A Second Pregnancy Session

Digital original

Of all the subjects I work with, I feel without a doubt that pregnancy and couples nudes are the most appropriate for studio work. Both bodies of work focus upon the body to the exclusion of all else; in the case of pregnancy images, it is the ever changing development of the pregnancy that is the focus of the imagery. What usually frustrated me with the studio - the lack of context or environment, is perfect for focusing on the Nude alone, as I do with both couples and expectant models.

8"x10" film

With Christina, the session also marked the chance to make images that can't be created in my smaller apartment - in my house there simply isn't any space large enough to back up enough to make full body compositions like we created in the studio. I had intended to work with some more dramatic lighting, similar to what I produced with Aurora last fall, but I had problems getting the flash system to work with the digital camera, and eventually resorted to using available light.

Digital original

As much as this frustrated me, it also simplified things, as my primary frustration with studio photography is the total open field it presents, in regards to how to light the subject. With the natural light, I was limited to the double-doors set into the side of the studio, which produced a beautifully delicate, yet still directional light to work with. I worked between the digital camera and the 8"x10" camera, which is the workflow I intend to follow if I make the switch to digital. By the end of the session, I was feeling very positive about the mix of formats; using the lighter, more flexible digital SLR for exploring and preliminary sketching, and then refining the most notable compositions with the more time consuming view camera suited my work style perfectly.