Christine Models in a Ruin

Christine's second figure session was very different from her first; for one, we were working in a more "civilized space", an old abandoned fort, as opposed to the middle of the woods, and second,, her mother accompanied us on the session to lay to rest her concerns about her daughter's interest in modeling.

Digital original, 11 frame stitch

The first difference, the location, lead to a totally different approach to working. When photographing the Nude in nature, I often take the inspiration for the pose from the setting, working with the model to reflect or compliment the location. With architectural nudes though, the space sets more of a tone than a pose, and it is the lighting more than the space that contributes to the image.

In turn, this puts more of an onus on the model and me to come up with poses that work with the light, as opposed to the physical locale.Fortunately, Christine has lots of experience working in a studio, which is very similar in its focus on the pose and lighting, as opposed to setting.

Digital infrared original

Christine's mother accompanying us for the session was less strange than it may seem at first. I frequently work with other parties present during a session (other models, friends, family), and while I have never had a model's parent come along expressly for the reason of vetting the process, it was certainly a nonissue, as both Christine and I were certain she would leave with a positive response to the process.

Digital infrared original, 24 frame stitch

The session turned out pretty much as I'd expected. Christine and I managed to make a number of very strong images revolved around the light within the concrete building, including several in colour that really caught my attention. Christine's mother was quite helpful on several levels, holding her shoes and robe as we worked, and even contributing a suggestion for one of the most successful composition of the session.