Table top I

beauty, erotic, Personal Pictures

I will continue my single image posts until I run out of stock :p

Result of the ‘At the Mansion’ shoot with Anna O., in Ronse Belgium.

Styling and photography by me.

Make up and model: Anna Orlova

Limited edition prints available.

Table Top Nude I

Ludwigdesmet_AnnaO-8706

It is ok to like 😉

About the technique, I still work mainly (if not only) with natural light. This image has been made with the help of a tripod, because of the relatively long shutter speed, and in an attempt to keep a clean, frontal composition. I have multiple images of this session, but I think this one best expresses the beautiful shape of Anna’s body. No light source except the window light. Some light is bouncing back from the wall just behind me.

Canon 5D II – Canon EF 24 mm f1.4 L II – 1/10sec – f3.5 – ISO 100.

Ludwig

Nude Studio Setup – 3 lights

beauty, Personal Pictures, personal tips & tricks, Tips and Tricks

Hi there,

I’m planning on a series of posts with some explanation of the studio setups I’ve used for my portfolio shoots.

Here’s te first one. The model has some massage oil on her body, just very slightly. A slightly colored setup.

Portfolio studio setup

A triple light setup for a body shape portrait.

Model is laying down on a black velvet cloth, which literally absorbs all light. It is positioned in a infinite floor to wall shape.

1. On the left, studio flash with reflector, gridded. Gridded to keep the light from spilling all over in the studio. Reflector for those nice highlights on the body.

2. On the right, studio flash with small softbox (60x60cm) partially covered with a red cloth, for a slight color shift. I discovered that the use thin colored cloth works in a similar way as gels, and it is easy to just move the cloth a little bit (a wooden clothespin works just fine) to have a stronger or weaker effect. I currently work with some kind of very thin colored cloth pieces, like a magician would use. This second flash not as strong as the first one and aimed a little more off the model

3. just next to the camera, I’ve put an additional flash (Speedlite 580), again with a colored cloth in front (blue-ish) to slightly fill in the shaded areas.

Camera is just above the floor (me lying down).

Setup:

Studio setup 1 - Ludwig Desmet

85mm – 1/125th – f3.2

I probably would have been better of aiming for a smaller aperture for larger depth of field, but this is the way it is 😉

hope you’ve found some inspiration here.

see you soon,

Ludwig

Nude (In)cognito – the exhibit

beauty, exhibition, Personal Pictures, projects

hi folks,

last weekend seemed like a roller coaster of happenings and emotions.

last friday evening, I’ve built up the exhibit for my ‘end of studies’ project Nude (In)cognito.

Saturday morning I had my Jury presentation at 9:30. The jury was rather severe, and focused mainly at the weaknesses of the project/the selection/the presentation.

That’s the best thing they can do, show you the possible points of attention, but it left me full of doubts and questions. Had I not worked 5 months within the idea of presenting a very good body of work?

After that we had a funeral to attend to, unfortunately. Very strong emotions of sadness and helplessness. A very good friends grandchild died after being born prematurely, and a short life of only 8 weeks. Tears and deep deep sorrow.

Saturday evening came the reception, where I had the opportunity to speak to some of the jurors, and already better rumors came my way. (about my work presented) This helped me understand the questioning I had had early that morning. A glass of sparkling bubbles and a fine meal afterwards, and then off to bed.

Sunday, at about 10 am the exhibit opened, and we literally had to search for an escape route at midday, to get some food in between. An overwhelming amount of people have come to visit the exhibition. Rightfully, absolutely. I think there were about 23 students who presented their work. I have seen a lot of beautiful work, and I’ve met a lot of enthusiastic people, both photographers and visitors.

I would like to thank all the people who have attended the exhibit, thank you for your warm reactions, your attentions and the good talks.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the exhibit. I enjoyed it for sure. Literally broken yesterday evening, but happy after all.

I’ll include a picture of my part of the exhibit, and I will probably post some more detailed ‘making of’ articles on the different shoots I did for this project.

For all those interested in posing nude, I’m rather sure that I will continue this project, so please do contact me if you feel like taking part in this.

thank you,

Ludwig

LudwigDesmet-portfolio-4697