Lemon - Nudes on location: posing and lighting for photographers

Copyright 2015 by Bill Lemon

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

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

Editors: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt, Harvey Goldstein, Beth Alesse

Editorial Assistance from: Carey A. Miller, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder

Business Manager: Adam Richards

Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-832-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014944600

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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.

Table of Contents

B ill Lemon is an author, photographer, and instructor who has been in the business for 30 years and now spends most of his time conducting glamour photography workshops around the country. Bill has conducted photographic workshops in northern California since 1992, for photographic manufacturers such as Nikon, Hasselblad, Photoflex, Bronica and a number of others. In 1998 he joined forces with Art Ketchum and together they offered workshops in Myrtle Beach SC, Nashville TN, Novato, CA, and Chincoteague, VA. Since then Bill has also offered workshops with Spencer Colquhoun throughout the country. These workshops are frequently offered in Washington, Oregon, California, Wyoming, Louisiana, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the latest in New York.

He has written six books on glamour photography, three of them in black & white. Within the pages of this book Bill Lemon shares a wealth of experience he has gained in his many years in the business. He offers the reader his insights on photographing nudes on location with special focus on lighting conditions and posing within the environment. Bills experience in conducting workshops contributes to his accomplished and artful approach to classical nude photography.

Warm Hue with Sun and Rocks

I photographed this model among the red rocks in the Valley of Fire outside of Las Vegas with a Nikon D700 using a 70200mm f/2.8 lens set at 82mm. My exposure was f/2.8 at second and ISO 200. In addition to the bright mid-day sun, I also used a 3-foot Photoflex OctoDome; everything had an orange hue because the sunlight was bouncing off the rocks creating the warm orange tone. The rock formation in this photograph gives the image strength, color and texture.

All of the different little shapes come together in this photograph.

Body Balance and Positioning

My model was well balanced on her legs; her right leg was extended to brace herself while her left leg was bent and she was resting on the ball of her foot and her toes, thus accentuating the calf muscles in her left leg. Her body had great positioning; her head was down and her eyes were closed and her hair was pushed over to the right side of her face, while her left foot and leg were soft and feminine as they rested on the rock.

Shapes, Shapes and More Shapes

All of the different little shapes come together in this photograph. There are shapes within the rocks, the bend of her leg at the knee accentuating her calf muscles and her flowing blond hair. Her body has created a wonderful S curve, beginning on top with her left shoulder, coming down her back and over her bottom and continuing down, following the line of her bent left leg. Her touch of red lipstick separates her face and all of the wonderful shapes in the rocks and the little bush behind her adds a little green and a different type of texture to the image.

Models with Experience

Allow the experienced model to do her thing. When working with an experienced model such as this young woman, it is sometimes best to just let them do what they feel, rather than trying to direct them. If they do something that does not look good, I am always there to correct or finesse the pose, but I allow these models that have experience to go with their feeling about how it should be done. There was very little direction with this model during our session; she took the lead and comfortably created the pose with very little instruction from me.

T his image was created with late afternoon October Sonoma sun with only available natural light, using a Nikon D700 with a 70200mm f/2.8 lens set at 116mm. My exposure was f/2.8 at second, and ISO 100 and I used a 3-stop neutral density filter. This image was enhanced in postproduction using Nik Software.

Sometimes when objects are removed, the photograph loses its authenticity.

Contrasting the Beauty of a Woman

This session took place on an old farm. I am known for photographing the soft female form with hard textures because I love the great contrasts. Looking at this image, I have combined the hard rubber tire, the metal and the cab and the framework of the farm equipment, as well as the suspension and the tractor with its roof line with the beauty of her body silhouetting against the sky. What is unusual for most photographers, but I find that it works nicely, is that I have her facing east and the sun was setting in the west behind her with her bottom and back being lit, while her front was in silhouette. There are only certain bodies that can do this, and hers is one of the greatest. Note the bend of her left leg, accentuating the muscles in her calf. By posing my model standing on top of the large tire, it set her apart a little bit from the cab of the tractor, giving me space around her and highlighting her body.