Floofie and Merrique - Space Pirates (Sort of)

Merrique's Lingerie

February passed with no shoots scheduled, par for the winter months. I got some editing done and made a few sales on Deviant Art. I also improved the "Space Girls" concept I shot with Kristy Jessica and brought Floofie and Merrique together to shoot different variations with my newest props. 

Once again I chose to use Floofie's studio for the room. I had the lights and backdrops set up before the scheduled shoot time and Merrique arrived a bit early because she needed shots of the outfit and lingerie she wore to the shoot. 

I had planned to shoot first, then Merrique and Floofie together, and finally wrap up with Floofie alone. I usually don't shoot with more than one model, but Floofie and Merrique work well together and I wanted to try a duo shoot with this concept.

After a brief dispute with my camera's settings, I got the shots Merrique requested and moved on to the shoot proper. I plan my shoots to segue smoothly from each costume to the next and for this shoot I wanted Merrique and Floofie to be in contrasting outfits when Floofie joined the shoot. Merrique had gold, and Floofie had silver for their motifs. 

All parts of the shoot went well, especially the duo portion. Merrique looked glamorous in gold, and Floofie rocked the silver. 

More Composites Featuring Merrique

Solid Gray Backdrop

The mottled gray backdrop worked well for the compositing with Floofie, but I wanted to see if a solid gray backdrop would be even better. Merrique came over to help me try it out, once again using the setup in my living room. I had already spent a full day driving down and back to shoot with Joey the day before, but Merrique was available and I had the time, so why not?

The backdrop material felt thicker than the previous backdrop. The wrinkles and seams stood out more prominently as well, but since the backdrop would be removed during the compositing process, I didn't worry about that. I definitely won't be using this backdrop for portraits, though, at least not without giving it a good steaming first. 

Forest Queen

Merrique and I shot sixteen outfits to use for my future photoshopping endeavors. The costumes ran a wide gamut of styles. They included fantasy tunics, Hawaiian shirts, metallic bikinis, and even a sweater. I can always count on Merrique to give me a great variety of poses and I took full advantage of her time to get as many variations as possible. 

Fun Look

After downloading the images and starting the editing process I noted that removing the backdrop didn't require significantly less effort than the previous version. Neither version had an advantage over the other, but the solid gray version was larger. That would make it better for landscape aspect shots or for a larger studio space allowing the photographer to be further from the model.  

The experiment yielded no surprises, but I did get to shoot with Merrique, so that's a win. 

On Holiday

The End of Autumn

October was another busy month for shooting.  First was an indoor/outdoor Autumn Boudoir session with Joey who had come up for a visit. We tried out some new colors and styles and I felt like we got some fun images from the shoot. We did a variety of poses using both indoor and outdoor locations. Joey is a delightful model in all regards, but she really shines with her pinup poses. 

Autumn. Boudoir with Joey

A couple of days later, I had my first shoot with Shawna, a local model I found on Model Mayhem.  Since the weather was still warm, I decided to do a mix of indoor and outdoor images with Shawna as well. Shawna is a very experienced model and is also a boudoir photographer herself,  so it was very easy to work with her. She had great poses and understood the lighting requirements of each shot. 

Backyard Boudoir with Shawna

The following week I had the pleasure of working with a traveling model by the name of Riann Nova. She was completing the last few legs of her journey around the United States. She had contacted me earlier to inquire about shooting with me and I was quite agreeable to the idea. She is a petite redhead with a gorgeous smile and a very happy attitude. For a couple of hours, we shot indoor and outdoor boudoir in various outfits and different settings. I enjoyed working with her and should she return to my area I would happily work with her again. She is quite comfortable with her body and poses and is a fun conversationalist.

Red Lace and Jasmine - Riann

A few days later, I had a shoot with Merrique. I recently purchased a set of Neewer LED light panels and wanted to use them in a shoot. Merrique and I had worked together on several projects, so I knew she would enjoy the challenge. The LED panels are capable of a range of colors and I intended to experiment with bi-color lighting. The lights worked well enough, but as with most LED lighting lacked the power to shoot still photography without a significant boost in the ISO setting. I decided then I would use the panels for accent lighting and then use one of my AEOS LED lights for the key light.

