
until something beautiful comes
out. At other times, I may have
something in mind and put the
elements in place to recreate my
mental image.

Inspiration
In the case of Makossa, named
after the Michael Jackson song,
I knew what I wanted before
I started. I had seen photo-
graphs of a model with a zipper
that had two different pat-
terns painted on the inside and
outside—like peeling a banana.
It came to me that we often say
we are all the same inside, and I
wished to say this with a visual
metaphor.
Makossa is a Liberian word
for a type of dance in which
the dancers spin like peeling a
vegetable. The similarity of the
metaphor and the zipper still
gives me tingles.

Looking closely, you can see that the

makeup ends about an inch into her hair
line. Only I tend to see this, so I haven’t
decided to fix it in post yet.

The Process dark-skinned and light-skinned subjects together presents chal-

The casting call for models drew lots of interest as the theme had lenges like not blowing out the whites while preserving details
mass appeal. I looked for a light-skinned female with light-colored in the blacks. See how the darkest shadows on the male are
eyes and a dark-skinned, dark-eyed male to pose with her. underexposed?
The body painter was instructed to make the female model’s The final image was printed in both black & white and color.
skin inside the zipper as close to the male model’s skin tone as While I originally wished to do it in color, Makossa has turned out
possible. The zipper was glued in place. She also tried to take down to be more powerful in black & white. Printed large or small, it
skin shine on the male model. Unfortunately, he had just been out seems to move people, and that is heartwarming for me.
in the sun with sunglasses the weekend before the shoot. Notice If you see something that grabs your attention, mix it with
the tan lines by his eyes. This did not matter; we had a plan, a something else to create an image uniquely your own. Blending
team, and went to work. ideas is not plagiarizing or copying; rather you are building
On dark-skinned subjects we photograph highlights; on higher, creating something uniquely ALTERNATIVE
yours and new. TryNUDES
mixing 51
light-skinned subjects we photograph low lights. Photographing two themes in a creative impulse, and see where it takes you.
 24 Keys to Boudoir Success

Mastering Boudoir Photography Mastering boudoir is a huge subject, and I

Boudoir is very popular these days, and it is mention only a few key points. Keep in mind
one of the few areas where professional pho- that the depth of skill required for success will
tographers can still have profitable livelihoods. be gained through mastery of each of these
While a guy with a camera can take naughty concepts and practice.
pictures of his friends and girlfriends, it takes
dedication, thought, and skill to pull off bou- About This Image
doir sessions reliably. The shot of the woman’s back shows nothing
of her front, legs, hands, face, or breasts. Our
mind’s eye fills in those parts. We see her as
merely lovely. With boudoir, it is acceptable,
even desirable, to create mysterious shots like
this. Many clients wish to show their face with
a hint of body—or to show their body without
identifying facial features. For best results, pick
only the best features for each shot.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Large softbox skimmed across model’s back. Gridded strobe Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S
fill light was directed on the pearls and dark side of model. Effective focal length: 48mm / 72mm
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, at f/8.0, and ISO 100

Keys to Success how to de-emphasize the less-than-pretty parts using the poses
• Particular to shooting boudoir, we will often be working with subjects you have chosen.
who are not professional models and who may be advancing in years. • Choice of camera angles are often key. Shooting low lengthens
As always, we are looking for each woman’s best features. Those that legs and may conceal something on the torso. Shooting from
may not be her best, we adroitly de-emphasize through combinations above may work great for a woman with large beautiful breasts,
of proper posing, lighting, concealment with props, camera angles, which may be used to shield belly or even thigh areas.
lens perspective distortions, proper upbeat banter, and postproduc- • Lens perspective may help or hurt you. Control depth of field and
tion. These are a lot of areas to master, and missteps in any one area choice of wide angle versus telephoto for emphasizing what you
could seriously impact a woman’s self-image, or view of photography, will and eliminating or distorting flatteringly what you won’t. Use
or of you the photographer. depth of field and lens choices to emphasize the positive or distort
• Use lighting to hide unflattering elements with darkness and shadows. areas into something more flattering
• Props and wardrobe are used to cover scars or excessive flesh. • In postproduction, expect to touch up skin. Keep it real looking; avoid
Remember, anything can be a prop: chairs, hairbrushes, silk sheets, the plastic look. Use Liquefy function if you must. Do it sparingly and
hats, and so on. note that it will work poorly with complicated backgrounds. A quick
• Poses must be chosen that best show the assets and hide the less desir- trick that often works is the Free Transform function to make the
able areas. For example, do not shoot right at stretch marks, where model perhaps 5 percent thinner just by changing the image aspect
an arm might be posed to cover them. In photographing the average ratio a tiny bit.
nude woman, you cannot just choose the latest pose used with a • Finally, make sure you keep your banter upbeat, positive and pro-
52 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
professional model you saw online. Know a set of great poses, and be fessional as discussed in section 25. Boudoir carries a responsibility
able to pick the right pose for the woman who is your subject. Know to make average women look like models.
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 53
 25 The Role of Banter

Listen and Learn Directing Beauty

When photographing, enough cannot be said If you must flirt, be sure you know how. That
about the impact of effective verbal banter to is, if your flirtation can be seen as offensive, do
the success or failure of the shoot. One of the not do it. While a slight bit of flirting may get
the expression you desire, take care knowing
We are dealing with naked who is in the room. A woman may be comfort-
able flirting with you alone where she would
egos that are easily bruised not if her friends or family were present. Always
by our words. remember, this is a kind of acting. If your sub-
ject starts to think you are really after her, you
things I carefully study when observing a fel- may offend her considerably.
low portrait photographer is their banter. It When her significant other is present, asking
is not just what they say, it is how they say it, the woman to direct her flirtation toward him
when they say it, and how they deliver it. It may help. I often have the significant other
is also very personal. Some can get away with stand exactly where I’d like the woman to gaze,
saying things others simply cannot. You have and then direct her to flirt with him through
to acquire your own communication style. her expressions and eyes. Do not let the subject
But you and I can get ideas and inspiration start talking. It affects the shape of he mouth,
from others. Sit quietly while any pro works usually ruining the shots.
their magic. Listen and learn. There is always Do not fawn. Do not go on and on about
something to gather, appreciate, and to tweak how beautiful this woman is. When you tell
into my own banter.

General Rules
When dealing with nude or semi-nude women counting on us to make
them feel good about themselves, we are dealing with naked egos that
are easily bruised by our words. General rules are: we must not say any- Gridded strip box
thing like, “ooops,” or “that’s not right!” or “UGLY!” That is, unless you can placed on boom
make a joke out of it. And you better know you are funny before you try.
The natural tendency is for subjects to take anything we say under
our breath or out loud as a personal poor reflection on their otherwise
beautiful selves. This is especially tricky when we have camera malfunc-
tions and express our frustration through voice, tone, or body language.
Work to keep the session upbeat at all times. The right music helps a
lot. But make sure the subject can still hear your direction over any
A gridded strobe at camera left was aimed on the
background studio sounds. This is necessary to keep communication open
neck and hands. A gridded strip box on a boom
as well as for safety. Do be sure to say things like,” Beautiful, that’s it! Very
was positioned above the model’s knees.
good, gorgeous.”

54 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
them they are beautiful, it is because you as way. Getting a pose like the one seen in Ravish
a photographer identify beauty every day. (above) requires quite a rapport and trust. The
Beautiful is something you say as an artist, as model does not usually curl up on the sofa that
an admirer of beauty, as an expert in beauty. way, even with proper direction and banter. It
Think stylist, not creepy guy looking for a just looks like she does.
date. If you cannot do it, do not. You’ll get She might be hearing, “Pull your knees
yourself into trouble. tighter to your chest—good. Point your toes.
How do you tell a woman she is beautiful Beautiful. Arch your back a bit more. Gorgeous.
without drooling? Be all about the beautiful Lovely, stay right there. I’m moving. Stay
portraits you two are working to create. Be there. Stay there. Got it. Great work. Open
about the images. Make sure she knows it is your mouth a bit wider. Good. A little less. Yes.
all about the beautiful images of her beautiful That’s it. Now a bit more pressure with your
self. Then, she may show you what you need to right hand.” And so on.
capture your images.
Without the right banter, a shoot can quickly
TECH SPECS >
lose energy, and that will be evident in the
Camera: Nikon D7000
images. Any missteps in your banter and tone
Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S
could ruin a woman’s self-confidence and
Focal/Effective: 31mm / 46.5mm
temper the memory of her experience with Exposure: 1⁄250 second, at f/10.0, and ISO 100
you the photographer who made her feel this

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 55
26 Painterly Pinup

My Goal
Since youth, with glances at Playboy magazine
and the like, I’ve always been drawn to pinups
in the style of Vargas, Olivia, and others.
These image styles have an airbrushed qual-
ity to the skin, and the models are often set
in stark backgrounds, perhaps white, black, or
otherwise monotone.
My goal was to create a process that gives
a painterly pinup feel to photography. With
the process I created, I found that the model
An AlienBees B800 with a large gridded softbox was the main
must have a fair-degree of skin showing. The
light. A gridded White Lightning 3200 was bounced off the ceil-
smoothness of skin is part of what gives the ing for main fill. The 10x20-foot white vinyl backdrop provided
whole air-brushed effect. If the model is wear- plenty of reflected fill.
ing too much covering, there isn’t enough skin
exposed to give that smooth skin feel. You can
experiment with clothing and props; just leave
Tech Specs >
quite a bit of skin exposed. Remember, even
Camera: Nikon D7000
a corset or stockings, sexy though they are, Lens: Nikon 70–200 f/2.8 VR2 @ 92mm
cover some skin. Use too much in the way of Effective focal length: 138mm
clothing and the smoothing of this technique Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/6.3, and ISO 100
will not work right.

Image as shot.
The Painterly Process
The painterly process applied is a matter of taste, and may be
developed for other backgrounds. I prefer to shoot on a plain
white, high-key background with lighting that is much flatter
than my usual lighting. Specifically, the lighting ratios are kept
fairly low, which feels much flatter and more uniform across the
skin. I feel this helps keep the skin smoother, more airbrush-like,
across the model’s whole body.
Taking the image into Photoshop, I retouch as I normally
would. Aside from some extra skin smoothing, I refine the image
using my standard workflow.
Then, a Bleach Bypass filter is run. I like to use Nik Color Efex
4’s Bleach Bypass filter. I’ve played with the settings to give me
the Vargas look I’m going for. The actual settings are a matter of
personal taste. I know it when I get close to it—and so will you.
Masking layers are used to adjust contrast, levels, and bright-
ness to get the image to pop. Again, it is a matter of taste.
The last step for this image was to drop in the classic pinup
background, which was done by masking out the foreground and
adding a couple layers of background. Try it—it’s fun.
Our model was lightly propped, showing plenty of skin. When smoothed and treated in postproduction, we get that airbrushed feel.
27 Two-Light Setup

Direction of Light
In the image The Truth of Dreams, the model
was lying on her back restfully with a 22-inch
gridded beauty dish main light pointing from
above, slightly toward the top of and to her
face’s right.

Without fill, the shadows

would have been deeper, with
the mood more dramatic . . .

With closed eyes there are no catchlights.

We can see the direction of the main light by Both lights were gridded
looking at shadows. Shadows were cast under
her nose, brow, and fingers. Down her body,
This image shows true catchlights, captured in the exposure, and
gentle, shadowy curves appear under her
gives an indication of skin condition. Skin condition helps
breasts and subtle shadows under her ribs are determine if our light needs to be softer or if it can be harder. Head
visible to give pleasing form. position was somewhere between the other two images. From the
size of catchlights in the iris, we see that the beauty dish was about
This image has the same lighting setup as the main image. 5 to 7 feet away from the model.
While the model’s body was in exactly the same position,
her head and arms had moved. This image was a false
teaser shot on lighting. The catchlights in the model’s
eyes have been processed into artificial, though pleasing
patterns. The head was turned more toward model’s right.
And so, the light appears to be hitting her almost exactly
face on.

58 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Lighting Adjustments Closed eyelids, titling head, and the “Veritas” tattoo, lovely red
Slight tilts of the head can make for dramatic lacings, and eye shadow applied by our MUA, have made The
variations in the final image. Not just because Truth of Dreams a popular fine art piece by allowing the viewer
they change affective expression, but also they to imagine their own contexts.
markedly alter the effect and direction of point
light sources. The fill light, which we hand-
held, was visible as a smaller catchlight almost
on axis with the camera, just to the right of
Tech Specs >
and almost directly over the model. Without
Body: Nikon D7000
fill, the shadows would have been deeper, with
Lens: Nikon EF-S 17–55mm f/2.8 @ 34mm
the mood more dramatic, less dream-like, more
Effective focal length: 51mm
nightmarish perhaps. One may always experi- Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/8, and ISO 100
ment by adjusting fill flash power settings to Main: 22-inch gridded beauty dish
get just the degree of contour and shadow Fill: 7-inch gridded cone reflector
desired for different moods. MUA: Visualize Creativity

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 59
 28 Two Rim Lights
Low-Key and Rim Lighting the model’s perifery from the dark background.
Low-key lighting means we are shooting against Gridded strip boxes are my favorite kind of rim
a dark backdrop and so are separating our sub- light. Strips are, after all, shaped like rims—
ject by means of how light they appear versus elongated. Additionally, grids collimate and
this dark setting. further enhance the strip-like quality, thus keep-
Often my initial low-key stage is set using ing the light falling evenly on the subject, while
rim lighting. Rim lighting helps create a fine, controlling spill and contrast. I have three strip
light/dark contrasting edge that acts to separate lights, and all have grids attached at all times. I
almost always use one of them, and frequently
employ all three.

