Patreon-exclusive

A little behind-the-scenes from how Anna and I made the previously posted image (and this isn't posted anywhere but Patreon!).

One reason this style has become such a favorite among my followers is because there are so many possible interpretations of the completed work. Whatever your experiences are, you can find something of yourself in it.

Shooting this style is really physically demanding both for myself and for the model, and cognitively straining for me as well. It takes constant focus and muscle control. At the end of the 8-10 minutes it takes to shoot this, we are utterly exhausted, and then we have the "moment of truth" where I quickly scroll through the photos and the model can see whether or not she was successful in holding completely still. (If she doesn't hold still, I have to stretch her body in unnatural ways in the editing process, to make it work.) And it's so easy to miss a detail, failing to get an angle or amount of pressure that the final composition requires, or failing to account for changing shadows. It's not uncommon to have to shoot more than 100 photos just to make the one final image.

[Note — I've discovered I live in a world where I have to say this: I do not touch my models in any way, including adjusting hair and clothing, without first getting verbal affirmative consent. And if there's an image where another person appears in the frame with the girl, I leave it up to her to decide whom she's most comfortable with, whether it's me or a friend who came with her, or the makeup artist or significant other. Some photographers will not touch their models even if the model prefers it, and some photographers try to touch their models without permission. I don't do either. I've chosen the route that communicates, I think, the most respect to the models' wishes. There are people who judge me harshly for this without taking the time to find out what they're even talking about. Respect the model; respect the photographer; respect the artmaking process. And enjoy the results, in full confidence that the model and I got what we agreed we wanted.]