Merrique Under LEDs

We also shot a few Backyard Boudoir images since the weather was still warm and sunny.

A couple of days later, Gwen did her first boudoir shoot with me. She had taken to heart all the tips and recommendations from our shoot at Sauvie and she seemed much more comfortable during this shoot. 

Gwen in Lace

During our previous shoot, Shawna had expressed an interest in shooting in some of my custom chainmaille jewelry outfits. These are body jewelry pieces made with various crystals and chains and have a thematic consistency for each set.  Shawna posed in three sets of chainmaille outfits - Raven, Dewdrop, and Valkyrie. We also used pearls, a black bikini, and shot some simple nudes. Shawna rocked the shoot in every outfit.

Raven Chains

I wrapped up the month by shooting with Floofie again. This time we shot in her garage studio and I used the new setup with the LED panels and the LED key light. The theme was goth boudoir and as usual, Floofie nailed the makeup, hair, and mood. 

Goth Girl

2022

Floofie as a Flapper

My first shoot of 2022 began with a studio shot with two of my most reliable and steady models. I've been shooting with Floofie and Merrique for over 10 years now, and they've never failed to delight me with their poses and the images I get from the shoots with them. The concept for this first shoot was a 1920's Flapper Pinup. They both nailed the look and the poses. It was a great first start to the shooting year.

My wife and I had been working on remodeling our home for most of the first six months of the year, and we really didn't finish with all the remodeling until the end of July. So, the shoots I've been able to complete have been a nice reprieve from the hard labor at home. So far this year, I've been able to complete five shoots so far this year with several more planned before the end of September. Including two with models I've never worked with before. 

I've already worked with one new model this year, and did an initial test shoot with another. Gwen, the model I shot with for the test, has a lot of potential, and I'm hoping she'll develop into a new regular model for me. Her experience in modeling is primarily in figure modeling for drawing classes, but she has a good look and an strong interest in photography and modeling. Unfortunately, she was waylaid by the Covid virus and so has been unavailable to shoot for the past couple of weeks, but she has recently recovered and will be shooting soon, I think.

As I continue my posts, I'll talk about each of the shoots in more detail and I hope that it will give any readers some inspiration or at least some ideas for different concepts and techniques. My goal is to post at least once a week until I've caught up with this year's shoots, then perhaps return to semi-regular postings about glamour photography, editing and shooting techniques, and general photography concepts as well as some new equipment reviews. In the meantime, enjoy these additional shots from the 1920's Pinup Shoot.

Merrique

More Merrique

 

2020 - Global Pandemic - Year 1

Lust - Merrique

The twentieth year of the second millenium of the Common Era was almost a total bust for me photographically.  I did exactly two glamour shoots the entire year. One was a Patreon set for my friend, Merrique, and the other was a socially distanced, outdoor shoot during a lull in the pandemic. The rest of the time was primarily spent coaching my kindergarten and 2nd grade grandkids with their online studies while we were doing our best to deal with the pandemic conditions.  

I did do a bit of editing and cataloging and, of course, I continued to take photos of my family events and portraits of my grandchildren as opportunities permitted. I did a fair amount of walking and biking, but most of the summer and into the fall we were plagued with heavy smoke from the many wildfires in the surrounding areas which made landscape photography nigh impossible. It definitely impacted the ability to breath out-of-doors and made for some unusual sunsets and sunrises.

Danielle at Sauvie

Fortunately, my one outside shoot happened in May before the wildfires gained a significant hold. We shot on Sauvie Island, one of my favorite places, and even though the model and I stayed well apart (separate vehicles to the area), we got some lovely images. I also found out where the exact boundary of the clothing optional area was located thanks to a friendly ranger.

