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Orcatek Photography
A new point of view
Custom Bobber Motorcyle Photographed in Studio
Photographed this custom bobber in the studio this week.
The Girls Come to Town
This week was an extra fun week in the studio. A group of three wonderful women came to town for boudoir / glamour sessions. They were a referral from a prior client whose book that had seen and decided they all wanted to do one too. They liked how sexy yet classy the photographs looked.
The group had scheduled several weeks ago so I was able to find a time where they could all shoot on the same day. Groups like this are especially fun for everyone as they help each other with changes of outfits and encourage one another with their comments. The fun of doing the photo shoot with friends creates a party atmosphere.
The decision on who should go first is always an interesting group dynamic. This time the decision was easy as Beth was ready first. I always start by doing my “warm-up” set on the first outfit. It is a quick set to see how the woman responds in front of the camera and to let her begin to develop her comfort level. The set runs through some standing, sitting and laying poses and allows me to quickly show them how good they look.
Beth was a bit nervous at first, but after about 5 minutes Jessica was ready and began to watch and encourage her with comments on how sexy she was looking. A few minutes later Sharon was ready too. The two of them continued rooting Beth on through the warm-up. I then did Jessica’s and Beth’s warm-ups too.
The ladies were all now really getting into the grove as we progressed onto their next outfits. This time Sharon went first. As the others finished getting ready they came to watch and would often comment on how they wanted a shot just like the one I just shot. As their turns came up I made sure to get those shots they had requested.
Each girl typically gets a set of similar poses, but not the same as I like to work with the flow as I shoot each woman. I see how she moves and what looks best for her body type and adjust as needed to bring out the very best. I never want my boudoir photography to become boring or formula. Each shoot needs to be different to bring out the special something that makes each woman unique.
This group had two who wanted to do some nudes, whereas Sharon had said she didn’t think she wanted any. I prefer to shoot my nudes low-key and in black and white, but depending on the mood of the shoot will stray away from B&W and the low-key set. Today it ended up being a mix of set-ups as we moved between the different sets in the studio. Jessica saw the implied nudes which most of my nudes actually are and decided since she was actually covered in the photograph she wanted some too because they looked so sexy.
Jessica ended up being the star of the nude session. Once she started to see some of the images she really got into the mood and did an amazing job. Something just switched on and she became so relaxed and her photographs showed her new confidence.
We continued the day through various outfits and sets. Each one of them ended up with a wide variety of looks to choose from for their books. There are going to be a lot of very happy men next month when they get their books.
Weather Thwarts Flight
I spent the last week in San Francisco, California shooting photographs for an article on Airship Ventures. They provide rides in their airships over the area. The views should be spectacular. They fly to other areas around for special events.
The plan was to come up to their base at Moffett Field and do their two hour flight to get plenty of variety of shots from the air. Unfortunately the first day low clouds caused our flight to be canceled. No problem, we would just go on the shorter bay area flight scheduled for the next day out of .
As we arrive at the meeting point in things look like a go. Then we get the bad news, winds were too high for our flight and we were canceled again. Winds are a big deal to airships, as they get blown about pretty easily being lighter than air. Whereas they are capable of flying in the winds of the day, the do not as the ride is very rough, unpleasant and possibly dangerous to passengers. Good call by them, but a disappointment to us.
I did manage to get a few shots of the airship when stopped by Moffett for our ground shots. We will be going by soon to take the flight and finish the article.
Glowing Maternity Photography
Capturing that magical look that pregnancy brings to a woman is such a rewarding type of photography. I really enjoy working with pregnant women to document this time in their lives. These photographs will become heirlooms that the family will treasure through generations.
When I shoot maternity photographs I take my experience from glamour and boudoir and apply those techniques. The softness desired in glamour photography creates very beautiful maternity images. The future moms are prefect for this type of look.
Also, I find the lighting techniques from glamour and fine art come into play. Using the light and shadows to contour and hi-light the shape of her belly takes an excellent knowledge of lighting. In my fine art work I shoot what are known as bodyscapes, and pregnancy creates some amazing opportunities for this type of photography.
Often the father and/or siblings will pose with the mom to be to show the family’s newest member in their first “portrait”. And of course there are plenty of fun maternity poses such as baby blocks on the belly and hand hearts that are always fun.
As always I am looking forward to my next maternity photo shoot. I know that it will be a joy working with the pregnant mom to be.
Shooting cars at -- The Studio
This week I had the chance to shoot a car in my new studio. Having done a lot of automotive photography, I knew just what I wanted as the new studio was created. As I moved the test car into the studio I could see that everything had come together perfectly.
The lighting was everything I had hoped it would be. This shot gave me just what I wanted using the standard configuration.
I plan on doing a lot more automotive photography in future in the studio. Location work falls off so much here in Phoenix during the summer due to the heat. Now I can do the shoots in the studio while I enjoy the air conditioning.
The only thing that I will be adding is some hydraulic car wheel dollies to make positioning the car easier. With them if the photographer needs to rotate the car and inch or two it is a quick job to do as opposed to trying to drive the car back and forth to get it perfect.
The Studio is available for rental to other photographers.
Studio Construction Continues
Studio construction continues as we race towards a May 1 completion. Painting is scheduled to begin Wednesday on the main studio. The lobby is scheduled for paint today.
So many things to get done, power, internet, alarms, audio systems, new locks, moving equipment, new furniture, permits, etc. Slowly but surely it moves on. We have our first scheduled shoot for May 2, sure hope we are ready!
BTW, if you need a great drywall guy in Phoenix, message me and I can hook you up.
Skylights in the Studio
The new studio is still in progress with the build out, but I couldn’t resist testing out the skylights to see if they were going to be as nice as I had hoped. They were better than I had hoped. Simply set the camera up - ISO 400, F5.6, 1/60 and shoot away.
Lots of freedom of movement around the studio area as the pool of light is very large. The skylights themselves are 4x8 and about 21 feet above the floor.
This sample shot is pretty much straight out of camera. I just cropped and reduced it in Photoshop.
We are still on schedule for a May 1 opening of The Studio. Back to the work to make sure everything gets done.
Couples Boudoir
Boudoir photography of a couple presents a whole new set of challenges. Each of them can be overcome by the photographer. Many of these issues are the same in a multi-person photograph, but some are more specific to boudoir and glamour.
Lighting multiple people is always a challenge, but boudoir tends to use much more dramatic lighting than your typical portrait. More shadows from direction light. Often the couple will be facing each other so care must be taken by the photographer to keep one of the faces from falling too far into shadow. I always use the main light on the woman’s face, the guy is secondary. Here I may use a fill card to bounce some light, or a fill light with various modifiers to keep the light from hitting parts I wanted in shadow.
Posing the couple also adds some challenges. First you always make sure that she looks great. Then he is posed to work with her body. The limited to lack of clothing also adds a few challenges. In my studio, no shots can show genitalia, poses must always conceal. Additionally clients may have other levels of modesty to preserve in the photographs. Sometimes it is a movement of a fraction of an inch of an arm or a leg to provide the needed coverage. Always checking through the viewfinder as they move from pose to pose, it takes a careful eye to keep the shots perfect.
Probably the most difficult challenge is the interaction portrayed in the photographs themselves. The photographer has to work to create a sensual image without it looking like something from an adult entertainment site. The best inspiration comes from fashion magazines, where they often show couples posed sexy but not trashy. The emotions I work to evoke from my clients are desire, love and passion, but avoid lust.
I have found boudoir couples sessions to be an emerging trend. I have been getting more and more questions about this type of photography. Hopefully the trend will continue, as the couples who choose to do boudoir together tend to be great fun to work with.
