Belinda Among the Houseplants
New work from a casual boudoir session with Belinda. She’s been having a rough time lately and this shoot was a good change of pace. I think it’s important to take a break from normal life every now and then and just enjoy the moment. So, we had a moment, shared with the young monstera deliciousa and other small plants I am growing.
The way I see it, a large part of art is knowing how to apply your feelings to a visual aesthetic or sensibility, and more importantly, recognizing those feelings in the first place. I knew I wanted these photographs to be both soft and dreamy, but also dark and mysterious. Here’s what I used and how:
For this series I was using my vintage 50mm lens which has a bit of a soft focus effect, while still being sharp. While I have had this lens for many years now, it is still a challenge to master. For instance, the blooming soft focus effect is at its maximum when the lens is stopped fully open at f1.4, and stopping it down to f2.8 reduces this and increases sharpness, but doesn’t actually darken the exposure. Sometimes this lens also has the effect of a lighter circle in the middle, which may be some sort of soft lens flare as light reflects on a glass element within the lens (this effect stands out in the second-to-last photograph in this set).
As with my previous session with Kealani, I wanted to create a dark atmosphere and mood to contrast the bright light in this otherwise cheerful well-lit room. To do this, I metered my exposure to preserve details in the curtains (in order for them to not be totally blown-out white), and let Belinda and the plants fall into shadow. Then, in lightroom I processed the photographs to dial in the feeling I had. Personally, some of the black and white photos are just killer, and exactly what I wanted. But on the other hand, some of the later photographs among the plants only work in color, where you can see the contrast of the green plants and Belinda’s skin tones. My philosophy is that when shape and tone are the focus, Black and White is better, but when the color is important to the image (or the subject itself!), you just gotta go with Color.
If you have any questions, are curious about doing a session of your own, or want to discuss anything, drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy my work with Belinda.