Equipment
When lights are shining directly towards a lens,
as is often the case with rim and backlights,
gobos are often useful in controlling this flare,
as was the case here. Calumet’s 3.5x6-foot
reflectors can be either reflective silver or white
on one side and black on the other. Both reflec-
tor and gobo are used here. Here, they were
used double duty, as reflector and gobo both.

Tech Specs >

Camera body: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 85mm f/1.8G
Effective focal length: 127mm
Exposure: 1⁄250, f/5.6, and ISO 100
Main light: 10x36-inch gridded strip box
Rim light: 10x36-inch gridded strip box
Fill and gobo: two Calumet 3.5x6-foot reflectors
Posing aids: A-frame ladder to assist model in holding pose

Careful adjustment is needed to get the light sculpted just right.

Here, the left leg is shading the right leg. Note the bit of A-frame
ladder that is showing at the edge of the frame to camera left.
The model used the ladder to maintain balance, making her able
to hold the pose longer while I took shots. If it is not going to be
in the shot or does not block or reflect light in interrupting ways,
all kinds of things may (and do) happen outside the intended
final image frame.

60 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Technique
The amount of fill is
controlled by feath-
ering and is applied
according to taste. If
I desire no fill, I can
turn the black sides of
the reflectors toward
the lights or feather
carefully the reflections
away from my subjects.
If the black sides are
toward the lights, take
care not to then shine
light onto the reflective
backs and thus back
into the camera lens.
Nikon 85mm 1.8G
is arguably one of the
sharpest lenses ever
made. It was used here
at f/5.6. The effec-
tive focal length was
127mm, so I had taken
a step back to obtain
this framing. The depth
of field only needed
to cover the width of
two narrow dancer’s
legs, so f/5.6 provided
quite enough depth of
field to keep the legs in
focus. I did not wish to
have the background
come into sharp focus,
as this composition
was to be all about our
mature dancer’s beauti-
fully sculpted legs.
In this image, the complete setup was two rim lights plus
two combination reflector/gobos. The reflectors were
placed between the lights and the camera, which helped
keep lens flare under control.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 61
29 Lighting for Texture

Texture and Value This image, unretouched, shows how the light wraps behind the
In photographing shibari, a ritual form of model, and you can see there is a little detail on her dark side
Japanese rope bondage, texture and form are provided by a 3.5x6-foot rectangular stand-up Calumet
often center stage. With texture, think varying reflector. This image also shows how a slight shift of the focus
values, color like lighter reds with darker reds, point dramatically changes the image.
or in luminosity with variations in black and
white like dark grays with lighter grays. These
elements enhance our impression of textures by
creating a sense of variation in surface depth.
This shot was edited entirely in Adobe
Lightroom CC. The clarity slider bumped up
contrast, and a few blemishes were removed.
This along with conversion to black & white
served to bring up textural contrast between
the rope fibers and fine blonde body hairs jux-
taposed against the smooth planes of the young
model’s skin.

These elements enhance

our impression of textures
by creating a sense of
variation in surface depth.
Lighting
Lighting was set to enhance textural contrast
by skimming across the body. By using a single
light, in this case a gridded strip box to the
model’s left and slightly to her front, a bit of
wrap was achieved. Thus, her curves and the
shapes and textures in the rope are visible.

Tech Specs >

Body: Canon 5D Mark II
Lens: EF 100 f/2.8 Macro
Exposure: 1⁄160, f/8, and ISO 100 A gridded strip box was used to wrap the light.
Main: 10x36-inch strip box with grid A 3.5x6-foot reflector was used for fill.
Fill: Reflector

62 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Aperture
Considerations
Shooting at f/8 accommodated
enough depth of field at a very
sharp range for the lens. The
fine hairs on the model’s skin
and the fibers on the rope are
sharp and stand out. Often f/8
will provide enough depth.
Stopping down too much
further when we need more
depth often comes at a loss of
sharpness. Conversely, opening
up the aperture would have
created too shallow a focus
range when we are trying to
focus across the width of the
model’s torso as in this image.
If you look closely, the left
side of the image is already
experiencing a softening of
focus. In the case of this image,
the softness helps give a sense
of depth. It is, of course, open
to taste and experimentation.

Lighting
was set to
enhance
textural
contrast . . .

A 100mm Macro lens was used to allow focusing as close as I cared to get to perfectly frame the
shot. To get exactly the texture from the light and shadows, micro adjustments were made, first
on the light position and power, then by delicate, slight turns of the model’s body—to get just
the right amount of light skim. The light rims the model’s left, falling off across her body,
skimming the high points and the rope as it moves toward the model’s right.
 30 Unusual Poses

Inspiration and Improvised Materials

For this image, Hangin on a String of Pearls,
inspiration came from seeing a nude gymnast
bent backwards over a balance beam. I decided
to create my version using improvised materials.
I had a 12x4x96-inch board that would do
for a balance beam. The model draped herself
over as it was held in place using two stable
stools, which worked as sawhorses. The pose
needed to be held for a rather lengthy time. So
we placed towels under her back, where they
were hidden, to provide padding against the
board’s sharp edges. The main light was a 2.5x5-foot softbox set close to the
model to light her legs, arm, and side of neck. It was placed
The Unusual and Unexpected just ahead of and a little behind the model. A 2.5x5-foot
In a world full of images, the unusual and unex- softbox (camera left) provided fill. The camera was
pected have the ability to grab and hold viewers’ mounted on a tripod to preserve framing.
attention. These kinds of images excite me and
are part of why I hold a camera today. There is often a discrepancy between shooting
what we love, what people like to see, and what
people will buy. For the photographer, a balance
must be struck. I choose to shoot unusual poses
Receptive Models and Skillful Posing because I personally love them and I trust my pas-
Always take care, being respectful, in your approach to discussing nudes. sion will infect my viewers with excitement—and
Make sure your audience is open to discuss, see, or hear anything about tug at their purse strings, too!
your vision before you begin conversations about nudes or start showing
nude pictures to anyone. If the model looks anything under thirty, make Finishing Touch
sure she is over 18 before starting any discussion. The finishing touch of pearl strands provides
This model, a yoga instructor who shared my vision and excitement, a level of edginess juxtaposed with feelings of
was found sitting in a jewelry store. Dancers, yogis, and physically trained
elegance inherent in pearls. While the strands
people move in signature ways, which makes identifying them in a crowd
were a very inexpensive clutch of costume jew-
possible once you learn to recognize these particular movements.
elry, pearls in photographs tend to say “posh”
The most important type of flexibility for this pose was an open back
in order to bend backwards over the beam. As I like unusual poses, I will and may psychologically elevate an image
often ask what kind of unusual flexibility or talent my model has. Then, I significantly.
try to find a way to work their skills into the final product.
The next time you see an unusual pose, study it. Figure a way to make Tech Specs >
the pose yours. Execute your plan by finding a model, props, and set to Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
make it work your way. It may become one of your favorite works. Lens: Canon 70–200mm f/2.8 EF IS II
Focal length: 70mm
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/8.0, and ISO 100

64 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 65
31 Puppet Warp for Nudes

Photoshop Liquify and Puppet Warp while standing on one pointe. Everything is in
Photoshop’s Liquify tool should be used only the initial capture except the degree of “C” curve
where it will not create more problems than I desired. The model gave a great pose. Yet, I
it eliminates. When the Liquify tool is used desired more in the final image—to push visual
on complex backgrounds, such as patterns, it reality to the limit, while keeping it real looking.
creates a distortion that can be noticeable and
distracting. Liquify cannot be used on just any Puppet Warp, a Lifesaver
image. The Puppet Warp tool is similar in these The Puppet Warp tool can be a lifesaver if you
regards, as it stretches the fabric of any image need to bend a finger in or a leg out. Keep the
being transformed. wardrobe and background simple if you antici-
Due to background simplicity and only pate using warping or liquefaction. Using skin
smooth skin at the intended points of warping, or a smooth, white, unpatterned, non-wrinkled,
the image Ode de Joy was a perfect candidate Spandex-like, form-fitting fabric helps. Plan
for Puppet Warp. It was already great as shot, your poses, backgrounds, props, and wardrobe
and I did not need to thin out the model or accordingly.
bend her—though I did.
The Steps in Postproduction
Objective This series was part of my Painterly Pinup proj-
I was trying to get an ecstatic look, with the ect (as was the image in section 36) and each
model’s elated expression, while stretching with was post-treated similarly. Then I followed these
her back open in a reverse “C” shaped pose, all steps, first selecting part of the image and copy-
ing it onto a new layer and then proceeded to
Edit>Puppet Warp.
As illustrated in image A (facing page), I
started at the base and worked my way up.
The image of
the model was
pinned at the
knee, bending it
backwards a bit
more. Shown
in gray is the
model’s original
position. The
knee joint was
The main light, left, was a large softbox. The fill was pinned because
a large softbox on the right. A White Lightning 3200 it is a very
was bounced off the white angled ceiling for top fill
and background light.
Original shot.

66 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 A

C
natural place to create such a bend. Try to work shoulders and breasts, she has been bent back.
at natural joints, unless you desire an unnatural In image C, I took the most care, turning the
look or are delicate with your touch. wrist out and bending at the right elbow created
In image B, I pinned her just above the waist a potentially disfiguring moment. It took a few
bending backwards, while not allowing the tries to get the treatment precise. Work with lay-
perfect torso to distort unnaturally. The degree ers, and save your work when you are at a point
of bending becomes clear when you see how at where you might lose something valuable.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 67
32 Shooting Downtown

Make the Unexpected Believable throughout the image. Otherwise, the illusion
A nude in a setting you do not expect to see will be subtly lost. People may not know why
one is unusual and incredibly striking. However they do not believe the image; they just will not.
shooting nudes on location may require getting a
permit. Another relatively safe, non-offensive way My Process
is to shoot the city background, and then drop in I wanted to check out two tilt shift (TS-E)
a studio shot image of a nude using Photoshop. lenses Canon CPS lent me: the 17mm and the
Make the lighting on both images consistent. 24mm version II. I loved the 24mm, and it was
Bodies throw shadows and might reflect on used for the background. The camera was on a
things. Plan these details into your composi- tripod, facing north during the late afternoon
tion, and get all these effects of light consistent with sun falling low in the sky to camera left
and slightly behind the camera.
The main light in the studio-shot image
(opposite page, bottom right) was on camera
right to the front of the model. In Photoshop, I
transformed the studio image with a horizontal
flip, effectively changing the lighting direction
to be fairly consistent in direction to the city
shot’s lighting. Otherwise, the main lights in

Notice, when magnified, how the selection could have been

more careful. Also, the expression is not ideal. Also, notice how
the strong lines of the cityscape were in a harder light than the
smooth softer light on the model. Since scale was not increased
significantly, these issues were not a concern.

This shows the composite without cropping. The TS-E lens does
a great job straightening out all the orthogonal lines. A
rectilinear ultra-wide-angle lens like the Sigma 15mm can do
a similar job, with the click of a button in Lightroom. Or, use
any lens and shoot being mindful to match perspectives,
lighting, reflections, and shadows.

This was normally a

throw-away shot because I
cut off the toes and was still
adjusting lights. However,
since we were shooting up a
staircase in the composite
image, the toes needed to be
hidden in the final image, so
this was a perfect and
serviceable failure.
the composite images would have appeared to rotated my model a couple of degrees and
be coming from conflicting directions. skewed the image slightly in the lower right
I placed my model where the leading lines corner to get the lines perfectly orthogonal.
added most to the composition. In crop- Converting to black & white with Nik Silver
ping down to the more impactful image, I Efex Pro 2 was a final touch.

Scale Matters Tech Specs >

This image works well at about 12-inches tall, after about a City photo
half hour of work in Photoshop. Printed at 36-inches tall, the Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
illusion breaks down. I would have to do a better job selecting Lens: Canon 24mm f/3.5 TS-E II Lens
the model out of her background, as well as matching lighting Exposure: 1⁄50 second, f/11, and ISO 100
contrasts. The model was shot in softer light than the city. Studio photo
These cut out and contrast details break the illusion as we Camera: Nikon D90
zoom in. I intended this shot for page or web size, so it works Lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF-S
fine. Always check your image to see that it works at the scale Effective focal length: 75mm
you wish to display it. Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/8, and ISO 200

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 69
 33 Breaking Rules

Fundamentally Curious and Creative I like it. It is my vision. Maybe in a few years,
We as artists are curious about possibilities and it will catch on; all maternity will shift in this
driven by our curiosity to craft our dreams into direction. It does not matter—I do it for
reality. We learn what had been possible in the myself. Van Gogh was an artist whose works
past, and then move forward to create what is went unappreciated until his passing. And he
now only a concept. changed the world of art forever. Sometimes
Walk of life is not your typical maternity pho- art is about breaking rules. Many artists have
tograph. This is what happens with my mater- second jobs or create crafts to fund their art
nity shots. I get carried away with all the curves projects. Art is something we do because we
and lady parts, and it looks like a beautiful are driven to it and must do, whether society
naked-lady version of a Star Wars AT-ST walker. is ready or not.

