I was given the chance to join in a group photoshoot. About 7 photographers, 7 or 8 models. The theme was Halloween. Inspired by some shots I saw on Ride my pony I bought blood and vampire teeth. The models arrived at around 12, got changed and came out in what appeared to be underwear. Hello! Not what I was expecting, not going to argue though 
They wore little devil horns which was cool. I got the one who wasn't a horny devil to wear the vampire teeth and tried some shots. Got a few ok shots, but annoyingly the teeth were pretty crap so the model couldn't smile properly without them falling out. I'm still quite shy when it comes to this sort of thing, so group shoots are great to explore ideas. I had one idea but thought that I couldn't ask them to kiss. Next guy comes in, "Can we get a shot of you kissing?" Oh what? From then on it got a lot more interesting.
More models turned up, a trio of lap dancers. There was now too many models for the 1 studio so we went outside into the grounds surrounding the studio. Awesome place. Lots of dingy places. I really came into my own here. Studio is complex for me. I don't get poses, know what looks good or anything. Its human sized toy models. Its all about the pose, and I'm rubbish at that. But outside, where we have textures, contrasting light, angles, depth of field, its a lot more interesting. I was inspired by this image and found the perfect spot. However, it was full of cobwebs. I turned and looked at one girl hoping she would go in. She was like "I hope you're not looking at me hoping I go in there." Nuts. Then the girl behind her jumped forward. Insane girl. Her hands, back legs, etc were covered in 10 year old dirt and cobwebs. She didn't care. We then moved to a small shed, very dark. Thankfully another tog held up a reflector to bounce light in through the window. This worked so well. I'm totally sold on reflectors and really understand cjnicolai's work now. I see how she gets such great photos and it totally complements the style I want. Flash in such a confined space would have been horrible. Bounced light through a window was perfect for the look I wanted. Dark, moody, atmospheric. This girl did everything bar get naked in there. She was lying down on the dirtiest bins you've ever seen. Proper old school black bins, not wheelie ones. I've been looking through her portfolio shots and she's done even more eye popping shots including being nude outside where I normally go for sunset shots! Such an eye opening day.
I then found a lovely random tree and got some other shots with another girl. Everyone was so impressed with the 30D's B&W feature that one guy set his 40D to that and said he's not going back to colour. Red channel, slightly high contrast, black and white, stunning model. Who needs Photoshop? We went back inside to see what was going on in the studio.
Girl on girl! "Shall we have our bums touching like this?" *faints* It really went up a gear then. 2 stunning girls lap dancers waiting for direction. Thankfully a 3rd lap dancer helped with ideas, as I was pretty much dead at that point. "Take yer top off! ... Really, think it would work? ... Sure... Ok" Helllooooo nurse! At this point I was trying not to faint. I went with another shot I was inspired by. Girl underneath leaning back on this seat we had, staring up into the lens. Girl on top, er topless, essentially riding her. Got that shot and the other girl wanted to go change I think. So while topless girl was well, topless I figured I'd get some more shots. Strike while the irons hot, so to speak. I've never shot topless before and I've always wanted to try just to see how I'd handle it. I was surprised that I handled it ok. Not the best shots ever, but like I said, I don't find studio work easy. After that I went for lunch as my blood sugar, unsurprisingly, was very low.
So after lunch, being that we'd been shooting all afternoon, you'd think things would calm down. Oh how wrong you'd be. One of the lap dancers was itching to get out of her top, so she did. It was good to see someone who shoots a lot of glamour working. You could see how at ease he was and ideas just popped into his head. At one point he got another male model to hold her breasts. Peas n rice! She didn't mind at all. To the job at er hand. I hoped back in after for some shots but struggled. The lighting wasn't working for me and all the shots just looked like it was a girl with her top off. No real point to them. I guess I was tired or something but it wasn't working. At one point she pointed out that her nipples weren't hard, and that she hated them so began tweaking her nipples. Oh sweet lord! You can see why my mind was blank. I said to her that there's a couple of birds flying around my brain at the moment.
All in all, a hugely enjoyable day. Very eye opening. I really do want to do more model stuff, its great fun and a challenge too. I like to be challenged in my photography, to know there's another mountain to climb. Its great knowing you're just at the start of something and that there's a hell of a lot to learn. As enjoyable as this day was, it can only get better as I learn more. I still feel quite shy about telling a girl what to do with her jubblies though. Topless is something I can cross off my to do list. Still got total nude to do yet, just because its something I'm scared of.
