Come November

 Only two shoots in November as the weather was rapidly turning cool and wet. We removed and stored the outdoor decor, stacked the chairs and tables, covered the grill and smoked, and brought in the cushions and umbrellas. The cool, wet weather and dying blooms meant backyard boudoir and outdoor shoots elsewhere simply weren't feasible. Also, winter is when  I break (mostly) from shooting and begin editing my images for the year. I thought the two shoots I planned were quite successful, so it was a good month regardless of the number of photo shoots.

The first shoot was part of my "On Black" project. Shawna enjoyed wearing the custom chains during our Sauvie  Island shoot in October, so I decided to use her for this project as well. The "On Black" project is simply the model posed in various positions against a pure black background and on an elevated platform. I light the model with either strobes or LED panels, as I did with Merrique. For Shawna's shoot, I used a diffused beauty dish for the key light and a large umbrella for fill. 

The outfits for the shoot were simply different chainmaille outfits but we did through a set of pearls into the mix. For the next "On Black" shoot, though, I'm going to add a gridded strobe and a backlight/hairlight to provide some rim light and separation between the model and the backdrop.

Shawna On  Black

November's second and final shoot involved a traveling model making her way down the West Coast. Copper is a petite model with short red hair and a sparking personality, despite her lack of coffee which I quickly remedied with a fresh pot. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours shooting boudoir around my living room studio area. As it was a rare sunny day for the time of year, I opened all the blinds and curtains to let in as much sunlight as possible. I then used a bounced fill flash with a  reflector card to provide fill and to create a specular highlight in the eyes. That small spark of light makes the eyes sparkle with liveliness. 

Copper &Pearls.

I have a couple of Xmas pinups scheduled for next month. I try to do at least one or two every year. They're always fun to shoot  and I'm hoping to use Shawna and Floofie for those shoots. 

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

Catching Up

Belle in Chains

Shooting really picked up in August after all the home renovations were complete. As I mentioned in my last post, I managed to get away to shoot with Joey in the lovely little valley where she lived. But even before I went to visit Joey, I had a shoot with Belle. Devereaux on Sauvie Island. 

It had been three years since our last shoot, and her look had changed drastically in the interim. She went from having short, straight, dark hair to an entirely different look of curly, red hair. She still had those beautiful eyes and that big smile. The shoot was fun and very productive. 

We managed to shoot several different looks and moods as we moved around the beach and adjacent woodlands. As usual, we shot nudes, implied nudes, and non-nudes with various props such as a fishing net. I like to shoot in the mornings at Sauvie because the light is better, but also because fewer people are there.  

A week after I shot with Joey, I had a chance to shoot with a new model (to me). Thistle is a lovely person whose primary job is as an arborist. Due to her work, she's in excellent physical condition, Again, we shot on Sauvie Island and used a variety of outfits and poses. 

Thistle has a very natural look with long brown hair. She was perfect for the outdoor setting on the island and I really enjoyed shooting with her. Here's one of the best shots from that morning.

Thistle on Sauvie Island

I spent quite a bit of time on Sauvie in August, for I had three more shoots there before the month's end. On the 16th of the month, Floofie and I met there for our 37th shoot. I've been working with Floofie since March of 2010, so I knew we'd get some great shots. This wasn't our first shoot at Sauvie and I'm sure it won't be our last either. We had great fun that day playing with silks, chains,  hats, and other props. 

Diamond BikiniShot

The following week Keira Grant came to town and we managed to put a shoot together at Floofie's own studio. I hadn't shot with Keira since Studio Serano shut down back in 2016, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to shoot with her again.  Floofie has a wonderful little studio set up in her detached garage with natural light available through some double glass doors. I supplemented that with a daylight-balanced LED light for a soft, dreamy boudoir setting. 

We also did some outdoor shots in Floofie's backyard, so I managed to get a variety of images in different settings.  Keira is a natural beauty with a lean physique and gorgeous curly hair. It's always a pleasure to shoot with her and I hope I get the chance to do so if she returns to my area next year.

Soft Light with Keira

 

A week later it was back to Sauvie Island for a shoot with Vivian Cove, a model with whom I hadn't worked before. There was lots of curly hair in August because Vivian had a head of blonde curls and a dancer's long, lean body. She had poses galore and we used most of them during our time at the beach. My favorite images are shots of Vivian dancing against the morning sky, river in the background and silhouetted by the sun. 

Vivian Against the Sky

The. very next day, it was back to the island again, this time for a shoot with a new model in her very. first outdoor nude session. Gwen was just starting out with modeling and she was unsure of the process. She had done some figure modeling for art class so she was comfortable. with nudity, but glamour and nude photography is quite different from figure modeling where the models assume a pose and hold it for as long as it takes for the artists. to sketch them. For me, she was going to need to move around, change body positions and expressions as well as change poses with each click of the shutter. She actually did quite well for a neophyte model, though she did tell me she was more comfortable without clothes than when she was fully dressed.

Gwen in Sheer Brown

To end the month, by shooting three days in a row, I did a shoot at a new location with the lovely Bree. Bree often comes to the Pacific Northwest and I usually shoot with her during her visits. This time we shot along Johnson Creek on a forested bit of property belonging to another area photographer and his muse. It's difficult to find new locations for nude shoots anymore.  The population of the area has grown so much that what used to be relatively unpopulated and unfrequented areas are rare in the metro confines. Even the areas further out have become more visited. and. lots of "No Trespassing" signs have been erected due to disrespectful visitors. So, it was nice to shoot in a new location. 

Bree is hilarious and talkative.  She kept me chuckling during the entire shoot. We shot about a half-dozen different outfits plus some nudes in different spots in the forest. This included some shots in the creek itself. 

Bree in Red

That pretty much wrapped up the month of August. It was busy, but fun, and was the most shooting I had done in the past three years (thanks, Covid).  But I had one more shoot left before I would take a break. On the first day of September, I went right back to where Bree and I had done our shoot for a session with Floofie. Hey, when you find a good spot, you make the most of it. 

I had another reason for shooting with Floofie, though. I had just started working with a new camera and lens combination. In August, I updated my equipment bag with a Canon R5 mirrorless camera and a new RF 24-105 f/4 L IS lens. The R5 provided many new features, including in-camera image stability, as well as new focusing features that I thought would make shooting easier. One of the biggest draws for me, though, was the ability to continue to use my collection of expensive EF lenses using an adapter that kept all the features of the camera and lenses functional. 

The specific lens I wanted to try was my favorite outdoor portrait lens, the EF 135 f/2 L prime lens. Floofie was the model of choice for this test because we had worked together so many times it was certain I would get the poses and expressions I wanted for the test. As expected,  both the model and the lens worked perfectly.

That was the only shoot for September, so I had plenty of rest before my first scheduled shoot in October.

Floofie

In Johnson Creek