A First Session with Veronica

Veronica had contacted me early in July and asked about the possibilities of working with me - though she didn't live there, she was planning a visit to Nova Scotia in August. After a couple of e-mail, we worked out a time to meet in August and talk about working together.

8"x10" film

After a pleasant meeting at a cafe on Saturday evening, we made plans for Sunday, working indoors to make the most of Veronica's time and give her a secure environment for her first modeling session. While I have a strong attraction to working with model outdoors, I do feel that first sessions are often better indoors, in a warm, comfortable environment where the model feels safe and at home. While Veronica was only visiting Nova Scotia, she did have a couple of places available to her for us to work in, and early in the afternoon on Sunday, we met up at a friend of hers, and half and hour later, started working.

We started working in a bedroom, covering the bed and side-tables with my white sheets and taking advantage of the large windows on the side of the room providing a soft, diffused light. One of the strengths of working this way is that is simplifies the room and keeps the focus on the model, but at the same time, it is crucial that the model has the comfort and confidence as the image focuses on her alone. With Veronica, though this was her first time modeling, she had more than enough strength of personality to deal with the attention.

Digital original

Once we finished working on the bed, I asked Veronica if she'd be interested in trying some shower nudes. When I'd been shown the house, I noted a well-placed window in the bathroom, perfect for lighting shower nudes. I think Veronica was take back a little by the request, as she hadn't considered the possibilities of shower nudes, and they were a little more personal then I think she had conceived of doing. After some thought and discussion of the lighting and visual possibilities, however, she agreed to give the idea a try.

The shower images turned out even better then I'd expected. Veronica has a natural poise when she stands which worked well in the shower, and the window beside her cast a beautiful light across her body, picking up the shape and form of her torso well, all the while lighting the water flowing across it. The space was a little small to work in (as many bathrooms are), but there was enough light to work hand-held, and the photos at the end were even better then I had hoped for.

Digital original

After three hours of working together, Veronica and I had created a wide variety of images, ranging from bodyscapes, to portraits and shower nudes. Both she and I had hopes of working together outdoors before she headed back home, but unfortunately, this never came to pass. I do hope to have the chance to work with her more in the future, but this will depend on her and my travel schedules, more than the mutual desire to make more photographs.