Three Models in the Afternoon light

After presenting a demo of working with the Nude at the local college, I still had a morning at Kayla's place to create some more focused images - when demonstrating I am often more focused on discussing the logic behind the process than the images I am creating. It was a pleasure to simply photograph for myself.

Digital original

I began this session working with M_, who'd been introduced to modeling nude two nights earlier. I was very surprised at how easy it was to make an image that worked with the thin, spindly plant and M_’s torso. Much of the success comes from the soft diffused light, but the colour, something that has only really been part of my work since I began working with digital in 2003, contributes a lot to the feeling of the image as well.

Digital original, 2 frame stitch

When working with two models, I usually take the tone of the session from the model’s relationships to each other; with couples, I tend to focus on images of intimacy and touching, with friends or siblings, I tend to make more stylized “body-as-landscape” compositions. With Kayla and M_ however, though they were friends, there was a significant comfort level which permitted a much more flexible range of images to be made over the session.

Digital original

The third model in this session was another friend of Kayla's; like M_, he had no prior experience modeling Nude, but was really happy to just jump in and give it a try. I really enjoy the way the window light wraps around the body in this image; the pose is modest and quite delicate, too, which seems to suit the quality of the light.

Digital original

The session ended with a series of photographs of Kayla and her friend; as the bond between the two was friendship as opposed to sexual, the images focused more on line and form, compare and contrast than any intimation of a relationship between the models.