Tuesday, December 15, 2009


This model is very tall, so long legs can be a challenge. It can help to compress the composition a little using a long focal length lens.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

This photo was for a Christmas card from a couple of years ago. I didn't send it to that many people.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

From a shoot with two women. Another shot on film. 400 iso pushed to 1600. Higher speeds add film grain and reduce shadow detail. These are usually considered to detriments, but grain and contrast can add drama in the right composition.
Here is something for feet and shoes fans. This is from a private shoot. The client wanted something iconic to use as an avatar on social networking sites. It's a small part of a person's body, but feet can be quite expressive.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

I was contacted by a woman who was pregnant and wanted to be photographed. She brought her sister to the shoot and convinced her sister to pose as well.

Saturday, July 25, 2009


From another dominatrix shoot. It can be interesting to create these film still like theme images.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Every so often a person wants to be photographed nude, but not nude, showing her face, but not showing her face. So, there can be solution for that.
More water droplet mania.

Thursday, July 16, 2009



I've been doing some experimenting with "splash" photography. I've tried doing photos in shower stalls, but never had enough room. This is a studio shot shot made to look like a shower.


Something as simple as water droplets can add interest and texture to a photo.


I like these kind of simple, elegant compositions.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009



I usually like to work the environment into a picture, but it can be interesting to work with just the positive and negative spaces that the body creates on a black background. It's especially interesting if you have the right model.

Thursday, March 26, 2009



Another photo from a dreary London afternoon. Soft window light can be a challenge to work with, but I think it helps to create the mood of this photo.


This is the same model as in the last post. Just about without exception, first time models loosen up after a short period of time.

Friday, March 13, 2009



This is one of the first photos in a session with a first time model. Some models want to dive right into the shoot and other want to take it slowly. It helps to have robes and towels available for models who want to take it by easy stages.

Monday, March 2, 2009


Here is a shot with a little different style for me. I experimented with studio lights, leaving the soft boxes off and just shooting with bare bulbs and a snoot on the light. It creates a higher contrast, more graphic style.

Thursday, February 26, 2009



A profile portrait of adult film actress Amy Ried. This shot was taken in the last of the afternoon light coming through the window of an apartment in Santa Monica

Thursday, February 12, 2009



I've done a few shoots with Dominatrixes. I can't say that I completely understand or appreciate the fetish, but I do like the imagery and the high contrast of the clothing and accessories. I like the short depth of field of this shot.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009



When posing a model, rather than just saying "hold up your hands and look to the left" it can work better to give a model a starting point and follow her lead. This model was a fan of 1930s icon Josephine Baker, so I said, be Josephine Baker. And she did.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009



I'm often accused of not doing enough shots from behind, so here's one.

Saturday, January 31, 2009



A simple prop like a mirror on the floor can lead to potentially interesting compositions.


I always prefer to use natural light coming through the window. That is not always possible, so I try to fake it using cross lighting a reflectors.


The high contrast lighting seemed to work well with this model's darker complexion. Strobe light allow you move and breathe while posing and this model was posing nude for the first time, so she needed to breathe.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Another shoot with a first time model. This photo was done with studio lighting.

Monday, January 19, 2009

I'm not always a big fan of in your face spread legs photos. On the other hand, I think it can be interesting to use a pose or subject matter more associated with porn and try to get an interesting photo in spite of it.
This is a photo taken in backstreets of Tallinn Estonia with a Holga camera. Holgas are plastic cameras that were originally meant as toy cameras. The single element plastic lens has a characteristic vignetting and distortion. The effect can be used to the photographer's advantage and the Holga has a cult following.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

This model does a lot of retro-pin up style modeling. For this shoot, I asked her to do her hair and make-up 50s style. This shot was done with 3200 iso film to reinforce the vintage photo look.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Another image with high contrast studio lighting. This model had an interesting tattoo on her back that added to the texture of the image.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Another moody, end of the session, photo in the late afternoon.