Clearly, there was more in the
photo that could have been Tech Specs >
left in. Yet, my vision did not Camera: Nikon D7000
include these parts. I saw Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S
something else and removed Effective focal length: 35mm / 52.5mm
the distracting bits from my Exposure: 1⁄250 second, at f/6.3, and ISO 100
view.

The large softbox became the

main light in the final image
after cropping out the major
effect of the beauty dish.
The beauty dish was directed
on the head and shoulders,
providing some front fill even
after cropping. The gridded
strip supplied rim light.

Photography in the Realm of Art There are a lot of peculiar ideas out there that can help you take
As you look at the world—its images and your own—ask questions your work into the realm of art. Some of these ideas are standard;
and seek answers. Consider the ideas presented in this book and shared others are unconventional ones that may one day be accepted as
elsewhere. Copy, experiment, and create. Learn the rules, and then do it customary. Our round world was once seen as flat. There was art in flat
your own way by creating with your own particular view. Doing it your worlds and round worlds both. And there is art in quantum, string,
own way is where technique turns to art. and bling worlds too.
Seek knowledge from others, but inoculate yourself against the nebu- Rather than striving to correct the weird ideas of others, learn
lous, limiting perspectives of anyone who thinks their way is the only way. how to see and create images with your vision for yourself. Don’t let
70 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Your own unique way is the only way to create your art. Art is where you cre- anyone just tell you no. When your images please you, your friends,
ate something unique and new. Anything else is only craft and technique. clients, or posterity, the weird ideas of others will sort themselves out.
Postproduction for this image was done in a couple minutes, entirely in Lightroom. I cropped it
according to my vision and converted the shot to black & white.
34 The Light and Dark of It

Photograph Light A Handy Tool

In photography we photograph light, nudes Look at the light everywhere you go. Study
included. In a world with no light, there would its effects. Study the light in paintings,
be no photography. In total darkness a nude on sculptures, on furniture and on your
photo will look entirely black. Light is what we friends’ faces at restaurants, and how the
photograph. We use lights sources and modifi- light changes when they move their heads or
ers to record subjects within an environments. how it differs in various parts of a room. Ask
Become a student of light. Learn to see the yourself questions about the light, and then
light around you, to manipulate that light, and search out the answers.
to transform it into the images of your dreams. A great tool for this is your fist. Study the
Discover how to see the light in images you way light is in any location by noticing how
admire and in your own images. Realize why the light looks on your closed fist. Flip, turn,
you are not particularly drawn visually to cer- and move your wrist to different locations
tain pieces. Then, explore how to make images about you. Try this right now. The effective
that captivate you, by utilizing equipment, pro- changes in the light on a fist you knew so well
cess, and technique that support your vision. may astound you.

In this focused version, all the light comes from a north-facing The Answer Is in the Question
window on the left and bounced around from that point. Look at the light in these images. Can you tell
by studying what lighting was used? What ques-
tions are you asking yourself?
Learn to ask the right questions about an
image in your mind’s eye and your view of light
will become more keen. With dark surfaces
like leather, ask yourself about highlights. With
bright surfaces, ask yourself what you notice
about any shadows created and about the
brighter areas. Where is there less light or per-
haps light falloff? Do you see this white page,
or are you seeing the black print?
With shiny reflective surfaces, ask yourself
about the reflections you see of the actual light
source. When looking into eyes, we see reflec-
tions or catchlights. Catchlights give excellent
clues about the lights used for illumination.
Tech Specs > You might see a light’s shape, distance, or other
Camera: Nikon D7000
significant details within a catchlight.
Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S @ 45mm
Objects, such as limbs, heel of shoes, noses,
Effective focal length: 67.5mm
Exposure: 1⁄30 second, f/4.5, and ISO 320
and textures cast shadows. Shadows give an
important indication of the light’s direction
72 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
and its qualities such as degree of softness or Study the light here. There was no real postproduction work, just an
hardness. The length of the transition areas out-of-focus image that delighted me. What are the visual cues to
between light and dark tells a great deal about the light? There is plenty here to indicate exactly how the image was
the light’s hardness or softness, which can created. What questions are you asking yourself to reverse engineer
indicate the combined effect of the light’s the light? Create a list of questions for yourself about light.
size and/or distance from the subject. If the
light-to-dark transitions are abrupt, the light something is evenly lit, it is either facing the
is harder. If the transitions are longer and light directly, or has several lights casting onto
smoother, the light is softer. it, or it is very far from the main light source.
Ask yourself how the light varies across an If the light falls off quickly, the light is either
image. Ask about how the color of light var- very close, or you are in a transition area of the
ies or is impacted by objects, light sources, and light beam, like at the edge of a flashlight beam,
things it shines on or reflects off. How fast does where the light itself is going from light to dark
the light fall off? quickly. Having the right questions will help
Falloff follows the inverse-square rule; the you see light more clearly.
closer to a source, the faster light falls off. If
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 73
35 Work to Get Expression

Expression From a Model a touch. Pull your hair back a touch, please?
The image Time to Feed is all about the model’s Great, now slowly lick your lips. Perfect, do
expression. The model was a very capable and it the same way, a little slower. Again, slower.
experienced traveling figure model and grand- Good. When I count to three, open your eyes
mother. Can you tell that by her expression? on three looking right at the camera.”
I’m giving directions on what emotion to
Pose and Expression give, plus how to pose, and what parts of the
While one may easily direct those motivated to face to tweak, like lips, eyes, and so on.
pose, getting expressions is its own related and
somewhat-separate art. As a rule, each genre Models Talk with Direction Only
of photography has its own tricks for getting Do not let your models start talking while you
expressions into a shot. For example, photogra- photograph. While I may have a model yell or
phers of children and furry pets may use squeaky make a vowel sound, talking ruins tons of oth-
noisemakers. Learn tricks and techniques that erwise great shots. Certain letters and sounds
work for you with your nude models.
The experienced and better-quality models
Tech Specs >
are easier to pose and get expressions from.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
After all, this is the model’s job. Young or
Lens: Canon 24–105 f/4L EF @ 82mm
inexperienced models often have the greatest
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/8, and ISO 100
difficulty with the expression part of their job.
Those models that do not learn to pose and be
expressive tend to get frustrated and burn out
quickly.
Actresses tend to be quite good at being
expressive, just give them some direction in
how you’d like them to act. For example, with
very experienced models, try saying, “Give me
an expression, great, now give me a different
one. Great. Another, please.”
Although you are getting random expres-
sions, it may work. More often you will have to
give the model something to go on. For exam-
ple, “Look pouty and sad. Okay that’s sad—
now make it a bit less sad. Relax your lower lip
A gridded strobe with barn doors was the main light. A
a little. Good, hold that, turn your nose 1 inch
large softbox was placed to the right of the model for
to your right. A bit less sad now. Perfect. Eyes rim light. A gridded strip on a boom was placed for the
back to the camera; nose up a half inch. Perfect. hair light. A 3.5x6-foot reflector was positioned on the
Now laugh. Close your eyes; open your mouth. left for fill. Another 3x6-foot reflector was positioned
Tilt your nose up 1 inch, nose right a half on the right for fill and gobo.
inch. Tilt your head toward your left shoulder
74 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
make for interesting
facial expressions on
various people. Try
having the model
slowly say the alpha-
bet until her mouth
makes a shape you
like. Having her
repeat that sound
sometimes works.
Remember, the letter
S has two sounds,
eh-ss. Which sound
makes for a better
look? You decide by
looking and trying.
This is why people
say cheese. It is not
for the ch part of
the sound, ch-eeee-
zz. Usually the long
vowel e sound or the
zzz is what the pho-
tographer tries for.
“Me” might work
just as well. “Love
meeeee,” holding
the e at the end may
give you the right
shot. The u sound
when saying, “Love
you,” gives a rounded
mouth that can be
expressive. “Hello”
and “Oh” shape
the mouth similarly,
but more open. The
advantage of a phrase
like “Love me” is it
has emotional content,
and so may make the expression more genuine. Actresses tend to be quite good
Use what works, continue to try new things, and
keep what works for your personal style.
at being expressive . . .
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 75
36 Implied Nudity

Implied Nudity Defined Another kind of implied nudity is where the

What is an implied nude and why shoot an model is nude, but the images are not showing
implied nude when you can shoot a real full- any private areas. It is easy for a viewer of the
on nude? An implied nude is a photograph in image to imagine what’s there. And imagine is
which the model looks nude but is not actually what minds do. The impact of an image that sug-
unclothed, or where she is nude but none of gests can be stronger than one containing only the
the “naughty” areas (specifically the nipples, obvious. Though more socially acceptable, due to
pubic hair, or genitals) are shown. the power of imagination, implied nudity may be
more erotic or provocative than an actual nude.
Nude Without Being Nude
How does a model look nude without being Cropping Transforms
nude? A model can look nude without being See how it was shot this image has no particu-
nude. She can wear a bra with her breasts lar focus point for your eye, and the story is
fully covered by the bra. Yet, if the bra can- lost. After cropping and a bit of gentle post-
not be seen because it is covered by her arms processing the final image, Bitter Sweet, became
and hair, she will appear nude from certain very evocative with the energy between these
camera angles. This is considered implied young ladies clearly visible. Always consider and
nudity and it can be very sexy. experiment to see how cropping and processing
may improve your images.
The image as shot.

Pinkish gauze material covered the two

models. A white background acted as bounce
fill from below and in front. A large softbox
provided light from the right of camera.

76 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Reasons for
Shooting
Implied Nudes
• Many great shots are
implied nudes.
• Often models charge extra
for full nudity and less for
implied.
• Implied nudes may be
acceptably shown, sold, and
enjoyed where full nudes
may not.
• Perhaps you or your model
is uncomfortable at this
time shooting a full nude.
Shoot them implied.
• The image, Bitter Sweet,
was a case where both
models were uncomfort-
able with full nudity at the
time of photographing.
This is often the case with
new models who may later
shoot nudes or may drop
the craft altogether.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 70–200mm
f/2.8 VR2 EF-S @ 92mm
Effective focal length:
138mm
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/9,
and ISO 100

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 77
37 Graphic Art Conversion

Honing Skills shutter, by pushing boundaries of technology,

Almost anyone can use a camera with some tools, and our individual skills.
degree of proficiency. People see a photograph
that moves them, and they figure they can do Painterly Software
it better or cheaper themselves. Some may even Corel Painter is a well-known program and is
a bit tricky to use. PicsArt is a great, fun, free
Try a variety of plug-ins. It application for Android cell phones. Recently,
Topaz ran their Simplify software on sale. As
may be fun, and it may open I was looking for something close to PicsArt,
markets for you. only for desktop PCs, I gave Simplify a try.
I watched online training videos, and away
go so far as to read a book, like you and I do, I went. It was pretty easy. I simply took an
to learn how to do this very thing. Well, they edited photograph and started playing with
can try, and their photographs will be uniquely Simplify’s various presets and sliders until I
and blessedly theirs. And for those who do not saw what I liked. I dialed it in a bit, and then
put in the time and effort, they will only get cropped it to taste.
the occasional one-off shot, which they will not The variation used was of a Painting Colorful
know how to process. preset and took only minutes, once I had put in
What sets some of us apart is our constant about half an hour learning a bit about Simplify
focus on honing our skills and taking them by watching the videos. Try a variety of plug-ins.
beyond a simple uninformed click of the It may be fun, and it may open markets for you.

The image before using Simplify software. The image before cropping.
A Wider Audience The above piece post-processed in Simplify
While the image On Edge (facing page, right) is the current screen background on my PC.
is a really sweet piece as finished, by putting it Where On Edge must be displayed discretely,
into Simplify, I have created a sexy headshot the digitally manipulated version is tame
version (above) that can play to a much wider enough for even my most conservative corpo-
audience as art, because it now looks like a rate portrait clients to view on my PC desktop.
painting or graphic illustration.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon 24–105 f/4L EF @ 50mm
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/8, and ISO 200

Art from Photographs

Even with all my lighting diagrams and descriptions, and with the same
models, chances are someone else’s photographs would be as different
from mine as a conversation between them and one of my models will
be. Each of these images reflects a unique event and expression. That is
what photographs do: they freeze aspects of moments. Each moment
is unique. That’s why it amazes me that photography still gets a bum
A large softbox placed on the right was the main
rap as a form of fine art. People think, “Anyone can do it, right?” But we
light. A gridded strip was placed on a boom for hair
light. A beauty dish right of the camera provided fill. A know that not everyone can. Currently, I am developing a collection of
3.5x6-foot reflector provided fill on the left. very painterly digitally manipulated nude art images for a show—and
each one reflects a unique moment and expression.
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 79
38 Shooting From Above

High Ceilings This model was nude except for the snake.
In choosing my home studio location, I was Yet, by shooting from above, there are many
looking for high ceilings and if possible, a angles where intimate areas are covered, and we
second-story landing. Why? High ceilings give get an implied-nude effect.
me lots of room to place lights above a model’s I like shooting so much from above that I
head. For example, a 6-foot tall model wear- usually have a 4-foot stepladder in the studio.
ing platform shoes, with a 4-foot tall softbox This can also help when my models are taller
placed 2 feet above her head requires a pretty than me, or just to get the perspective from
high ceiling. above when I desire it for my composition.

