Bill Lemon - Professional Digital Techniques for Nude & Glamour Photography

There are a number of people Id like to thank for their encouragement to produce my third book. To name just a few:

my daughter Cindy; my daughter Leslie and her husband Tim; and my four grandchildren, Logan, Sean, Andersen, and Kayla

the models who appear in this book (Liz, Natalie, Betcee May, Sarah, Dale, and Missy, to name a few)

Brian Ratty at Media-West

photographers Art Ketchum, Ken Marcus, Ray Sopczuk, and my friend and assistant, Spencer Calquhoun, for all of their help over the years

Erik Scheller, Dutch Myers, Lynn Clary, Ann Harris, and others assisting locally

Barbara, Michelle, Johanne, and Craig at Amherst Media for their help in putting words to these images

Copyright 2006 by Bill Lemon

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

All rights reserved.

Published by:
Amherst Media, Inc.
P.O. Box 586
Buffalo, N.Y. 14226
Fax: 716-874-4508
www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse
Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins
Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

ISBN: 1-58428-178-2
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2005926594

Printed in Korea.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

BILL LEMON: A SCULPTOR OF LIGHT

I first met Bill Lemon some fifteen years ago in a workshop I was giving in Nashville, Tennessee. Bill suggested we team up to teach some classes. Recognizing his great personality and realizing his talent in the area of glamour and nude photography, I took him up on his offer. It would prove to be a winning partnership.

Through the years I have come to know Bill, and I have the utmost respect for his talent and creativity in photographing women. Bill has a talent that is far greater than even he realizes. He has the ability to project a feeling when photographing a model, and he creates some spectacular images in the process of seeking and seeing the models greatest assets. Bill also sees light and uses it to sculpt the image in his mind.

Looking at all accomplished and talented photographers works, you realize they have one thing in common. That talent is knowing the decisive moment in

LEMONS CLASSICAL APPROACH

I first met Bill Lemon a number of years ago when he attended a seminar I was conducting on glamour photography. He was eager to refine his techniques of working with models and mastering lighting. It turned out that we had worked with many of the same models and had shot in many of the same locations.

As a result of his books, Ive become familiar with Bills work over the years, and I appreciate his artistic shooting whatever or whoever the subject may be. Bill has that talent and realizes when he has captured the essence of the person he is photographing. As a result, Bill Lemon will be remembered for his unique eye and imitated for many years to come.

As we go through life, we choose friends that have values and tastes similar to our own. Bill Lemon is definitely a photographic soulmate to meand a good friend.

In teaching my own workshops, I have literally met thousands of photographers over the years. Bill is unique among them, with a vibrant personality that touches everyone he meets. I know I am a better photographer for having met and worked with Bill Lemon.

Art Ketchum

attention to detail. His classical approach to black & white nudes is a refreshing change of pace in this day and age of hardcore imagery.

Ken Marcus

I began to experiment with my first digital camera, a point & shoot, fixed-lens Canon PowerShot G1, in April of 2003. I was impressed with the quality of the images and the savings that shooting digitally offered. Since then, I havent looked back.

While much remains the same when shooting digitally, some aspects of shooting have changed. Dead-on exposure is more critical than ever before. An LCD screen allows you to know immediately whether a picture is a keeper before you even leave the scene. Image-editing is something that every photographer can master to gain unprecedented control over their image making. Shooting digitally, you can more confidently take risks and achieve your artistic goals.

This book will help you on your photographic journey. Whether your primary interest is model photography, fine-art nudes, or female portraiture, youll uncover the professional tips that will allow you to create dramatic, softly feminine, and incredibly flattering portraits of women. Youll find over one hundred images with accompanying text that breaks down the technical and artistic considerations of capturing the female form in its most glorious form. Youll learn how to create the appearance of longer and slimmer legs, how to whittle a waistline, and curve to the hips, and make breasts look their best. Youll learn how to use artificial lighting techniques for stunning portraits made indoors or outdoors and will get advice for using sunlight to create soft, natural effects. Youll learn the importance of choosing an effective setting and composition, and how to select and work with clothing and props.

G lamour images can be created with any client, regardless of their level of comfort in taking nude images. In this section, youll see that clothed images can be sexy, and that the glamour genre has grown leaps and bounds and now includes more than perfectly coiffed hair and lots of lipstick.

Theres a certain appeal for me in pairing the smooth, lovely skin tones and graceful lines of the feminine form with the weathered, rustic appeal of old farm equipment. In image 1, that texture comes from an old flatbed truck that Ashley leaned against. I wanted to create an image of Ashley that had a certain girl-next-door appeal, and I think that feeling comes across nicely in this shot.

While I often crop images in the computer, this image was cropped in-camera to draw the viewers attention to the models hair and face. The shot was captured in manual mode with a Nikon D100 and a 28-75mm Tamron lens. Flash fill brightened the shadows on Ashleys face and add catchlights to her eyes.

CURVES

Theres no denying the appeal of the S-curve throughout the length of the body of the model shown in image 2. Natalie exudes femininity, sex appeal, and a particular playful exuberance in an image that shows off all of her feminine charms.

I asked Natalie to lay on her side, and she refined the pose herself, placing one hand on her face and one on her chest. She put a lot of energy into the image, and theres a feeling of joy in it. I focused on her eyes in taking this image, and her gaze engages the viewer.

Natalie was posed atop a rolling platform covered with a swath of black velveteen fabric that serves as a makeshift bed for the the session.

I shot the image with a Nikon D100 and a 28-75mm Tamron lens. The flash, positioned at camera left, was set at full power.