Miles and Ashley Pose Together in the Studio

Sunday in Halifax was blustery, wet and cold; instead of working outdoors as I had hoped, I stayed inside for the day, working in a studio for both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Digital original

When planning ahead for this visit to Halifax, I'd arranged to work with Miles and Ashley on Sunday morning. Ashley had modeled nude previously for Miles but, after seeing my work, specifically my work with couples, was interested in modeling for me with a male model. Miles was an obvious candidate as he's worked with me for more than eight years and has several times cheerfully posed with models who were not partners.

Working with two models who are not a couple is always an interesting (and on some levels, delicate) process. Much of the tone of a session is set by the models' comfort; while one can assume the comfort level of a couple, when two friend or acquaintances model, there's no way to predict how relaxed or awkward the session will be.

Digital original, 5 frame stitch

With Ashley and Miles, it didn't take long for the models to find their own comfort level and simply focus on making the images. For the first while I worked with the models standing, but the awkwardness this introduced was hard to overcome. With "real" couples, standing poses inevitably turn into cuddlefests, but with Ashley and Miles, as much as they worked with embraces and hugging, the images had an artificiality to them which is impossible to ignore.

Digital original, 4 frame stitch

The second half of the session was much more successful, with the models shifting to work on the floor, and the lighting shifting to a more dramatic, side lighting. By this time, there was little hesitation or uncertainty in the models' movements, and that, combined with the more relaxed, prone poses, really strengthened the closing images of the session.