Working with a Snake

Do not be afraid to flip and rotate The lighting was all on the first floor. It was a
your images in postproduction. first time shooting with snakes. I just desired to
have a nice, quality lighting setup that would
work wherever the snake might roam, which
The nice thing about a landing is you can ended up being wherever the snake desired. So
use it to shoot down on your subject. Often, I lit the area and started shooting away. I used
I’ll put lighting up on the second floor and a 105mm Macro lens, just in case I decided to
bounce it off the ceiling, as you have seen in get close; I did not wish to have my lens unable
other spreads here. High ceilings provide the to focus where I went.
space to arrange my lighting equipment, and let The snake in question was a 7- to 8-foot-long
me place my camera very high. female, all muscle, with teeth at one end. It is
difficult working with these animals to say the
Shooting Down least. Care was taken to ensure safety. Snakes
Shooting down turns much of the floor into must not be too cold or they are grumpy—and
a background. It can hide the lower body of a not too hot as they get too active and can be
subject from view. In these images, the model’s aggressive. I had the snake’s wrangler close at
body is greatly obscured. hand for all her shooting. I highly recommend
you work with wranglers experienced with
whatever animals you decide to work with. We
would pull the boa back into a pose, and she
would do what she liked after a few frames.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 105mm f/2.8D Macro
Effective focal length: 157.5mm
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/13, and ISO 100

The image before cropping, rotation, and desaturation.

80 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Postproduction
Notice the differences
between the final image
and the image on the
facing page. The facing
page shows the image as
it was shot. Notice that
the conversion to duo-
tone and a slight turn
improved the composi-
tion to a great extent.
Also, I blurred the
periphery because the
original shot is too busy.
When the periphery was
sharp, the model’s legs
and the dark high-con-
trast back of her head
were pulling too much
attention, as were color
contrasts between her
skin and the snake. A
slight blur pulls us right
into her face. Now our
eyes go around along
the snake and then back
to her face.
Do not be afraid
to flip and rotate your
images in postpro-
duction. Often the
results will improve
your image. Rotation
changes how we read
a person’s expression.
Turning the image’s ori-
entation by rotating it
can at times hurt a good
expression or improve
a poor one. It can literally turn a frown upside
down. Blur, lighten or darken, and rotate. Do
what you must to create your most effective
final product.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 81
39 Corel Painter

Becoming a Painter license to use, apply digital painting tech-

While it would take an entire book and several niques, and now you have a piece, which only
hours of video tutorial plus lots of practice for a fine artist can come close to copying. This is
you to effectively be able to use Corel Painter becoming another channel for fine-art photog-
X3, let me tell you, it is a fun program that does raphy, and it presents exciting directions and
some very cool things you cannot quite do in creative opportunities.
Photoshop alone.
Though Corel Painter does have auto painter
modes, these are not very intuitive or easy to use
without some instruction. However, the results
I am achieving with just a few hours of practice
are really encouraging. My expectation is that
using Painter and investing a couple of hours
into each image, which I have already shot, will
turn many images into works of painterly fine
art. I have only done two pieces so far, and have
received rave reviews on each one.
Studying takes time, but the process is basic.
Take a photograph, which is yours or have

The main light was a gridded strobe, camera left,

directed on the model’s face. A gridded strip left of the
Tech Specs > model provided an edge light. For a hair light, a gridded
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III strip was placed on a boom. A large softbox on the right
Lens: Canon 70–200 f/2.8L II @ 70mm was used for fill.
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/7.1, and ISO 100

This image shows the original

photograph. Nice. But the
question is: what will you do with
it? Where will it hang?

This image shows the full sized Corel

Painter rendition. Nice, but still, in
my view disjointed.

82 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Giclée Printing of canvases. I have yet to finish experimenting
I have had both these pieces printed using the with adding textured clear coats on top of a
giclée process on canvas. Giclée is French for stabilized canvas. Oil paint can also be textured
ink jet and sounds so much more prestigious on the top layers of your print to create a true,
than it might otherwise. “Give a dog a good mixed-media art piece.
name” applies double to anything you do with
your photography. Treat it with respect, and
name it accordingly. The finished piece is cropped from the facing-page (left) image. The
The giclée process allows for printing on a new composition has given the piece a dream-like quality. The Corel
variety of substrates with different textures and piece has taken a limited-market-appeal nude and transformed it
finishes, such as watercolor papers and a variety into a surreal, fine-art piece that might hang anywhere.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 83
40 Postprocess Cheating

Illusion and the Truth finesse our medium, a certain truth does begin
The illusion of photography is that it is so life- to emerge; it is our truth, our own viewpoint
like that many consider photography to be a of the real world. Our compelling photograph
kind of ultimate truth of some type. The truth is no more or less a representation of the world
is, photography is not the truth. We photogra- than is Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
phers tell stories and hopefully create visually
engaging images using photography as a tool Artistic Truth
with which to craft our storytelling art. If we Ah, the good old days of photography, was it
all truth? In the days of film—from the very
beginning of photography—people edited
positives and negatives. They used scalpels,
erasers, pencils, and the like to process the
images on their negatives into what they
wanted. Artists smoothed skin and redrew
entire bits of the frame. The photographic
world has always finessed its images. They
worked the light while shooting and pro-
cessed the negatives to obtain a desired
contrast level. They dodged and burned select
areas in the frame controlling the contrast
and tone as they developed their prints.
Photography is art, both good art and wanna-
The main light was a strip box on a boom placed be art. But all of it finesses an artistic truth.
behind and above the model. Two reflectors gave fill
under and in front of the model. No Absolute Truth
If you are not post-processing because you fear
cheating on the “truth,” you may be cheating
yourself and your subjects. There is no abso-
lute truth in photography. There is only black
and white with shades of gray, usually with
some color casts.
In real life, no one has time to count a
woman’s wrinkles, unless you are going for
character, which may get you a handbag in
the face—well deserved. Smooth the lady’s
skin expertly for goodness sake. Do not just
take what the camera gives as certain fact.

Image as shot in color.

84 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Shift colors, re-crop, remove distractions, and removed. Her skin was smoothed. Her con-
smooth skin. Try a different background. There trast adjusted. Dust spots on the backdrop
are literally an infinite variety of ways to convert were removed. The image was converted to a
one particular exposure into a black & white black & white expression. When the image was
image. Do not use the default factory setting, printed, my printer was hard pressed to print
unless that is your art. And then good luck to what I see on my screen. And if I use a different
you with the next software version when the printer, the image will print out differently yet
default factory settings change. again. Controlling my prints may be one reason
I may start printing my own photographs. Thus
Dynamic Truth printing is one more process I could control
If you get an image right using a Canon 5D to get the final image of my vision, and so one
Mark III, you may not like the way it looks more thing for me to learn and refine.
captured with a Nikon D800. Each camera
takes images differently. And any digital view-
ing or printing method will change the look The photographic world has
once again. There is no such thing as a photo
that captures the exact truth of who a person is. always finessed its images.
People are far too dynamic. Use all the tools at
your disposal and become an expert in post-
processing to come closer to capturing your
vision of the subject’s dynamic essence. Tech Specs >
Camera: Nikon D7000
My Process and Printing Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S @ 24mm
Effective focal length: 36mm
In Voilà, Une Femme, the subject was cropped,
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/8, and ISO 100
rotated slightly, and the distracting elements

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 85
 41 The Nude with Ultra-Wide-Angle Lenses

Ultra-Wide Lenses
Tech Specs >
I have always been drawn to shots taken with Camera: Nikon D7000
wide-and ultra-wide-angle lenses. I love how Lens: Tokina 11–16mm f/2.8 @ 11mm
perspective gets shifted, spatial relationships Effective focal length: 16.5mm
are exaggerated, and the world is turned into Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/6.3, and ISO 100
shapes and forms that grab and hold my atten-
tion. Give me a wide-angle zoom, and you’ll
often find me cranking the zoom down to its

Photographs of people taken at

these extreme widths tend to have
distorted looks . . .

Distortions
While Photoshop and Lightroom may remove degrees of optical errors
like barrel distortion and chromatic aberration, perspective distortions
are a natural function of the ultra-wide itself which make things that are
closer to the lens seem much closer and larger, while things further away A gridded barn door strobe is just visible in the lower
right frame shining on the model’s leg and rear tire. A
are made to seem incredibly smaller. Creative use of this perspective
large softbox lit the model and side of bike at about the
shift is what ultra-wide lenses are all about. You will find depth of focus
model’s shoulder height.
to be extremely deep. It is not uncommon when shooting ultra-wide for
everything in the frame to be in focus. If you love bokeh, ultra-wide is
probably not for you, regardless of how fast your lens.
The wider your lens, the more things that are closer to the lens seem widest possible setting. Truly, I love creating
a great deal closer and larger than we normally perceive them, while nudes with these specialty lenses, which can and
things farther from the lens seem drastically diminished in size and much do get me into trouble.
farther away than they actually are. Relationships between any lines in A general and arguable guideline for where
your frame will become more distorted. For example, railroad tracks will ultra-wide begins on full frame cameras is
seem to converge much sooner when viewed through a wide-angle lens. 20mm. Below 20mm, perspective begins
Any tilting up and down or rotation of the lens tends to become glaringly to distort perceptively in almost all images.
visible in compositions, and so must be considered and controlled. To Photographs of people taken at these extreme
shoot wide angle, get close to an interesting compositional element, like widths tend to have distorted looks, which some
the yellow engine parts, that may benefit from increased emphasis and find interesting and others find disturbing. Many
frame your shot around it. Shooting this way, shifts of even a half inch in ultra-wide-angle shots will have levels of perspec-
any direction are often extremely significant. If you are like me and you tive shift and distortion that are neither intended
like shifted perspectives, you will fall in love with how ultra-wide lenses nor acceptable. Care must be taken. Bad shots
will visually transform your world. may be just too unintentionally freakish.

86 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
This image was taken at an effective focal length of 16.5mm. Notice how much larger the model’s hand is than her face. If her face had been close
to the camera, she might have appeared like a scary clown with a huge nose. She might not have been at all happy to see that!
42 The Nude in Wide-Angle Images

Wide-Angle Lenses that are closer to the camera be more impact by

On full-frame 35mm cameras, 20–40mm effec- slightly emphasizing them. Notice in this image
tive focal lengths are about the range of wide that the model seems to dominate the frame.
angles. At the wider range of this, perspective She was pretty close to the camera with her legs
gets distorted more perceptively. At the longer closer to the camera than her head. This has the
end, unless you get very close to your subject effect of slightly elongating the already long,
or compositional element, perspective is often sleek form of her legs and shortening somewhat
shifted imperceptibly. Going a bit wider than her upper body. Turn her the other way, and
normal makes it possible to get close to your her legs would seem shorter. So take care how
subject and still fit them in the frame. A wide- you use this perspective shift.
angle lens also makes compositional elements

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VRI @18mm
Effective focal length: 27mm
Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/11, and ISO 200

A White Lightning 3200 was used

with beauty dish and grid for fill.

