Pregnancy Portraits

I just recently took some photos of my beautiful Sicilian friend Ida (and proud husband and father Nehnad) just 3 days before she gave birth to a gorgeous little girl.

Check it out!

And then, check out some other beautiful women with big bellies

http://www.amielsius.com/love/pregnant

Costal Living

Here are some of the photos I took for Swedish Llife Style Magazine SkärgårdsHemfor their September issue.

 

My dear Sister with family spends their summers at the beautiful Bohus Malmön, an island on the west coast of Sweden. Their house is built on poles right on the water in the small natural harbour.  Editor in Chief Martin Goodwin, has had a strong connection to Bohus Malmön for years: He’ spent many hours searching the ocean floor in the area, for an old  treasure he’s convinced he will find one day. When it was time to write the article about my sisters summer house he made sure to come along himself to do the interview. You should have seen his face when he found out that my sister is a long time dive fan and sometimes starts her dives straight from the house. I don’t have the Pdf of the article so I haven’t posted it here. It’s nice reading though…but it is in Swedish. Enjoy the photos!

I used the Manfrotto 303PLUS Panoramic Head. Check out  http://www.philrowlinson.com/photography/reviews/manfrotto-303PLUS.html for a good review of the head. I used the light but sturdy Manfrotto 055 CX Pro to keep it in place and used Autopano Giga, a great panoramic stitching software that you can buy from http://www.kolor.com/

 

For further information of the west cost of Sweden  check out this link: http://www.vastsverige.com/sv/bohuslan/

 

Magic reflections

How did I do that? 

 

Photoshop genius?  A spirit? Awesome light setting skills? Smoke?

 

Sometimes you just need to be in the right place in the right time…and keep your eyes open and have your camera handy.

 

Fact is I was just at the right place at the right time. The reflections are actually 100% natural. A late afternoon at my mums place, the sun, filtered through leaves shining in to the living room through a small gap in the window where the marquise didn’t reach. The rays played with the hand blown glass and bounced off the small stone pebbles that covered the bottom. I was there, I moved the bowl back and forth, but it was just in that position that you saw the magic and I could hardly believe what I saw; It looked like smoke dancing on the wall, but it was still and motionless.

 

 

I had it printed and framed and now it hangs in my mums house, on the wall right opposite where the glas bowl is. My mum took a couple of photos of the result and sent me….I like it and am tempted to do one like that for myself as well.

 

Photos for Hotel Imperiale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was some some of the photos I took of the terrace…now for something totally different. Some food fom the Restaurant at Hotel Imperiale. It was a very quick shoot using natural light together with Litepanels  Micro Pro LED light. www.litepanels.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buon Apetito!

 

 

 

 

 

Pimp your snapshots

Random, crappy snapshots can be pimped through a polaroid application. It will add an aged and dreamy feel to the images and you will notice that all of a sudden, photos that you never thought would go together makes nice albums and series. There are photos and cameras with built in functions, but if you need to convert your files there are many programs that can help you with that.

I downloaded  this really cute and probably the most authentic Polaroid feel application you will find….. for free at http://www.polaroid.net

Here are some of my random snap shots that I never dreamt of putting on my website…but looking at them like this, I start to warm to them. What do you think?

 

 

 

Photos from yesterdays shoot at the abandoned slaughterhouse

Playing with an idea of the differences and likenesses that we get attracted to and repelled from in our friends and partners. How we often want different things; one pulls away while the other one is chasing, one is ready while the other want to wait. Indecisiveness, different points of view, trying to balance things, wanting to escape, attraction, fear, confusion and passion all mixed together….and I guess, without even planning it, the location of the shoot…the old slaughterhose… also adds and puts a twist to the words “Meet Market” and “Hooked” and when I saw the sign where it’s written “Permanente” I just had to laugh.

 

Yesterdays shoot turned out to be very multi cultural, with models:

Lais Dias Gomes fom Brazil, Laura Marciano from Italy, Olivier Langhendries from Belgium, Maria Panagiwtova from Russia but with a Greek Father and Pete Russell from Scotland who’s mum is from New Zealander….and with the Swede behind the camera.

