Look at this image I shot just the other day – yes, it is another post in my recent model portrait series, this time to show you a simple creative technique you can use in camera:

Pretty in Pink - Kim Gorenko (Photo: Michael Willems)

Pretty in Pink (Photo: Michael Willems)

Namely.. the blur at the bottom.

This surely looks like something I did in Photoshop – perhaps even Lightroom? But no – I did this while shooting, using the camera.

How?

Here’s how. I simply placed an object (a mirror, in this case) in front of me, very close to my lens, and shot right over it. That blurs the bottom of the image, because the mirror is completely out of focus.

And call me crazy, but I like doing things in camera when I can. This image is basically “straight out of camera” (“SOOC”). Shot using a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 1/60 sec at f / 5.6, ISO 400, and lit with two speedlights, one on camera, one off camera. Using TTL, with flash compensation set to +1 stop to expose high-key. This is visually stunning, and also smooths skin.


By the way – I blurred to make it a “work safe” image. If you want to see some of my art nudes, head over to my occasionally-updated Tumblr site at http://mvwphoto.tumblr.com

2 thoughts on “

  1. Hi Michael,

    I really like your use of the out of doors for your nudes, like the “Red, Green and Blue” by the train tracks and “Rock Nude”. How do you determine when and where you can shoot out door nudes? Are you finding private property, do you have a “look out”, or are you taking calculated risks?

    Thanks

    • Sam – I just look for a quiet place and shoot. If there’s anyone, I ask if they object to a nude shoot. Canadians are pretty easygoing typically. And if anyone cannot handle nudity, I’ll have that discussion with them at that time…

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