88 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Mindful Composition up and used a longer lens, her legs would have
The relationships between strong lines become looked shorter, and less of the background
distorted by tilts and rotations when using a would have made it into the shot. Also the
wide-angle lens. So be mindful when compos- depth of field would have been somewhat shal-
ing. More of the background ends up getting lower with a similar exposure.
into the frame when using a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses have a significant place in
Your backgrounds will be more in focus, com- shooting nude images. There are ways to flatter
pounded by a slightly increased depth of field. or de-emphasize forms through the subtle per-
When working in confined places, the wide- spective shifts these handy focal lengths provide.
angle will often be the only way to fit the shot Just remember: what can work for you can work
in; I do not always have the room to back up. against you. You can just as easily make someone
However, with this shot, I had been able to fatter as thinner if you are not careful. Closer to
back up to fill the frame with the model’s com- the lens is a bit bigger than normal, and contrari-
plete figure without cropping. If I had backed wise. Use this knowledge in framing your poses.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 89
43 The Nude Through the Normal Lens

Normal Lens versus Canon crop factors of 1.6x. This is

On full-frame 35mm cameras, 40–65mm particularly noticeable with third party lenses.
effective focal lengths are considered normal. Depth of field is related to focal length and
Currently I am just not a normal-perspective aperture. Because of this and that perspective
kind of guy, usually preferring to go longer or is a function of focal length and sensor size,
shorter. Many photographers have this prefer- there will be more depth of field in any shot
ence, and perhaps you are one of them. taken on a crop sensor camera showing the
same perspective as that on a full frame shot at
a similar aperture.
With normal lenses distortion When framing two identical shots, if you
may be so subtle that it vary the sensor size only, the depth of field will
increase when using smaller sensors. All other
damages without notice, things being equal with increases of focal length
depth of field decreases.
If you think of a camera lens as a telescope, Normal lenses have a magnification of about
a 50mm lens is about 1x power. A 200mm one, and have an average amount of depth of
lens is about 4–5x power. It is all based on the field, and have more depth of field on crop sen-
diagonal measure of the film or sensor plane sors than on full frames. Your cell phone will have
divided into focal length. On any given lens, a very large depth of field, as it has a very small
the focal length’s perspective is dependent on sensor. View cameras have very shallow depth of
sensor size. You will get a bit wider perspective field as they have very large film planes, and so on.
with most Nikon crop sensor camera, 1.5x,
My Equipment
I find myself using normal lenses very infrequently
for nudes. When I was shooting crop sensor
Nikons, I often shot a 50mm f/1.4D, effectively
a medium short telephoto portrait length lens on
the D7000. These days, I shoot Canon full-frame
mostly and hardly ever use a 50mm lens.
As in this image, a normal lens is a great
focal length for 3⁄4 shots. That is from head to
knees. I can get a similar effect backing up a
bit and shooting a 70–200 at 70mm with more
flexibility to move around.
If my studio was not as long, I might need
to shoot a bit closer, and thus use a normal
The softbox was head height. The beauty dish with
focal length for these shots, but my preference
diffuser was waist high. The gridded strobe had barn
is to back up.
doors directed on the model’s face.
Generally, with the high ISO capabilities of
modern digital cameras, I am not in need of

90 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
the 2-stop higher speed of a
50mm f/1.4 versus an image
stabilized 70–200mm f/2.8.
One definite advantage
of this focal length is cheap,
crystal clear glass. For about
$400, you can get a 50mm
f/1.4, often the sharpest lens
in your bag, and it’s small
and lightweight, too. But if
you are shooting crop sen-
sor, normal for you will be
35mm. These can be pricey.
Zooms also cover this
range; I just do not seem to
live there much, shooting
either wider or longer. There
just is not that much I can
get with a 50mm that I can-
not get with a 70–200mm at
70mm and with a bit less per-
spective distortion. One thing
I can get is closer. 50mm
primes focus closer than long
zooms, generally. Even using
the 24–105mm f/4 Canon
Macro, I shoot usually wider
or longer, not normal.
One thing to watch for is
perspective shift with a nor-
mal lens. If you take a close-
up of a face, it will make a
nose freakishly larger. In a
3⁄4 cropped shot, perspective

distortion may work for or

against you depending on
you model’s figure and your
camera height. Unlike with ultra-wide lenses, Tech Specs >
where it may be obvious you have gone for Camera: Nikon D90
distortion, with normal lenses distortion may Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VRI @ 35mm
be so subtle that it damages without notice, Effective focal length: 52.5mm
and yet it damages all the same. Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/18, and ISO 200

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 91
44 The Nude in Moderate Telephoto

Moderate Telephoto Lens For Portraits 65–135mm on a full frame 35mm camera and
I love the medium—also called moder- is very effective for portraiture.
ate—telephoto-lens perspectives for nudes. Your eyes typically see faces from several feet
The range of moderate telephoto lenses is away. As you get very close to a face, about six
inches, you will see a bulbous nose, because it
is closer to your eyes than other facial features.
About 75–135mm is a perfect From a greater distance, the face will fill only the
central part of your field of view (or vision), and
perspective compression range all the features will have a similar compression at
this distance causing no discernible distortion.
for head and head-and-shoulders
type portraits. Distance and Distortion
About 75–135mm is a perfect perspective
compression range for head and head-and-
shoulders type portraits. The exact focal length
is not as important as the amount of the shot
you include in your frame. If it’s just a head,
you may wish to be a bit longer, if it’s head and
shoulders, you could go a bit wider, or back
up more if shooting longer telephoto. When
shooting, it may become uncomfortable for
the photographer to get right in the model’s
face, as her personal space may be invaded
too closely. However, if you back up too far,
it becomes difficult for subjects to remain in
connection with you or even to hear your
direction. Choose distance, framing, and focal
length, accordingly.

Lens Advice
Notice the catchlight from a rig of four fluorescent lighting A 70–200mm zoom covers the portrait range
fixtures arranged in a square a few feet in front of model and perfectly. 100mm or 105mm macros can
through which I’m shooting. allow you to take portraits and come in very
close if you wish to focus on just a feature.
Sometimes, though, macro lenses focus too
Tech Specs >
Camera: Nikon D90 slowly, and this may become a distraction. Do
Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VRI @ 82mm not use a macro as your only lens in this range
Effective focal length: 123mm unless you have to. 85mm primes are great
Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/5, and ISO 200 lenses for portraits, or 50mm primes on crop
sensor bodies work great.
92 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
About Bokeh Even at f/5, you can see this lens was creating a moderate
Bokeh is an intentional out-of-focus or blur bokeh—throwing the area below her ear into soft focus
quality that is rendered differently with each due to the 82mm focal length (123mm effective), while
lens model and setting. The bokeh generally maintaining perfect clarity in the eyes. The same shot
improves with increased focal length and with framing and exposure on a full-frame would have been at
123mm and would have had less depth of field and more
wider apertures. Lenses like the 85mm f/1.4
bokeh.
and 70–200mm f/2.8 give great out-of-focus
areas, thus eliminating distracting background
or foreground elements in the frame. Shooting Bokeh is an intentional out-
wider or slower increases depth of focus, of-focus or blur quality that is
increasing the potential for distracting in-focus
elements. Take a model outside, shoot with a rendered differently with each
long lenses wide open and you get the model
swimming in a buttery sea of out-of-focus
lens model and setting.
elements.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 93
45 Through a 135–300mm Telephoto Lens

Telephoto and Super Telephoto Lenses more pronounced out-of-doors where there are
As the lens gets longer, into the 135mm– near and far compositional elements that may
300mm full frame effective focal lengths, we be noticeably compressed.
are getting into real telephoto lenses. At the
portrait lengths of telephoto, we have a sort Lens Differences
of normal flatness of compressions. In true Zoom lenses are particular and may be sharper
telephoto, photographically we are starting to at certain focal lengths. This will vary lens to
look through telescopes, and magnification lens. In general, you get more camera shake
becomes significant. with longer telephoto lenses, so you may need
When you get to super telephoto lenses, like to steady your shot more, or shoot wider if you
1000mm, you can photograph a model next can, or use a short duration flash, and so on.
to the moon, and the moon will appear to be It is usually fine to use long telephoto
the size of a beach ball. These heavy telephoto wherever you can, especially to bokeh out
lenses effectively bring the moon closer to the backgrounds. The bokeh increases with focal
model visually. With intermediate telephoto length for any given aperture. So you get more
ranges, the effect is present, but subtle with the bokeh at 200mm f/2.8 than at 70mm f/2.8
nude, particularly the studio nude. It becomes telephoto. You can blur backgrounds and body
parts, including those areas that might have
Tech Specs > wrinkles very readily. Try planning this into
Camera: Nikon D7000 your shots and poses. You will love the effect,
Lens: Nikon 70–200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR2 @ 145mm and so will your subjects.
Effective focal length: 217.5mm You can pretty much do with a long
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/4, and ISO 100 telephoto in nude images what you do with
portrait length telephotos. The angle of view
is different, so the amount of background
gets less and less as lenses get longer. Adjust
your framing accordingly.

About This Image

This image was taken at a 217.5mm effective
focal length. Even at f/4.0 the bokeh is evi-
dent—that buttery smooth focus on all but the
subject’s face that leaves the viewer’s imagination
free to explore the delightful details of her body,
clearly in view, yet blurry. Let’s look at the fore-
shortening when using a telephoto lens. Notice
how the image has flattened. The figure of the
A large softbox was set horizontally on the floor. The
model looks more two-dimensional. This com-
camera shot from just above it. A wall was behind the
model. pression will become even more obvious when
viewing landscapes or people within landscapes.

94 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Look closely. How far is it
from the fur in the
foreground to the wall in
the back? Can you even
tell? If you guessed about
six feet, you are correct.
Perceptually, it appears
more like a few feet. The
model’s body gives some
clue. Without the visual
clue of the model, the
telephoto compression is
pretty impressive.

Zoom lenses are particular and may be sharper at certain focal lengths.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 95
46 Photographing Darker Skin

Visual Cues Lighting

When we photograph light skin, it is the darker To light darker-skinned subjects place lights
areas which give visual cues to form and depth. everywhere that you would like to see sheen on
When we photograph darker skin, it is the light the skin. By placing lights separately, you will
areas or shine that gives us our visual cues to have multiple sheens and create textures and
form and depth. When photographing people delineate form in that way. By using an overall
of color or darker-skin subjects, the viewer’s wrap, as was done for this image, with a dark
eyes are drawn to the light or highlight areas of and a light side, you get form and flow, and can
the frame or figure. see how truly lovely the subject is. We owe it to
Our eyes cannot always distinguish black our models to learn how to light them correctly.
figures on black (or white figures on white)
perceptibly. Without proper lighting, a figure’s The Final Image
distinction in an image may be lost if we put a The final image is a success and keeper. If
dark-complexioned subject against a black back- there were not ample lights to shine on her
ground, or a light-complexioned subject against lovely skin, she would have looked flat. The
a white background. Without appropriate light- final image also works because the model is the
ing, a dark-complexioned subject against a light predominant dark form. Most of the lighter
background could fall into silhouette, shrouding distractions around her have been eliminated.
the detail of the figure. Alternatively, a light- What we see is the gorgeous glow of her skin
complexioned subject against a dark background and her textures bathed in that large softlight.
could blow out skin details. Proper lighting
choices help place the right amount of detail Tech Specs >
on the subject and give the desired amount of Camera: Nikon D7000
separation from the background, regardless of Lens: Nikon 70–200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR2 @ 122mm
the skin tones the subjects. Effective focal length: 183mm
Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/2.8, and ISO 200

Cropping allows
eyes to focus on
the subject
without
distracting
details.

Alternate shot
before cropping.

96 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
Crop to Eliminate
Distracting Elements
These two alternate images (facing
page) are actually the same image
with different cropping applied,
and was shot at 70mm(105mm
effective). The image on the left
gives you a good impression of the
available light in this empty office
loft. Lots of white walls and large
windows streamed light primarily
from the model’s back, right, and
front. The image on the right
shows what happens when we
crop down and eliminate some dis-
tracting elements from the frame.
Unfortunately, the viewer’s eyes
are drawn away from the model to
the luminous windows and white
walls, and we are not drawn to the
details in her darker tones.
In the final image (right), we
really begin to see the model.
What we see are the highlights of
her lips and legs, her downturned
eyes, the the sheen in her hair, and
so on.

Without appropriate lighting, a dark-complexioned subject

against a light background could fall into silhouette . . .
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 97
47 Photographing Lighter Skin

Visual Cues
When we photograph darker-skinned subjects
(see section 46) it is the whites or shine that
gives us our visual cues on form. When photo-
graphing whites, it is the dark areas or shadows
that give us our visual contexts and cues. Any
especially dark areas, if misplaced in your com-
position, can quickly become distractions or
confuse the eye.

We must put in and remove

what is needed or not needed
A large softbox was set slightly above
to make our images impactful. eye level. A wall was behind the model.

Eliminate Distracting Elements

Tech Specs >
We had to do some cropping to eliminate
Camera: Nikon D7000
distracting light detail from our dark-skinned Lens: Nikon 70–200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR2 @ 70mm
subject’s image. Likewise, in the image below, Effective focal length: 105mm
there are some dark distractions with the Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/4, and ISO 100
corners that draw our eyes
away from our subject and
out of the frame. These
needed to be eliminated
somehow. A slight crop-
ping and framing with
white blocking to remove
the distractions leaves the
viewer free to enjoy the sub-
ject without confusion from
unnecessary detail.

This shows the image before

desaturation and framing were
applied.