 

With hail, rain and a thunderstorm the day before, we felt blessed to discover a warm day without a cloud in site. I managed to find this abandoned slaughterhouse with flaking paint and rusty hooks, not very far from where I live. It is a bit of a hike there and we had to go through prickly bushes, past drug addict’s homes and over a high wall to get there. It seamed that every one got in to it though and really enjoyed it, in particular the adventure and exploring part of it. We were shooting from about 6-8 pm.

Thank you Lais, Maria, Laura, Olive and Pete, you are great!

Here are some of the photos…I think you can tell that we has a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next photos of Laura and Lais  are not part of the series, but I still want to show them to you…I like them.

 

 

 

 

It won’t happen again

 

I haven’t written a post for a few weeks; I am a terrible blogger! I am feeling like a bad mother that has abandoned her baby. Dear sweet blog, forgive me. I will not forget about you like this again.

 

So what I have been up to; been down to Sicily on two trips, taking photos for 3 hotels:

 

Il Piccolo Giardino; a very charming neat, clean and modern 3 star hotel in Taormina with very friendly and helpful service and with a top location just a few stairway steps  from the main street. Really cute garden and great roof top with pool, bar sun beds and with an amazing view over Taormina, the Greek theatre and the ocean.

 

Hotel Metropole, a  magnificent 5 star Hotel with a long and interesting history,  reopened last year after 40 years of sleep, right on Corso Umberto in Taormina, with fantastic views over the sea. It’s a must see, even if you just pop in for a meal (food is fantastic) or for drinks during their weekly jazz festival.

 

 

 

Il Parco Degli Ulivi in Villafranca, a spacious and very tranquil 3 star resort on a secluded hill with uninterrupted views of the Sicilian countryside and the ocean; great for nature and horse lovers (yes they have horses for rent) and families with children…also great spot for weddings and business events. Infinity pool overlooking the Aeolian island and with magnificent sunsets over the sea.

 

 

As soon as I have finished the post production of all the photos I will post them here with some more info on the hotels.

 

 

Now I got to get organized for today’s outdoor photo shoot.

 

Have a great day!

Make up and Light

Make up for photographers

 

Something that many amateur photographers miss, is that make up can make or break a photo. The skill of the make up artist is of course important however, the right direction and communication is crucial to manifest your vision and get the result you want.

There are some things that you as a photographer should know about light and make up. How different types of lotions, oils, foundations and powders give totally different results in different lights and angles and on different types of skin.

I will post an other article on how to get your vision across, direct teams and understand and interpret the vision of your clients…for now I will stick to  make up and light

 

 

 

Tide line means the contrast on the neck or jaw line as a result of badly applied foundation in a contrasting colour to the skin tone.

 

Make up offers endless creative possibilities. Get out and get inspired! (or stay in and flick through a magazine, a book , watch a film or browse the internet)

 

Yes that’s right, it’s useful even for photographers to have a beauty bag with the most important items. It can easily happen that your make up artist or stylist has forgot something. It’s not fun if chipped black nail polish, a shiny forehead or a badly fitted dress should ruin your shot…when it easily can be avoided. *Chicken fillets means silicon shaped as chicken fillets, to fill out a bra or top if needed. Mainly used for catalogue photos where you use skinny flat-breasted models for clothes that are made for curvier women.

 

Only apply body lotion or oil to your model if you can do it in a non-sexual way. You want to use the same approach as you would when putting sun block on your child: effective, even non sexual and totally comfortable with his/her nudity. Make sure to bend fingers and legs, arms and feet to get the make up, oil or lotion also in the creases of the elbows, knuckles, knees and heals.

To apply powder on the face, light brush strokes (tap the brush first to get rid of excess) in an outward motion from the eyebrow centre. This is to avoid brushing agains the small hairs on the face.

