Elizabeth 07_13_05.jpg by Wm. Bates

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13-JUL-2005

Elizabeth 07_13_05.jpg

This was Elizabeth's concept. I was having one of those, "dang what do I take a picture of for my PAD?" days. I was getting the camera out of the studio to go take a flower pictures and she came up with this idea. Yup, this is much better than a flower picture and it has been sometime since I had done an implied nude. I do have to say it was a great idea. My contribution was to set the lights and click the shutter.

Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
1/100s f/7.1 at 46.0mm iso200 with Flash full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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DO NOT link, use, reproduce or alter this image or any part of this image Copyright held by Wm. Bates

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Mangles Photography		26-Oct-2010 20:00
A classic in all aspects

Mangles Photography		02-May-2009 21:17
Fantastic!!

Dennis Steinauer		28-Oct-2005 03:12
Wonderful shot, Bill. Glad to see that Liz is still around and, occasionally, in front of your camera. The lighting on this is just perfect. I'd be interested in knowing how it was set up. It looks like your main light (flash?) is to camera left, maybe slightly behind the model. Is the light from the right a reflector? Great work -- as usual.

fotabug		02-Aug-2005 16:21
Masterfully done.

Dougie Young		02-Aug-2005 07:25
This is one of the best artistic nude shots I have seen, the lighting is perfect. Dougie

Guest		23-Jul-2005 15:32
"... be respectful, professional and make them beautiful ..." Great advice, in life as well as photography.

Guest		20-Jul-2005 15:27
I feel that both you and Elizabeth have an artistic creation you can both be proud of. Well done!

RTHawk		16-Jul-2005 00:45
Nice to see Elizabeth back again... Very dramatic look with your lighting... And tasteful use of the burn tool in PS... Look forward to see more shots of her in the future... Elizabeth, you're very bold and you have a nice creative imagination...

Gus Rosenfeld		16-Jul-2005 00:45
Great shot! The disconnect between the coherent light line from below the knee to the shoulder and the right side of her face makes it for me. There is a tremendous sense of grace about these lines. It doesn't hurt that she has well defined facial features and intrinsic dignity. The soft glow behind the subject appears to be a pro's touch. D'amn; I have so much to learn ;-) g

Guest		15-Jul-2005 07:28
This is really beautiful, the lighting is perfect and makes the whole erotic.

James Lundy		15-Jul-2005 04:42
Ah Elizabeth! At first I thought this was Wanda with her hair up. I like the light and the B&W was the right choice, color would just not have been right with that chair and nude. Elizabeth's pose and expression is perfect.

Chris Brooker		15-Jul-2005 04:22
I have been following your work for a long time. I have had little to say being rather overawed by the very high quality of your photography and your obvious skill. What I would like to say now is about your ability to explain your thoughts on the subject of photography. You say things both here and on DPreview in such a clear and concise way that I find very interesting and easy to understand. Thank you very much. Chris.

david		15-Jul-2005 04:02
bill, I love to see the beautiful woman you married, but there is something about Liz. She is a natural in front of the camera. You should use her more often than you do. I love the Lighting in this shot. As always nice work. Dave

Craig Kokkeler		15-Jul-2005 00:04
Nice flower Wm and Wanda may I make an order for a dozen. Great work as always voted # 1

Guest		14-Jul-2005 21:43
Re: "I have way more things on my mind than I'm getting a free peek." Wow! But, I believe Bill. He is with his beautiful wife everyday so I can see how it would happen...but maybe a "glance" (if that is smaller than a peek?) :-))) Seriously, the artistic qualities of this are awesome to this snap shot level camera guy who is a seasoned citizen. (Now to go and try to convince my beautiful bride of many years to pose like Wanda and let a friend like Elizabeth do so too...oh, wait, we don't have a friend that looks like Elizabeth!! :-)

Lee Rudd		14-Jul-2005 20:08
A beautiful flower picture ! Lovely lighting - thanks for the explanation

Guest		14-Jul-2005 19:53
Always enjoy the photo's of Liz ...

Monte Stevens		14-Jul-2005 15:39
This is well done and tasteful. You do good work, Bill!

Wm. Bates		14-Jul-2005 15:22
Lighting was pretty simple. I had a Canon 550 EX flash on a stand shooting through a 60" umbrella to her right and slightly behind her and then a 30" reflector to her left. I put the camera in manual set my shutter speed and aperture and let the cameras ETTL metering sort things out. We shot 26 exposures with slight variations in pose and lighting. We took some without the reflector that I just didn't like. After adding the reflector it took a number of exposures to get the reflector set to light just what I wanted.

Guest		14-Jul-2005 15:03
Bill, a question about the lighting. I assume you only used two lights for this (or did you use a reflector?). How did you get the correct lighting for this? Was it repeated tries to get it right or did you use a light meter? What was your process to achieve the desired effect?

Wm. Bates		14-Jul-2005 14:37
Kenneth, yes Elizabeth is a friend. Now on to the real question, "how do you get them to pose nude for you?" Maybe the best answer is I don't "get" them to do anything. Before a shoot what the images will be is discussed. The poses, clothing or lack of clothing. We also talk about what they are comfortable with. Sometimes what they feel comfortable with will change during a shoot. Another thing is woman...and guys too...want to be beautiful and they wanted to be treated like they are beautiful but with respect. When they see a picture of one of their friends that is pretty, they want one too. If you were professional during the shoot then most woman have no problem recommending you to their friends. Another reality for the photographer. When shooting photos like this; I'm to busy to pay much attention to the state of dress of the model. I have way more things on my mind than I'm getting a free peek. Getting the lights just right, getting all the angles and curves just right, adjusting the pose and camera settings keeps you busy. Your mind tends to be somewhere completely different than thinking about the naked person in front of you. Sorry guys it isn't the turn on many guys think it might be. Yeah it is work. So to sum it up...be respectful, professional and make them beautiful.. Do that and you develop a level of trust and they will be comfortable with you. If you don't have a willing model or two to get started, I would suggest hiring some models. Build a nice and tasteful portfolio to show prospects. You never know maybe someday you will have people paying you to take naked pictures of them :^)

Kenneth Zimmerman		14-Jul-2005 13:50
Great use of light and shadows. Well done. Is she a good friend? How do you get them to pose nude for you?

Rene Hales		14-Jul-2005 12:56
Concur with others--beautiful lighting.--Rene

Guest		14-Jul-2005 07:56
Just right for B&W, good concept and beautiful line [or should that be curves?] but the shadows on her face aren’t too flattering. Could I suggest a little more light to lift them or less light to conceal her features and give an air of mystery.

Steven Jusczyk		14-Jul-2005 05:55
Beautiful use of light. Nice curves, too.

Guest		14-Jul-2005 04:35
Same comment like Maruetea, simply great. Wanda will have concurrence!

Guest		14-Jul-2005 04:08
Sensual, great tone .... lighting is super

Steve Patterson		14-Jul-2005 04:02
sorry, that was "comes from someone".

Steve Patterson		14-Jul-2005 03:59
Yup...much, much better than a flower picture..and that come from someone in a flower rut! It has an edgy look to it.

Guest		14-Jul-2005 03:38
Great lighting!!

Robin Reid		14-Jul-2005 03:37
Excellent partnership. Lighting and b&w treatment is powerful. I'm not wild about the look on her face..it distracts from the body beautiful.

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