98 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
 We are artists. We must put in and remove White tones seem practically nonexistent in this
what is needed or not needed to make our image. When was the last time you were aware
images impactful. The only truth is the reality of the white of this page? Most of us were read-
we present. Confusion is not useful in this pre- ing the dark-lettered words or staring at the
sentation. Confusing and detracting elements images. That is how white on white works, we
diminish an image’s ability to powerfully hold see the darks and darker areas.
and move the viewer’s eye. When shooting white-skinned subjects on
white backgrounds, remember it will be the
Drawing the Viewer’s Eyes dark tones that draw the eyes. Before you
On the final image, do your eyes gravitate shoot, eliminate any dark areas that distract the
toward the dark areas of the subject’s face, eyes, eyes from your intended subject by staging,
and hair? Perhaps they follow the heart-shaped lighting, and posing accordingly. Do likewise
dark curves of the subject’s thighs and buttocks, after you shoot, by processing and cropping.
then rounding the buttocks get drawn back into
the subject’s hair and eyes? Mine do.
We are in effect being drawn repeatedly to
dark areas of the frame and being led around
by the grayish lines back to our subject’s face.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 99
48 Directing Eyes with Vignettes

Directing the Viewer’s Eye

There are several ways to direct the viewer’s
eyes into and through a photograph. First, it
helps to know what eye trajectories are. Learn
this by experiencing and noticing how your
eyes move through various subjects and pho-
tos. The trajectory refers to how a viewer’s eyes
enter an image, move within it, and eventu-
ally exit. As you become experienced, you will
notice that eyes follow trajectories of lines or
suggested lines. Eyes are drawn to contrasts of
color and tone, darks within lights, and lights
within darks, and they are attracted to certain
visual details, such as eyes, hands, and especially
Camera position was moved to accommodate snake
suggestive and/or explicit features. and shifting pose. A White Lightning 3200 fired into the
ceiling providing direct overhead bounced soft light.
Vignettes Backdrop also acted as a bounce.
A vignette is the naturally darker area on the
periphery of a photographic image created by
lens imperfections. It is also used in portraiture vignette or a demi-vignette to a good percent-
by softening or shading the edges of the image. age of my images. I consider a demi-vignette to
There are Photoshop and camera settings to be one that I darken only selective problematic
counteract its occurrence in the exposure. edges or corners.
However, in many instances, a vignette actually Notice your eye’s trajectory while you look
helps the image to be more powerful. I add a at this image. Where do your eyes go? And
then where do they go next?
And then? Do you notice a
pattern, a particular flow?
Do your eyes go to the
model’s eyes, her dark hair,
her hands, womanly features,
and maybe lingering on lips
or fingers; do they follow
the lines of her hair and flow
down and back again with
the lines of the snake?

This shows the image before

desaturation, vignette, and framing
were applied.

100 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

 I added a vignette by darkening the edges also use vignettes in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, or I
of the image and even added a frame. This has create my own where I need to. Do not always
the subtle effect of keeping the eyes inside the auto-remove natural-lens vignettes in software
image longer, often returning the gaze back to settings. Learn to play with and strategically
the flowing forms of the snake or hair, to linger apply vignettes. You will be glad you did.
yet a bit longer on the image. Vignettes are
often very effective at keeping us engaged in an
image just a little longer. While this vignette is Vignettes are often very effective
obvious in its treatment, it can often be even
more effective when subtly applied. at keeping us engaged in an
image just a little longer.
Applying Vignettes
If you notice your eyes being drawn to and
perhaps out of the edges or corners of your
images, try adding a vignette. Experiment with Tech Specs >
a couple of strengths. From onOne software Camera: Nikon D7000
you can get a couple free vignette plug-ins for Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR2 @ 46mm
Lightroom, if you are a client. These vignettes Effective focal length: 69mm
are two of my most-often-used plug-ins. I Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/9, and ISO 100

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 101

49 Flat Lighting

Beginner’s Use of Flat Lighting

When someone is new to photography and
beginning to play with light, flat lighting is
often what many new photographers naturally
gravitate to. We just shoot away and light up
the whole set, so we can see it from every
angle. Although my final image is successful,
be careful with flat lighting, as it flattens and
widens a subject.

This Image
Many photographs we see in magazines are flat Two 30x60-inch softboxes were set at eye level.
lit or close to flat lit. What we often miss is the A wall was behind the model.
subtle nuances where the lighting is not quite
as flat. For example, the lighting ratio for this
image is flat. It is one to one; it is the same Tech Specs >
strength on the right as on the left. Camera: Nikon D7000
I was experimenting with this lighting setup Lens: Nikon 70–200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR2 @ 70mm
Effective focal length: 105mm
because I liked how the catchlights appear like
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/4, and ISO 100
cat eyes in the iris. Still, because of how the
lights are placed, close to the subject, there
is some falloff. So there are shadows under Image before cropping and desaturation.
her, and the light falls off behind her giving
some separation from the background. I have
cropped her tighter for my final image, because
I found the lower elements less than flatter-
ing, while truly being enamored by the subtle
beauty and juxtaposition of the textures of dark
hair with the light fur framing the model’s very
symmetrical face.

Use Flat Lighting with Thin Models

Use flat lighting only on your most perfect
and thin models, and then only with care. The
beauty of flat light, when you can use it, is very
forgiving of pose and placement, because the
light is the same over a broad area. When using
flat lighting in the wrong circumstance, your
subject may appear more substantially sized than
she preferred, and she may not be so forgiving.
102 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 103
50 Chiaroscuro

Photography Is Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro is an artful use of light and shad-
ows on surfaces. One may by planning lighting
or retouching employ chiaroscuro to give the
effect of light and shadow even on flat surfaces,
creating or heightening impressions of depth
and form. All photographs employ a form of
chiaroscuro. Photographs are two-dimensional
surfaces where light and shadows interplay to
give impressions of form.
The deliberate use of chiaroscuro gives
The lighting was the same as the image in
depth and meaning in portraits and pho-
section 49, except that the right softbox was
tographs. Photography is, after all, an art
powered down to create more shadows.
using light and dark elements to deliver our
message. Photography means light drawing.
Light is used to draw on darkness; photogra-
phy is chiaroscuro. Lighting Is the First Step
If we sculpt first via our lighting techniques, we spend less
Form, Detail, Character, and Drama time post-processing. When planning to light your subjects,
Perfect faces may be flat lit, but to give faces consider chiaroscuro. Then use post-processing to enhance
more character and form, one must create and adjust further as needed. Lighting is the first step in
shadows. Breasts lit with chiaroscuro have more using the effects of light and shadow to sculpt our subjects.
roundness; faces have more dimension. A little Chiaroscuro is the antithesis of flat lighting (section 49).
goes a long way. Subtle shadows give a feeling Flat lighting removes the details of depth and indications of
of form. Darker shadows can be used to effec- curvature. To have a feeling of depth, there must be a light
tively mask details, although used too much side and a dark side of a subject, regardless of the tonal
and the image may become theatrical. With values variation of individual details within a side.
figure studies, often very large contrasts of light Imagine a solid filled drawing of a ball. If the ball were
just black, or just white, or just gray it does not look like
and dark sides are desired.
a ball, it looks like a spot. Now give the ball some gradual
shading along lines of curvature, with increasing darkness
Chiaroscuro in This Image
on one side and increasing light on the other, and now you
In this image, chiaroscuro thins the model’s face have a ball, curvature, or sphere. This same principle holds
and lends mystery to her expression and to her true for faces and limbs. Gradation of light to dark creates
roundness of form.
Tech Specs > Any side of a subject that is lighter and brighter than an
Camera: Nikon D7000 adjacent area appears as being closer to the viewer, and the
Lens: Nikon 70–200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR2 @ 102mm darker lit areas will seem to be receding. Thus, subjects are
Effective focal length: 153mm given form. The viewers “know” the subject has form because
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/4, and ISO 100 it appears to reflect light and cast shadows.

104 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

shadowed womanly features. If you compare Darker shadow can be used to effectively mask— like naughty
this portrait closely with the image lit with flat bits below the model’s right hand
lighting (see section
49), notice how
much narrower the
model’s face seems
here. This effect was
created by power-
ing down the right
softbox to produce
shadows. While
both images are
beautiful, a wider
model may not have
been so pleased
being flat lit.
Character seems
to flow from this
model’s features.
Chiaroscuro height-
ens the quality of
features. Whether
there are ribs or
six packs, noses or
cheek bones, breasts
or butts, artful
placement of shad-
ows can sculpt and
flatter your subjects.
Light accordingly,
and save postpro-
duction to enhance
or adjust your prin-
cipal effect.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 105

51 Working Wet

Safety in a Wet Environment

Distracting background shadows were eliminated by shifting the
When working in a wet environment, safety is a
camera position lower and to the left. The bounced light creating
major concern. Aside from the standard issues
these shadows was needed to illuminate the water droplets.
of things being slippery when wet and need-
ing to take care to remain stable in and around
wetness, wet conditions create additional safety
hazards when using high voltage flash units.
This applies to flash units which are self con-
tained, like on-camera flash, as well for those
which plug into walls. If flash units become
wet, aside from possible damage to the units,
serious life-threatening injury can occur due to
electrical shocks.
Take care to keep your flash units and any
other lighting away from areas where they may
get wet and cause shocks or create fires. In the
case of the shots here, the flash units were kept
either on the other side of a sliding glass door,
or well back from the shower area.
Due to these and other concerns, shower
shots are often staged. For example, one may
lightly spray water onto a glass panel behind
which a model poses to give the visual feeling
of being in a wet shower environment, without
her actually showering.

The Setup
The assistant in the shower stall held a shower spray low and
The model’s friend was in the large walk-in
sprayed up toward the model. An AlienBees B800 was placed
shower where she was being photographed.
low to catch water droplets. A vertical strip box placed low
He was spraying her with water from below. was the main light that bounced off the left shower wall.
Spraying from above created a situation in
which her makeup was running and she had
great difficulty keeping her eyes open.
Recall from section 46, on dark-skinned
subjects, that we photographed the shine and
highlights on darker skin. Here the lighting
was most effective when bounced off the many
white surfaces of shower stalls. This created a
dance of highlights on the model’s wet skin
to photograph. The airborne water droplets
106 ALTERNATIVE NUDES
also needed to be deliberately lit. A light was
arranged low to the ground which lit the water
spray coming from the handheld nozzle. Flash duration was the primary factor in freezing water droplet
If the lighting had not been going directly motion. Some droplets above the model’s thighs still look a bit
through the water drops, they would have like streaks, as flash durations for AlienBees are relatively long,
become fairly invisible and we would have lost and so would not fully stop motion.
the point of having gone
through all the trouble of
trying to film a model in a
non-staged shower scene.

Cropping
Cropping helps alleviate
issues like runny makeup,
blinking eyes, and unsightly
backgrounds that are com-
mon to the typically small
space of showers. Cropping
also helped to minimize
distinct distracting shadows
cast on the shower walls by
the lighting’s angle, which
was selected not so much
to best light the model but
primarily for safety sake and
to light the water droplets.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5-5.6 VRI
@ 65mm
Effective focal length: 97.5mm
Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/13, and ISO
200

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 107

52 Shadows Create Mystery

Less Can Be More Shadows and Mystery

The bottom-left image is a photo of a beautiful The mystery causes us to linger longer on this
naked woman made using a three-light setup: shot of a very lithe young model when we
one strip light with grid on a boom behind and photographed her in strong shadows. With our
above the model, and two softboxes, one each new shadows, we have suddenly created a great
on either side to her front. Beyond her being a mystery proving less can indeed be more. While
pretty Latina lady wearing pearls, this image is shadow mystery is alluring on its own, con-
kind of boring. trasts are too. The contrast in the light-to-dark
transitions in the final image using only one
The mystery created causes us to
Our eyes are lost because the light is too flat. Try increasing
linger longer . . . the contrast when this is the case.

For the bottom-right image and the final

image, the two lights in front were turned
off. Only the light coming from the lone strip
light and what very little light bounced off the
diffuser panels in front of the now turned-off
softboxes illuminated the subject.

Contrast and mystery are increased over the image above.

Both softboxes were off. Only their dif-

fuser panels kicked in a tiny bit of fill light
to soften the shadows.

108 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

light has increased significantly over the flatly lit hiding a bulge or scar. On those subjects where
image. Notice how your eyes are drawn along it is needed, we must use shadows to hide and
the contrast line flowing along the model, from create mystery. On subjects that have nothing
her head, down along her arm, along the curves to hide, shadows are still most useful in creating
of the sofa’s wooden rim, then back around mystery and contrast.
and along her reclining legs, up her torso, and
around again. Our eyes keep going around and Postproduction
back to these strong contrasting lines. The only actual post-processing on this final
image was to remove the sandbag from the
lower left of frame and increase the contrast
. . . when we photographed her using a levels adjustment in Photoshop. A mask
was used to block some of the distracting high-
in strong shadows. lights on the wood at the right side of the sofa.

Shadows: A Place to Hide Tech Specs >

Although this model was young, pretty and Camera: Nikon D7000
fit, shadows are a great place to hide unflatter- Lens: Nikon 17–55mm f/2.8 AF-S @55mm
ing features. Mystery-producing shadows are Effective focal length: 82.5mm
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/8, and ISO 100
an essential tool which work well when we are

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 109

 53 Concept Props

This Image
Spidy Legs was inspired when I saw a really hot One softbox was placed high. One strobe was placed
pair of shoes on a model, and I persuaded a low to bounce off the white wall to camera right.
second model to buy the same style of shoes.
This was a concept-driven shoot from the start.
The concept was to create an image with two
beautiful models wearing nothing but the same
style of sexy shoes.
Having a concept before starting can make
shooting go more smoothly. The concept will help
you in directing your crew by providing a unifying
theme and context for your team’s efforts.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR1 @ 50mm
Effective focal length: 75mm
Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/13, and ISO 200

Prop-Inspired Concept
I envy those among us who are concept kings and queens. My usual
method is to find the beauty in whatever is facing me, and then
develop it with light, lens and team work until something emerges
which thrills me.
Some of us are better at coming up with cool concepts than others.
It need not be that tricky, if your concept is simply a prop and a nude
model. You can take any prop—and anything is a prop—and use that
prop as a contextual point for your shoot.
For example, go into your closet, take out several clothing acces-
sories, pick one, and think of how that prop might look great with
a nude. If the first prop you grab does not work for you, go onto the
next, and the next until you decide on one. Then shoot with it. It can
be easy to find a prop and build a shoot around it. Hats, belts, wigs,
shoes, scarves, telephones, and any number of other items can make
really cool props.

