articles/Glamour/reflectionsonnude-page2

Reflections on Nude Photography - part 2 of 1 2 3

Published 01/12/2008

Our shooting style has changed with digital. In the medium-format camera days we would shoot only 30 images, sell about 25 of those. Images were crafted; a camera with its big zoom lens lived on a wheeled camera stand. Now it's Canon with three zoom lenses. We shoot usually around 140 images. All hand-held so there is more spontaneity, and wilder camera angles.

We used to spend a lot on Polaroids; we found it was very important for the client to see how well the session was going and how good they looked. So now the large-view screen is a huge bonus. We don't show them larger than that only because there are no computer screen connections.

Our sessions last four hours plus; the critical hour of make-up and hair my wife does. The make-up is very subtle, natural and almost identical to the patron's usual style. Sets are still big. We have a special arrangement with Harley Davidson so every few months there is a brand new bike in the studio. Oddly the bike is not as popular as it was a few years ago.

The age range has crept up. A lot of that could be due to our pricing, which has crept up. I just did the maths, our 8x10 prices have gone up 660% from 1980, wow! Oddly we have more interest at these investment levels than we did when they were half of it. We have found as we move up the 'investment' scale we move into a whole new strata of women who would not have looked at us because of our low prices.

(Low is a relative term we found, whatever strata we are in, that there are unknown levels above us who consider us low.) Naturally you have to increase the experience and quality as you go up

What our patrons are coming to us for has changed as well. Initially it was for sexy photographs. We learned early on that the income depended not so much on prints but in 'the experience'.

We still have to deliver a pretty hot final product, but we have to deliver an even better experience. We have found that this type of photographic experience changes women, it's like a catalyst. The bolder they go, the greater the change.

Most of our clients are nervous when they come in - we get the shy conservative type. Her body is not quite what she wants it to be, my job is to fix that, with posing. They hope the environment will be comfortable and I can guide them easily enough so that they will be able to do nudes.

If we do a session that is mixed, some glamour, some nudes, some semi-nudes, some lingerie, when they come back to view, the first to get cut is the glamour, then lingerie.

• Reflections on Nude Photography page 1
  
• Reflections on Nude Photography page 2
  
• Reflections on Nude Photography page 3
  

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