Originally Posted by
Manfred M
I normally don't post nudes here, but I was talking about a particular technique with another member and the only images using this technique is from this series of images.
The model, Carmen C Camancho was looking to add these types of images to her portfolio. I had photographed her a couple of time previously in cosplay roles.
The shot was taken in a room with a black backdrop and dark material draped on the camera left and camera right side to absorb as much light as possible. The model was given one or two LED wands and was asked to move them around in patterns. There was a studio flash with a gridded strip box located to the camera left, which is why we had all the black material to absorb as much light as possible.
The camera was set to ISO 100 and the camera was set for a 10 second exposure on a tripod. I used a 45mm focal length and f/8 aperture setting to give me a reasonable depth of field. The flash was manually triggered. The seconds were counted up and the model was told that the flash would be fired when we hit two seconds and she should be in a pose at that point and as soon as the flash went, she could move around again, waving the wands. There was a radio trigger on the flash and the transmitter was hand-held, rather than the usual camera mount. I did try glow sticks, but the effect was not nearly as effective as the LED wands.
My success rate was around 20% on these shots, for various reasons. Awkward poses, the model moving too wide, firing the flash just before the camera shutter was open, the model was too close to or too far away from the flash, etc. The proper exposure for the wands was determined by trial and error and the flash was set by metering it.
I have been shooting artistic nudes from time to time over the past six months. I find that these are much more challenging to do than working with a clothed model.