They wore little devil horns which was cool. I got the one who wasn't a horny devil to wear the vampire teeth and tried some shots. Got a few ok shots, but annoyingly the teeth were pretty crap so the model couldn't smile properly without them falling out. I'm still quite shy when it comes to this sort of thing, so group shoots are great to explore ideas. I had one idea but thought that I couldn't ask them to kiss. Next guy comes in, "Can we get a shot of you kissing?" Oh what? From then on it got a lot more interesting. More models turned up, a trio of lap dancers. There was now too many models for the 1 studio so we went outside into the grounds surrounding the studio. Awesome place. Lots of dingy places. I really came into my own here. Studio is complex for me. I don't get poses, know what looks good or anything. Its human sized toy models. Its all about the pose, and I'm rubbish at that. But outside, where we have textures, contrasting light, angles, depth of field, its a lot more interesting. I was inspired by this image and found the perfect spot. However, it was full of cobwebs. I turned and looked at one girl hoping she would go in. She was like "I hope you're not looking at me hoping I go in there." Nuts. Then the girl behind her jumped forward. Insane girl. Her hands, back legs, etc were covered in 10 year old dirt and cobwebs. She didn't care. We then moved to a small shed, very dark. Thankfully another tog held up a reflector to bounce light in through the window. This worked so well. I'm totally sold on reflectors and really understand cjnicolai's work now. I see how she gets such great photos and it totally complements the style I want. Flash in such a confined space would have been horrible. Bounced light through a window was perfect for the look I wanted. Dark, moody, atmospheric. This girl did everything bar get naked in there. She was lying down on the dirtiest bins you've ever seen. Proper old school black bins, not wheelie ones. I've been looking through her portfolio shots and she's done even more eye popping shots including being nude outside where I normally go for sunset shots! Such an eye opening day.
I then found a lovely random tree and got some other shots with another girl. Everyone was so impressed with the 30D's B&W feature that one guy set his 40D to that and said he's not going back to colour. Red channel, slightly high contrast, black and white, stunning model. Who needs Photoshop? We went back inside to see what was going on in the studio.
Girl on girl! "Shall we have our bums touching like this?" *faints* It really went up a gear then. 2 stunning girls lap dancers waiting for direction. Thankfully a 3rd lap dancer helped with ideas, as I was pretty much dead at that point. "Take yer top off! ... Really, think it would work? ... Sure... Ok" Helllooooo nurse! At this point I was trying not to faint. I went with another shot I was inspired by. Girl underneath leaning back on this seat we had, staring up into the lens. Girl on top, er topless, essentially riding her. Got that shot and the other girl wanted to go change I think. So while topless girl was well, topless I figured I'd get some more shots. Strike while the irons hot, so to speak. I've never shot topless before and I've always wanted to try just to see how I'd handle it. I was surprised that I handled it ok. Not the best shots ever, but like I said, I don't find studio work easy. After that I went for lunch as my blood sugar, unsurprisingly, was very low. So after lunch, being that we'd been shooting all afternoon, you'd think things would calm down. Oh how wrong you'd be. One of the lap dancers was itching to get out of her top, so she did. It was good to see someone who shoots a lot of glamour working. You could see how at ease he was and ideas just popped into his head. At one point he got another male model to hold her breasts. Peas n rice! She didn't mind at all. To the job at er hand. I hoped back in after for some shots but struggled. The lighting wasn't working for me and all the shots just looked like it was a girl with her top off. No real point to them. I guess I was tired or something but it wasn't working. At one point she pointed out that her nipples weren't hard, and that she hated them so began tweaking her nipples. Oh sweet lord! You can see why my mind was blank. I said to her that there's a couple of birds flying around my brain at the moment.
All in all, a hugely enjoyable day. Very eye opening. I really do want to do more model stuff, its great fun and a challenge too. I like to be challenged in my photography, to know there's another mountain to climb. Its great knowing you're just at the start of something and that there's a hell of a lot to learn. As enjoyable as this day was, it can only get better as I learn more. I still feel quite shy about telling a girl what to do with her jubblies though. Topless is something I can cross off my to do list. Still got total nude to do yet, just because its something I'm scared of.
- a great story. What can I say? Except - look forward to seeing some pics 