The color image retains too much context.

110 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

 A sexy,
cool effect has
been created
with these two
women dressed
in the same
style of black
shoe by going
low key, twist-
ing up their legs
in a confusion
of diagonals,
and convert-
ing to black
& white, thus
losing the visual
keys of color.
The viewer’s
eyes zip around
the diagonal leg
shapes, while
striving to men-
tally account
for bodies and
body parts.

The first model was

face down, her left leg
far-frame left, and her
right leg far-frame
right. The second
model was lying on
her back, back to back
with the first model.
The second model’s
right leg was high; her
left leg was the second
from frame right. Both
models are on a black
backdrop, and their
torsos are covered and
hidden by a second
black backdrop.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 111

54 Small Change Goes a Long Way

The Lighting Setup

When using light to give dimension, as opposed Focusing
to flat lighting, any small changes in the light Image A is first frame in this series. Notice the perfect focus
or pose make a huge difference in outcomes. throughout the frame. It is because the model was standing
The production shot (below) shows the key vertical with respect to the camera, and thus the focus plane
light on frame left and the rim light on frame was flattened.
right. There is also a large softbox (not shown) Notice how the bulk of the model’s left hand in image
turned very low for fill on the dark-side area of B is almost entirely in shadows and how her hand shadows
the model’s left torso. A small Lastolite Trigrip the underside of her left breast. Also, notice the shot is out of
focus, as were one in three or four shots in this series. I focused
on the left nipple, which was in a dark place and cameras need
light and contrast to autofocus properly. The smooth curves of
the breast did not provide enough contrast to aid the focusing.
Leaving on an extra modeling light could have helped, but
that would have made my lighting pattern difficult to monitor.
Image C has unacceptable focus. Shot at f/8, the right
hand and the lower tummy areas were soft. I could have
shot stopped down with more light. But, I am okay with
this effect. The lower areas are out of focus because I was
shooting from a slightly high angle and those areas are
farther from the point of focus. Notice how a slight turn put
Tech Specs >
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III rim light on the left-side curve of the model’s left breast. The
Lens: Canon 24–105mm f/4.0L IS USM @ 40mm model had straightened up, so more of the main light lit the
Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/8, and ISO 100 right side of her left breast.

A B C
reflector was used as a flag over the main light.
The model’s right breast, hand, and arm are
very close to this light. While I like the skim of
the light across her body and the fall-off, these
areas would be overly lit without the flag. The
addition of this
small flag made a
huge difference.

Small Changes
Other small
changes make a
huge difference,
too. While the final
image (right) is the
keeper, any small
shift in lighting or
the model’s move-
ment or position
makes a huge dif-
ference in the final
look.
Getting to this
point took lots
of adjustments
in lighting and
positioning of the
model. I was con-
stantly giving direc-
tion to the model
while monitoring
my results. Any
small movement or
adjustment must
be controlled and
directed. Typically,
this is a continual
process during a
session: position-
ing, monitor-
ing, controlling,
directing, and
repositioning.
55 Drawing the Eyes: Toes

Eyes Are Drawn

Our eyes are drawn and led by contrast
between lights and darks or contrasting col- The main light was a large
ors; faces, particularly eyes and mouths; hands; softbox. The strobe fill and
camera were pointed down
saturated warm colors like red, strong lines; and
toward the model’s head.
sexy places. Any edge will draw eyes and will
often define objects for us. Eyes are drawn to

outlines, extremities, and protuberances. Many

Cropping at the toes creates unintended tension. elements in an image can draw and move the
eyes through a composition. A goal is to keep
eyes moving throughout the photo. If the
viewer’s eyes are drawn to one place and stop,
there may be an imbalance.

Cropping Can Distract

Feet draw eyes. Feet are extremities and prom-
ontory points on the body. If you photograph
a nude and include the feet in your cropping,
you must generally show the whole foot,
including all the toes as seen in the final image
(facing page). If you crop the foot anywhere
between mid-calf and toe, it creates a distur-
bance in the flow of the form, which sub-
consciously or more deliberately distracts the
viewer. We see in the final image a lovely nude
Cropping into the head helps rebalance the tension created by with complex diagonal lines which entirely
cropping at the toes. includes the model’s feet.

114 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

Balancing the Tension right that provides a counterbalance and anchor
Notice the tension created when the toes are to the problem area. This is a good technique
cut by a frame’s edge. The top image on the that often works to salvage a shot that was
facing page image is very much like the final framed too tight in camera. Whenever I can, I
image in most regards. But which image is try to get the whole foot in the frame, posed
more interesting to you? And why? The crop- properly of course, and crop later in postpro-
ping of the toes has a lot to do with it. duction if it is needed.
When photographing, a lot is going on, so it
is easy to overlook something like this. When a
part of the image is missing as was here, visual
tension is created by the crop point at the toes.
This tension can draw the eye away from the Tech Specs >
subject. Sometimes a solution is to crop the Camera: Nikon D90
opposite side in, as in the facing-page right Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR2 @ 36mm
image. By cropping into the hair of the model, Effective focal length: 49mm
we have created an equal visual pull on frame Exposure: 1⁄160 second, f/8, and ISO 200

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 115

56 The Eye-Drawing Power of Hands

About Hands draw the eye becomes distractingly hypnotic

As much as was said about what draws our eyes and in a very distinct way. In fact, after faces,
in section 55, enough cannot be said about hands are usually the most eye-drawing features
the eye-drawing power of hands. For instance, in photographs of people. Knowing this, plan
if you hold a hand in an extended fist or with your images accordingly.
an open palm toward the camera, the ability to
Positioning Hands
There are some things you can do to de-
emphasize the hands, like giving them a
contextual job to perform. Giving hands
something to do or hold is pretty straightfor-
ward, though make sure the hold is elegant and
unobtrusive.
The image below has the hands both hold-
ing hair and being hidden by hair. Notice how
your eyes are not drawn too strongly to them.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Keep gentle curls on fingers and bend wrists back not inward.
Lens: Canon EF70–200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm
Notice too, the light at camera left was off and revealing far
Exposure: 1⁄200 second, f/7.1, and ISO 100
more texture to the model’s ripped form.

Find creative ways to

de-emphasize hands, such
as having them buried in
or holding hair.

There was a large softbox

used as main for this
shot, camera left, casting
the shadow behind the
model. Notice the
clubbed look of her left
hand. Generally turn
wrists out. Be careful
with floating hands
without a purpose, as
they may draw eyes.

116 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

As with feet, do not
crop from the wrist
to fingers area. When
you present a hand in
the photo, try to show
the back or side of the
hand, but not the palm.
Turning the hand so it
presents an edge view
makes it visually appear
much smaller and less
imposing.
It’s best to posi-
tion the wrist to bend
outward, not inward.
The final image has the
left wrist bent in—but
it works here because
there is a circular flow
and most of the fingers
are out of frame. Often,
as in the bottom-left
image on the facing
page, an in-turned wrist
gives a deformed look
to the rest of the hand.
The top image on the
facing page shows how
much more appealingly
bending the wrist out
works.
Generally, keep fin-
gers gently curled like
the model’s left hand
in the facing-page top
image. Straight fingers
can draw a great deal
of attention and require much closer inspec- The final image uses the model’s body to hide much of both
tion to see if they work within a composition hands. Only the backs or sides of the hands are visible. One hand
or not. Quite often, they do not. Also, look at was used to hide her “naughty bits,” which adds a sexy element
finger-to-finger spread, make sure these work to the image and takes it surprisingly more mainstream. Use
with your compositions, or instruct the model hands creatively and with clear purpose, or they can unintention-
to change her hand and/or finger positions. ally steal your viewers’ attention.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 117

57 Leading Lines

Lines and Contrast Color Versus Black & White

Leading lines are intentionally positioned in an Notice where your eyes go and how they flow
image to direct the viewer’s eyes in, around, through the image on the facing page. The
and even out of the frame. A line is a concept: color image has different contrast and distract-
an extent of length that can be straight or ing details, like the model’s calf in the upper left
curved, uninterrupted or intermittent. Many corner. The bright, warm, yellowish colors on
things can be a leading line such as an edge, a the snake create color contrast and also distract.
knife blade, a cliff, a woman’s curvy silhouette, The eyes here go more easily to the groin, which
an outline, or points of contrast. Our eyes are has some color contrasts much toned down in
drawn to contrasts of color and value. The the black and white. All things considered, the
border between these areas often constitutes a image is much stronger visually and is more
leading line. A line is a grouping of points of elegant in black & white. While this is not always
contrast that our eyes string together, when the case, and it can go the other way, always be
they are arranged in straight or curved forms. aware of where you are leading the eyes.
These lines, which are contrasting within the If you must, postprocess to lead the eyes
scene we are examining, draw and lead our where you like. Never lead the eyes to where
eyes. Our eyes flow around the edges of a there is nothing to see or out of the frame onto
blade, a woman’s curves, or the horizon line the next image—unless the next image was the
where a mountain meets the sky. The contrasts one you decided to lead them to intentionally.
that draw our eyes can be of dissimilar colors,
values, textures, or patterns.
Image before desaturation.

The softbox was at head height. The beauty dish

with diffuser was waist high. The gridded strobe
with barn doors was directed on the face.

118 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

Strong Lines
Observe the multiple lines in the main image.
How do you feel your eyes moving through
this image? Look away, and then look back
to notice your eye’s movements. Notice how
your eyes might enter in the bright lower Tech Specs >
left and move quickly up to the snake’s body, Camera: Nikon D7000
and along the lines of the snake, up into the Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR2 @ 18mm
knee area and toward the buttocks along Effective focal length: 27mm
the thighs, and then move downward along Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/9, and ISO 100
the edge of buttocks and background, back
toward the snake, and around and around.
There are many lines in this image. All
the lines are delineated by contrast. The
strongest lines are the dark body of the
snake, the bright left calf and the snake body
intersection, the area of dark between the
thighs and buttocks, and the edge where
buttocks meets background.
The more smoothly you can move your
viewer’s eyes within your composition, the
more interesting your images generally
are. Various lines have the ability to move
the eyes in different ways. Diagonals are
dynamic and great for moving eyes around.
Horizontal lines can stop or slow eye flow
from moving vertically across an image,
while vertical lines can stop or slow eyes
moving horizontally across.
Lines that converge, either directly or
by curving, will lead eyes to the point of
convergence. Can you see where the points
of convergence are in these images? There
are many lines that intersect just to the right
of the snake where the shadow is between
the thighs. This area is where your eyes keep
going—even if you happen to intentionally
drag your eyes to the groin area—making
this a more elegant nude than one leading
right to the genitals. The toes are also a brief
stopping point for the eyes on their journey
through the image. The toes are also a collec-
tion of converging lines to which several lines
point. Our eyes are drawn to contrasts and will
flow along lines of contrast.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 119

58 Crop for the Blinky

Blinky Defined cropping and recomposing as described below

Blinkyies are those annoying class of shots in and transform the image into a success.
which the subject’s eyes are not properly open,
or are expressing incongruent sentiments, in Composition and Cropping
a way that might ruin an otherwise acceptable The bottom image is a straight 1:1 aspect ratio
shot. We throw away many of these images crop of the image above it, but with slight
never to be seen again. rotation—nothing more. Notice how cropping
has immediately turned a useless image into
Blinky Treatments a keeper. Several things have happened with
As you can see, the uncropped image below is a this crop. First, by cropping, we transformed
rather unremarkable shot. The model was start- a facial expression, which was saying “Meh,”
ing to blink and looks a bit daft with her brow into a mouth that holds a very sensual promise.
heavily wrinkled. In fact, the composition does Second, a slight rotation while cropping created
not seem very good, either. There is nothing in several delicate but strong diagonal lines, all of
particular holding the eye. A loser, right? Try which make eyes move. In the original image,
these lines being more horizontal were much
less effective. Third, when I cropped away part
of the body of the snake, some tension was cre-
ated in the left side of the frame. This created
a balance with the tension that occurred when
the face and arm on right side of the frame had
been cropped. These three modifications have
transformed a useless image into a striking one.
While the image works in color, I prefer it in
the desaturated final version, which draws more
interest to the sensual forms. It could go either
way, depending on the feelings one wished to
convey.

Unusable image as shot because of a lazy eye and

lackluster expression.

Cropping out mouth improves expression. Lighting is the same as for

image in section 48. Camera was moved to face the snake and was
angled from down low.

