ART NUDES - Denisa Strakova with scarf

[Manfred M]

You are right - I'm off. Given the time of day and equipment, I'm surprised you couldn't totally over power the ambient light.

I could have but did not want to as that would have resulted in flat and uninteresting lighting. I wanted to retain a level of shadows to sculpt the model. Dramatic poses work better with slightly dramatic lighting so a 2:1 or even 3:1 lighting ratio is my preferred approach.

[Hanginon]

I could have but did not want to as that would have resulted in flat and uninteresting lighting. I wanted to retain a level of shadows to sculpt the model. Dramatic poses work better with slightly dramatic lighting so a 2:1 or even 3:1 lighting ratio is my preferred approach.

Is your version of the AD360 easily shifted into HSS?

One of the things I really miss with my Nikon D40 was it's x-sync speed. Rated at 500th/sec, it's electronic shutter actually could sync at 1000th/sec (or even faster) using a plain, single pin, manual flash.

[rpcrowe]

My Flashpoint 360TTL is quite easily placed in HSS mode by using the Godox Pro trigger.

Lucky for me because my Canon 6D Mark 2 has a max sync speed of only 1/180 second.

Actually, that camera's maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 second is also really too slow to shoot wide open with my 85mm f/1.8 lens even in the evening sun. I use an ND filter as a matter of course...

[Manfred M]

Is your version of the AD360 easily shifted into HSS?

One of the things I really miss with my Nikon D40 was it's x-sync speed. Rated at 500th/sec, it's electronic shutter actually could sync at 1000th/sec (or even faster) using a plain, single pin, manual flash.

I have the original version of the AD360. I think I can use it in HSS mode if I replace my transmitter with a unit that supports HSS.

That being said, I virtually never use HSS. I just have not found a need for it in my work.

[William W]

I think that this conversation certainly is worth reading carefully.

Re the pictures, I think that the model requires a little more ballet experience or coaching in that area.

I’d be careful regarding her hands: for example in the second image with the Face almost hidden the Hands remain to do most of the communication (yes I know that this is “whole” body sculpture work and the whole body is important – but second to the Face, the Hands are typically the most important communicator to the Viewer). The thumb is confusing. The whole hand gesture is not open and seeking; nor is it downward and secure; nor is it pointing and definitive/suggestive.

In the first image, with the face completely hidden, we’re left with torso, rump, legs and feet. Strong composition in the lower half of the pallet, but unfortunate the imagery created by the veil around the breast area, it appears at first glance to be a deformity. It’s also a shame that the rib and chest area is not more apparent because this 90° profile does present as a very strong female form: certainly the strongest female form of the three sample images.

Apropos the Rib area, it’s probably unfair to reckon the woman ‘undernourished’: by my (experienced) eye she seems to be lithe, athletic and quite physically strong, evidenced by the both the large and small muscle definition displayed. Ribs can be displayed/portrayed as ‘boney’ simply by the model exhibiting muscle control at the core and tucking in the diaphragm; stretching the arms assists to this end. This model seems to have a strong core muscle group, evidenced by the poses in Images #1 and #3. Though, on the other hand, I think that the comment about undernourished was a tad tongue in cheek – that’s the way I read it.

I think that any nude work is difficult; and that is because of a number of reasons, not the least of which is by definition, it will lack many props that Portrait Photographers find quite useful.

As with every endeavour, practice rarely sees one learning less; asking for opinions and critique rarely sees one learning less, too – even if it is not so much about the Photography but about people – and it is people that we Portrait Photographers seek to capture.

***

On the broader side topic of: models, nudes and objectification, etc (and it was a certainly an introduced side topic), the relaxed commentary of that 80 year old fellow resonates with me. Not because he is 80, nor because he is a Bloke, but simply because he called it simply. It is what it is. . . .

There’s a bloke here at CiC who wants to develop his skills in this particular Genre of Portrait Photography. There’s a long way to go. I think that the Model has much to learn too. Perhaps Manfred and the Model debrief after the Portrait Session and learn from each other and perhaps both take away useful learning from some of the comments made by members here.

But, taking this conversation into the direction of objectification etc, is simply a nonsense. That’s my view, and, importantly that view is not one which is off the cuff or reactionary: it is one from more than 40 years of Portrait Photography in various Genres.

Moreover it is predicated and underscored by my thesis work - The Role of Still Photography in Advertising from Post WWII to today (1990) - which, intrinsically took me to research exactly those areas: women; sexualization; objectification; etc, and by necessity my interviewing many female models to better understand their point of view.

WW