Highlighter is best applied to the collarbones, neck and shoulders…any part that you want to stand out a bit extra and reflect some more light

 

In practice

Here I have used 3 different light set ups and 3 different types of make up. The photos on the right are taken with the light from the left and the photos on the left are taken with the light shining straight on to the top of the hand. Here you can easily see the difference between different make ups  in different lights and with the light comming from different angles. Remember that different body parts respond different as well; ex. a oil might look good on the legs but terrible on the face. Power might work wonders on a shiny forhead but look like a joke on a hairy chest. Highlighter on the collarbones might look stunning but applied to the nose you the model might look like Rudolfs sister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy studio lighting at home

If you don’t have a big space to turn in to a photo studio…it’s ok; hardly any photographer starts out with a big professional fully kitted studio. Actually, it can be beneficial to no have all the gear and facilities from the beginning…you get to improvise, be inventive and learn to adapt your lights, set up and poses to the present conditions.

 

Here’s an example of a simple studio set up taken in a home environment. Silvia, a dance teacher and performer showed up at my home in Milan (I haven’t got my own photo studio here yet) desperate to get some photos for her Burlesque classes that were about to start soon. As I was busy with other things I could only give her an hour, I had to find an easy light solution that would do the trick.

I decided to use my Quuantum trio flashes with battery packs and wireless control. http://www.qtm.com/ They are small, easy to place, powerful and fast…with numerous light shaping possibilities. I have had them for less then a year and I just keep appreciating them more and more and finding new ways to use them all the time.  I worked with the standard round diffuser with filters (one red and one blue) on two flash heads and a small square soft box on a third flash.

If you have other flashes you could buy gels and attach them on to your flash to get the same effect.

 

I used the Manfrotto Event Kit  ( DIY03KIT) but in a slightly different way from what it is intended. I added a Manfrotto heavy duty flex arm ( 237 HD ) to the reflector holder (which can hold up to a 122cm diameter reflector) , which is included in the event kit; to add some hight. I used a  sunfire reflector from Lastolite

The left flash was supplied with a deep blue filter (part of the quuntum filter kit)  and clamped on to a chair with the Manfrotto spring clamp with flash shoe ( 175F ) pointing at the reflector.The spring clamp has become a favourite; it’s ideal for photographing small spaces and interiors where a normal light support would be in the way. You can clamp in on to curtain rods, tables, doors, trees, windows etc.

The middle light is fitted on to an  Manfrotto 233B bracket with the 026 swivel that can rotate and move  the flash unit away up to 45 cm, which in turn is fitted on a Manfrotto black alu air cushioned mini compact stand (can be bought separate or in a 3 pack).

I used the quuantum foldable softbox for the midle light, without any coloured filters or gels.

For my third light I used my Gitzo ocean traveller with a mounted Manfrotto project/monitor holder 183, which I fitted a red light to. I pointed it through the frosted glass which made the light more pink in the tone.

I moved the middle light from right to the left depending on the pose of the model, making sure that it was always pointing at her face.

Nude photography; inspiration

 

To grow and develop as a photographer you got to feed your inspiration, try new things, experiment and keep being curious. Finding your style, can take time: It is made up of your personality, preferences, experience and knowledge.

There are as many different ways to shoot nudity as there are bodies.

What is considered to be sexy with the body varies from person to person, from continent to continent and from time to time. As for the female body a lot of people would say breast and bottoms, followed by legs and the waist, but I have met people that find the neck, feet, diaphragm, ears, the back, sexual organ and shoulders the most attractive part of a female body.

Some like it model thin, some like it curvy, some like it very big, others prefer a strong athletic body. You can find people that gets off on bodies with amputated arms and legs, that want a lot of body hair, that prefer different coloured skins, with or without freckles. The body come in different, shapes sizes and colours…but if you think about it…it doesn’t really change all that much.

It’s funny, dogs for instance that comes in all types of colours, textures, shapes and sizes are often considered nice and cute no matter what. Or take a dolphin with a larger fin, smaller eyes or longer nose, is just as beautiful to us as an “average dolphin”.  But when it comes to humans….the slightest variations can be interpreted as very ugly or very beautiful.

 

It might be good to pause and ask yourself what you would like to create, express, experiment with.  Sexy, romantic, bold, graphic, documentary….there are many ways to portray the naked human body.

 

Get inspired from what some other photographers have done.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you are inspired

 

 

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