Tech Specs >

Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR2 @48mm
Effective focal length: 72mm
120 ALTERNATIVE NUDES Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f/9, and ISO 100
Dimension and Print Considerations standard proportions, such as 1:1, 2:3 (DSLR
When cropping, always consider the final dis- standard), and so on, then you will have a much
play size. There are several standard print sizes easier time finding printers and framers at rea-
and many custom sizes of prints. Even if you sonable prices. Images for use on the web will
have your own printer, there is still the issue have other considerations that force your hand
of matting, framing, storage, and transporta- when it comes to cropping choices. Keep these
tion, which becomes problematic with multiple in mind before you crop or create problems for
image sizes and dimensions. yourself down the line.
Square is a fairly standard crop. If you must The next time you have an image you do
crop a certain way to retain your image’s final not like because of the facial expression, try
compositional integrity and feel, do what you cropping, rotation, or transforming to black &
must. If you can stay with a standard crop- white. See if that helps change it for the better.
ping dimension, such as 4x6 or 8x10 inches, or

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 121

59 Filters in the Digital Age

Film and Digital Filters

In days of film, color filters—mainly red, Tech Specs >
green, yellow and blue screw-in types—were Camera: Nikon D7000
used extensively in black & white photogra- Lens: Sigma 50mm f/1.4
Effective focal length: 75mm
phy. In the digital age, these screw-in filters
Exposure: 1⁄250 second, f /5.6, and ISO 100
are largely superfluous. The reason being that,
working digitally, we always photograph in
color. Black & white film created an instant
black & white image and lost all color infor-
mation immediately on shooting. All digital
black & white processing is done in comput-
ers. Even cameras that produce Jpeg files use
on-body computers to process color informa-
tion into a black & white Jpeg.
Color filters have the effect of lightening
colors similar in hue and darkening colors of
contrasting hue. For example, a red filter will
darken blues and greens and lighten reds and
oranges. Software color filters are very useful
to digital photographers, perhaps more so than
screw-on filters were to film photographers. In White backdrop also acts as reflective fill.
software we can use color filters in layers. So

Hi-Contrast Red filter. Blue filter. Unedited color original.

122 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

Filters
Turning an image to black & white can eliminate many distracting Have a carpet with an annoying array of blue and greens pat-
details that hue variation can cause in an image. However, it can also terns? A blue or green filter may tone down or eliminate the entire
eliminate certain details you wish to retain. Remember, you can also pattern in the same way that red filters often smooth irregularities of
use a couple of different filters and masks along with blending and skin hue. Play with color software filters for your black & whites.
adjusting of layers until you get exactly the composition you desire.

we can use more than one

color filter for the same
image. That is how this
image was processed.

About the Processing

The color image shows a
white-skinned blond girl
on a white background
with a yellow snake. I con-
verted the middle image on
the facing page to black &
white using a Lightroom
Blue filter, so I would
not lose all the wonder-
ful textural detail of the
snake’s coloring and scales.
However, this same Blue
filter also makes the rest
of the image overly dark. I
much prefer the Lightroom
Hi-Contrast Red filter for
the rest of the image. All
I had to do was mask the
snake using a Blue filter
and the Hi-Contrast Red
filter provided the treat-
ment for the rest of the
image. Removing three or
four spots with the Clone
tool, a few masking layer
transparency adjustments,
and an overall brightness
and contrast adjustment
were all that was needed
for the final image.

ALTERNATIVE NUDES 123

 60 Balance and Bright Colors

Study the Eye Movement Did you find your eyes following along the
Take a moment and study the final image to legs of the model, down to the front quarter
discover what draws your eyes. If you are a little panel, back around the top of the passenger
puzzled, pull your eyes away, and come back to door, along the top of the back seat, and then
the image. Pay attention to the movement of back to the legs and shoes?
your eyes and where they come to rest, enter,
or leave. This is a good practice whenever view- Color and Desaturation
ing any image or art piece. Discover what eye movement you experience
when looking at image A. I find it a rather
uninteresting shot. The eyes move somewhat
Creating Balance indecisively between the brightly lit driver’s
When you create a composition that draws the eyes into a particular seat and perhaps to the left rear seat or possibly
area, you must consider how to keep them moving through the frame the shoes. I believe this shot loses its punch in
and not allow them to get tired or bored. For example, the red of black & white, image B.
the car body’s right-front quarter panel, with some red kicks from a
gelled strobe, helps pull the eyes down briefly to the front of the car
and keeps them moving, thus generating additional interest within Tech Specs >
the image. By putting eye-drawing elements into different parts of Camera: Nikon D90
your frame, you can create balance. Remember this trick if you find Lens: Nikon 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6 VR2 @ 24mm
your eyes getting stuck in an area of your image. Effective focal length: 36mm
Exposure: 1⁄125 second, f/9, and ISO 200

The main gridded strip box is visible in this

A production shot. There was also a very low power red
Desaturating the foreground gelled strobe set about level with the passenger door
unbalances the image which creates the several streaky red highlights in
compositionally. front of passenger side mirror and on the lower parts
of the chrome fan housing as seen in main image. Fill
was provided by an 86-inch silvered Paul C. Buff PLM
Very little directs the
off the rear right quarter panel. Its catchlight can be
eye in this image.
B seen near top of passenger door in the main image.

124 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

 Now an interesting
thing happens when I
desaturated the lower
portions of the image.
Notice how in image
A, the viewer’s eyes go
to, get stuck at, and
become tired in the
bright whites and red
in and around the legs.
This happens because
the image became
compositionally unbal-
anced, being without
a counterbalance to
the bright whites and
the glaring reds of the
woman’s shoes and
painted legs. When
seeing color images, we
are deeply drawn to the
bright and richly satu-
rated reds. We are also
drawn to other fully
saturated, warm colors.
Contrasts of color and
value also draw us in.
Notice the contrast
between the blue of
the windshield visor
with the reds. There
was even a bit of green
tint on the driver’s seat.
These color contrasts
work subtly with the
reds to draw the eyes.

Pay attention to the movement of your eyes and

where they come to rest, enter, or leave.
ALTERNATIVE NUDES 125
Index

A 44, 46–47, 49, 50, 51, E

Animals, 20–21, 80–81, 100–101, 62, 73, 81, 85–85, 111, Eyes, 15, 23, 25, 29, 32–33, 34–35,
118–119, 120–121, 114, 118, 120, 122–123, 42, 48, 50–51, 54, 58, 72,
122–123 124–125 93, 97
Animal wrangler, 20, 80 Color palate, 33 Eye movement, 124,
Aperture, 42, 43, 63, 90, 93, 94 Composition, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, Expression, facial, 15, 20, 29, 35,
Autofocus, 36, 112 47, 61, 68–69, 81, 88–9, 54, 59, 66, 74–75, 81, 104,
94, 98, 117, 119, 120, 121, 120
B 124, 125
Backlight, 26, 60 Contrast, 6–7, 8, 16–17, 18, 23, F
Background, 8, 12,13, 18, 25, 30, 36, 44, 47, 49, 56, 60, Fill light, 7, 8, 10, 13, 22, 30, 36,
39, 42, 43, 52, 54, 56, 66, 63, 62, 69, 81, 100, 104, 38, 42, 46, 49, 52, 59,
68, 69, 76, 79, 80, 85, 89, 108–109, 112, 114, 118, 60–61, 66, 70, 74, 76, 79,
93, 94, 96, 99, 102, 106, 122–3, 125 84, 108, 112, 114, 124
107, 119, 123 Curve, 6, 14, 25, 31, 36, 39, 40, Filters, software, 16, 18, 28, 29,
Balance, 8, 46, 50, 60, 114, 115, 58, 62, 66, 70, 99, 109, 112, 47, 56, 122–123
120, 124, 125 118 Flash heads, gelled, 46, 124
Black & white, 5, 16, 17, 25, 26, C curve, 66 Focus, 12, 24–25, 36, 42–43,
27, 36, 44, 49, 51, 62, 69, S curve, 36 48, 61, 63, 80, 86, 89, 91,
85, 111, 118, 121, 122, 123, Cyclorama, 30 92–93, 112
125 Shallow focus, 42–43, 48
Bokeh, 86, 93, 94 D Focus point, 22, 25, 43, 48, 62, 76
Boudoir photography, 5, 52–53 Depth of field, 18, 24, 42–43, 52, Form, 10, 14, 25, 40, 44, 52, 88,
61, 63, 89, 90, 93 96, 104
C Depth, sense of, 63, 104
Catchlights, 29, 32–33, 37, 58, 59, Desaturate, 44, 49, 80, 98, 100, G
72, 97, 102, 124 102, 118, 120, 124–125 Giclée, 8, 83
Chiaroscuro, 104–105 Detail, 8, 14, 18, 39, 40, 43, 50, 51, Gobo, 6, 7, 17, 60, 61, 74
Chromatic aberration, 86 62, 72, 94, 97, 98, 100, 104, Gorilla shooting, 40–41
Close-up, 91 118, 123
Clothing and accessories, 8, 56, Diagonals, 6, 7, 27, 44, 90, 111, H
110 115, 119, 120 Hand-held camera, 24
Collaboration, 20, 30–31 Direct light, 7, 24 high-key lighting, 8, 25, 56
Color, 18, 22, 26, 30, 33, 36, 40, Diffusers, 22, 50, 90, 108, 118

126 ALTERNATIVE NUDES

Highlights, 10, 20, 23, 31, 47, 51, Pasties, 18 Software
72, 96, 97, 106, 109, 124 Patterns, 14, 27, 36, 44, 51, 58, 66, Corel Painter, 78, 82,
100, 112, 118, 123 HDR Efex Pro, 23
J Perspective, 27, 42, 45, 52, 68, 70, Lightroom, 16, 23, 28, 62, 62,
Jewelry, 52, 64, 108 80, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 68, 71, 101, 123
Photoshop, 12, 13, 18, 23, 29, 32, Nik Color Efex, 18, 56
L 38, 47, 66, 68, 82, 100, 109 Photoshop, see Photoshop
Lens Posing and positioning, 8, 15, 22, PicsArt, 78
normal, 42, 88, 90–91 24, 26, 44, 46, 49, 51, 52, Sunlight, 10, 20–1, 46–, 51, 68,
telephoto, 42, 52, 90, 92–93, 55, 58, 60, 64, 66, 74, 80, Sunset, 20–21, 22
94–95 89, 94, 102, 106, 112, 113,
ultra-wide-angles, 86–87 117 T
wide-angle, 27, 36, 45, 48, Postproduction, 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, Treat eyes process, 29, 32–33
68–67, 86, 88–89 18, 22, 28, 29, 31, 40, 47, Tripod, 64, 68
zoom, 86, 91, 92, 94–95 49, 52, 57, 66, 71, 73, 76,
Light, indirect, 24–25 80–1, 84, 85, 104–5, 109 V
Lighting ratio, 56, 102 Print considerations, 5, 8, 18, 35, Vignette, 16, 36, 100–101
Lighting, 38–9, 47, 51, 67, 79, 83, 84, Viewer eye, directing the, 14–15,
three-light setup, 6–7, 108 85, 121 26, 29, 34–35, 36, 81,
two-light setup, 58–59 96–97, 100, 108, 114–115,
Lines, leading, 26, 27, 118–119 R 116, 119, 124-125
Low-key lighting, 12 14, 60, 111 Reflection, 12–3, 26, 46, 61, 68,
72 W
M Rim light, 6, 14, 60–1, 70, 74, 112 Wet working conditions, 106
Marketing, 5, 18, 78, 83 Weather, 22
Mirroring, 7, 26, 40 S Window light, 24–25, 26, 36,
Mood, 6, 56, 59 Saturation, 23, 47 42, 72
Moiré lines, 27 Scale, 32, 86–9
Movement, eliminate, 20, 24, 45 Shadow, 6–7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 18, 24,
25, 26, 33, 40, 47, 48–9, 51,
N 52, 58, 63, 68, 72, 98, 102,
Non-nudes, 18 104–5, 106–7, 108–9, 112,
Nudes, 5, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18 20, 116, 119
38, 42, 64, 66, 68, 72, 86, Shutter speed, 24, 45
90, 92 Skin, 8, 16, 40, 56, 63, 66, 81, 84,
Nudity, implied, 76–77 96, 107
Skin condition, 13, 23, 39,
O 50–51, 56, 58, 65, 66, 123
Octobox, 46 Skin tone, 50–51, 96–97,
98–99
P Softbox, 21, 24, 47, 106, 112, 116
Painterly process, 56, 78, 82

INDEX 127
“The images exude a unification of power—power in
womanhood, power in sexuality, and power in the
message conveyed by the artist.”
—Dr. Victoria Hartman, director, Erotic Heritage Museum

“He understands the fundamental need to

collaborate [...] without sacrificing his own creative
integrity.”
—Stephanie McGinnis, owner, Minx Gallery (Phoenix, AZ)

“Yucel’s erotic photographs carry on in the tasteful

tradition of Cartier-Bresson mixed with the surreal-
ism of Man Ray.”
—Philip Talarico, art collector

Take nude photography in

exciting new directions with
these unexpected techniques
While nude photography is a classic art form,
that’s no reason to be content with images that
speak only to the past. As Yucel Yalim shows in
this beautifully illustrated book, the future of
nude photography is here—and it’s full of artis-
tic potential for the creative photographer!

Inventive posing techniques for beauty and impact

Sets and props for enriched storytelling
Dramatic studio lighting for edgy looks
Updated approaches to classic nude styles
Unexpected approaches to styling your model

Amherst Media
PUBLISHER OF PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS
®

PO Box 586, Buffalo, NY 14226

www.AmherstMedia.com

$34.95 USA
$38.95 Canada

#2049