Along with the pandemic, we had the utter chaos of the election cycle and all the idiocy that typically goes along with it. This time, though, it was exacerbated by the lies and venality of the former president and his cult of ignorance. Fortunately, there were enough sane voters left to oust the previous president, though the Big Lie continues and he continues to babble his nonsense on the right-wing networks that will have him.

That's enough about 2020.  I'll discuss 2021 in my next post.  At least I'll have a few more images to share.

For about the last ten years or so, maybe longer, I've been posting images for the 4th of July. Usually I start about 10 or so days before the event and post images of my many lovely models in their patriotic regalia everyday up until the 4th.  This year, due to various reasons, I got a late start.  Given all that's been happening in the last couple of years, I'm just not feeling all that patriotic this year.

Well, nevertheless, here are some images that I hope will brighten you holiday and lift your spirits.

Summer Shooting

Belle - Backyard Boudoir

It's not quite summer (officially) yet, but you can't tell it by the weather here in the Pacific Northwest.  May and June are usually unsettled months with lots of rain and even storms.  This year has been much hotter and drier than normal which has been great for my backyard boudoir project and for my flower garden, but has played havoc with allergies and the lawn. 

The rivers have receded a from their spring high, so I've also been able to shoot at Sauvie and Merrique and I made a trip out to the coast to shoot a genie themed set in the Sand Lake dunes. I've shot with a couple of traveling models, and some new local talent as well. No shoots this week, though, since I need to get some images edited, posted and out to models.  Shooting will slow considerably until the end of July due to other commitments, but I do have some interesting themes and locations planned.

Merrique at Sauvie

Merrique and I have several shoots planned for our joint projects, and I'll have to say that she has been providing me with some interesting challenges. Gamora from Avengers, Dustin from Stranger Things and the Khaleesi from Game of Thrones has been some of the more interesting concepts. Future concepts include Rambo, Bettie Page and the Joker. 

In July, I do have one shoot planned with a model I've been wanting work with for quite some time. Vox Serene and I will be shooting art nudes in the river and the woods at Sauvie.  I'm planning for an early morning shoot, and I'm hoping for some mist on the waters.


As usual, I do a lot of shooting in the summer and save my editing for the cold, wet winter months, but I'll continue posting here since Tumblr is still being stupid about nudity.

Verronica in the Park

GoT Merrique

Merrique as the Khaleesi

Today I shot with the very lovely Merrique for her Patreon site,  Sunday Best. She designed the set, the makeup and the hair and I lit and photographed the images.  At the end of the shoot, we shot this playful photo of the Khaleesi with her many plush dragons.

I think Merrique did a wonderful job with the set and her makeup.  She had quite the time with the hair, though, since the creme coloring she used made her hair much stiffer than she expected and it took us a couple of tries to get it to look appropriate for the images. All in all, though, everything came together for a fun and creative shoot.

Our next shoot will be the based on Avengers: Endgame when we shall attempt "Gamora Rises."  I'm hoping to find an outdoor location that will provide us an opportunity to get out of the studio and into the real world for the concept. Anyone know of an abandoned quarry near Portland?

Hiatus

Kira and her Posse

I managed to get in one last shoot before a medically induced hiatus that starts next week. Since I will be unable to kneel or bear pressure on my left knee for the rest of May and into the first couple of weeks of June,  I took advantage of St. Merrique's visit to Portland to do a quick shoot Friday afternoon. She's a great model with a fantastic smile and some terrific poses and expressions and we had a fun shoot and she gave me some great images.

Merrique is a good friend of another model of mine, Kira (also known as Floofie), and I took advantage to that to shoot the both of them together and to get a few new images of Kira. You can see her with her posse of skulls in the image to the left. Kira and I have agreed to work together on a number of projects this summer, our mutual schedules permitting, and we'll be doing more conceptual work with some included social commentary.

I shot Merrique for my soon to be retired Sword & Sorcery project, but we also got some fun images in gypsy attire and with a large chain. Merrique is able to pull off a mysterious and exotic look that goes well with the project, and I hope that I'll be able to work with her again in the near future.

Merrique in her Lair.