Before the session (preview)

Apart of the model, the most important in a photo session is the light. It is also, again apart of the model, one of the only things I can change from session to session, as in the colder seasons I can only do indoor sessions and in my studio/living room there is not so much possible variation, it's more or less the sofa, the chair, the table...

So the first thing when a model arrives for a session is that she undresses. Apart of that, of course, I like it when a naked girl is around me, while waiting for the marks of her clothes to disappear, she gets again used to being completely naked in front of me, and as we are talking together she "forgets" that she actually is naked and after a short time behaves just as normal and natural as if she was fully vested. That's what I want.

Then I set up the flash or the flashes. The model can simply sit and stand around, check her phone once again or do what ever she wants while I move around with the flash to find the right angle. Not always I want to show everything, sometimes I want to keep some parts in the dark shadow, but most of the time I want that those "special parts" stay visible even when in a shadow part. This requires that I set the light careful.

It's easy to put a flash directly on the pussy, but not that easy when you don't want such a very direct, flat light. In many poses her legs will put a shadow directly there where I still want to see something, so maybe I'll put a reflector so that at least a little bit of light reaches those tempting parts. And so I ask her to move her legs in different positions or open them widely, while i slightly move the flash or the reflector.

It would be easier if I would search the light for just one pose, as in my times of my nude portrait studio in Switzerland, where the goal was one or two photos. But as I will photograph a series in carious poses the light must be a little "permissive", so that even when the model turn around or sits in another direction the light still works.

Apart of using the modeling lamp, I use to take some snapshots to control the effect on the cameras screen. I hardly look through the viewfinder, just point the camera in direction of the model and click, as I don't want to shoot an image but only check the lights and the shadows.

In the series for my patrons of Power-level I show you those snapshots before the following "plastic" session, and here's a review for you.