Miranda & Victoria Model Together

With the arrival of winter and the resulting shift to working indoors, I'm constantly trying to push my work forward, be it through working with new models (as above), or through building more upon the body of work already begun with previous models. In the case of this session, I go to both build upon the images I'd already made with Miranda and Victoria, and combine the two bodies into some new work.

6x7 cm film

Working with two models together brings an extra element to a session, indoors or out. In many cases, when I work with two models, they are in a relationship, and so the images revolved around the intimacy and affection that exist between lovers, but in a case like this, where the two models are friends, a different approach is called for. I used the white sheet setting that I have grown so fond of for indoor work, and explored the visual possibilities that evolved between the two models.

8"x10" film

Most of the first portion of the setting was spent exploring bodyscapes, working with the two model's figures to create visual planes of focus and lines. In many ways, this is the simplest approach to working with two models, an approach of compare and contrast. Out of this work came several striking images, on which one is displayed at the beginning of this entry. The simplicity of the lines of Victoria's back and bottom, set against the curve of Miranda's hip and pelvis result in an image classical simplicity. I wish it was easy to make images like this, because if it was, I would create them more often.

6x7 film film

As much as I enjoyed working with the visual possibilities of the lines and flow of the models, after a number of compositions, about half-way through the session, I shifted to images that combined the body abstracts with more traditional portrait nudes. This was surprisingly difficult because of the low light (while the day was not stormy, it certainly was not bright), and the fact that it was best when falling across the bed,. All that said, a change of arrangement (including moving a computer desk) and we had a working set-up - I had to place the models right by the window to get enough light. The portraits that finished off the session were interesting; the implied intimacy of the nudity, combined with the posing and positioning of the two models makes for a fairly complex and almost contradictive image with Victoria's gaze looking past the torso of Miranda directly into the eyes of the viewer.

6x7 film film

Miranda had to leave early, but Victoria offered to stay for another couple of images, to make the most of the day's light. We finished off the session with a number of images, ranging from portraits to bodyscapes. One of my favourites is an image of Victoria's feet, legs and hips, leading up through the frame to the top right. One of the elements I have been experimenting with recently is framing images on angles