Gallery
Model Shoots: I know talking business is no fun, but understanding these details can help make sure an exchange between us will turn out well for both of us, and more as you would hoped it would. Avoiding becoming an unpleasant experience for you now, or later on as well. Here are some details and policies to consider for a photo shoot with me. Details you are not likely to get from most other photographers, which commonly give the model no rights or control of the images they created together. I also wrote about this in more detail in my journal: http://darrianashoka.deviantart.com/journal/Advice-To-Take-Good-Modeling-Photos-for-Less-338249129 Shooting Locations: If you are within the Portland, Oregon area, or going to be in town and are open to setting up a photo shoot with me please let me know through e-mail: dar@mind-temple.com, or message me through DA. I have a portable studio quality strobe lighting kit with battery packs, so indoor/outdoor locations shoots are not a problem. Why I Would Do This for Free: As you see from my main Featured Portfolio and my business web site I have used photography over the last quarter Century to promote my sheet metal work on-line, but it is still more fun to shoot interesting people as a hobby, and I would like to keep photography fun. If I try to run it as a business it would no longer be my passion, which is why I'm not trying to make money off it. I'd love to see what we could do with more time and an assortment of outfits and hair styles. Body Type: That's great if you are in good shape, but I do not expect my models to be slender. I feel we need to redefine beauty as what is healthy. Yet we seem to have rather unhealthy standard pushed on our youth these days through so many media outlets. Chaperones: Many photographers will not allow a chaperone to accompany you, since they often tend to be disruptive, but I would like you to feel very comfortable and safe, so you are welcome to bring along anyone you feel safe with, and may be able to help out would be best. I will not be alone with a model either, to protect myself from a 'he said, she said situation', where it would be my word against her's. I have never had a problem like that, and I need to keep it that way. A reputation may take a life time to develop, yet could be destroyed in a flash with one accusation. Nude Modeling & Compensation: If you'd rather keep things rated G that's perfectly fine for just TFP compensation (trade for pics). As you can see I am open to more racy glamor shots, but not looking for any physical contact, so that is not a worry. Nude modeling should be compensated work. Models typically charge the photographer $50 an hour for implied nudes, and twice as much for full nude modeling. Any more than this and you would be venturing into the cost for illegal escort services, which I am not looking for. Photos Distribution: As you may know most modeling releases do not give the model or their decedents any rights to control how those photos are used or distributed. Unlike most photographers I am not looking to sell porn on the net, other than posting shot here in my DA profile for their artistic merit. If you were open to posing nude, yet do not want those images shared on-line I would honor that request, but compensation would be a good deal less with those restriction. I will still share those images with you privately to use as you wish. You can bring a memory stick with you to have me copy them over to. My Aim: Yes, I am clearly most interested in pretty female forms, as you can see, and I will not apologies for this; as it seems most men are hard wired this way for the grand purpose of perpetuating the species. This does not mean I am looking to spread my seed. I am monogamous. Not a cheater, so I am not looking for any 'hank-panky'. I am not only interested in nudes, as there is a lot to be said for the artful tease. During a shoot I want to keep it fun and as pleasant as possible for all involved. I will not be bossing my model around during a shoot, or trying to talk her into expanding her comfort level (taking her clothes off), which is why it's best to have a clear understanding before the photo shoot, and not deviate from those boundaries during the shoot. I do not want her to feel any pressure to do more than she is comfortable with, so do not be shy to make this perfectly clear before hand what your boundaries are. I do not want to offend anyone within this process. There is no shortage of attractive women happy to pose nude for serious photographers, so I have no need to push any one beyond their comfort zone. Equipment: Lighting tends to be the single most important detail in photography. For lighting I use professional studio strobe lights for these images shown here for softer shadows and better color saturation. I have an AlienBee 800 standard and ring light, and an Einstein 640 controlled with my Cyber Commander made by Paul Buff. For portability they can be powered with my Vagabond lithium battery packs, which last for around 1,000 flashes or so on a single charge. The strobes are pointed away from the subjects into silver reflective umbrellas with me shooting between them to help eliminate harsh shadows while increasing the candle power substantially for better focal depth for sharper images than any amateur photography and better than many professional photographers tend to shoot. I am not satisfied unless I can shoot at the lowest ISO setting and above f/13. Any image can have parts of it blurred in post editing, but you cannot sharpen a blurry image. The camera I use is a 45 meg full frame Nikon D850 they released in early 2018. I use a Nikkor 24-120mm zoom lens, so I can change the framing of the image without having to get so close to the model. I know many professional photographers prefer a primary fixed lens (no zoom), but I find that way too restrictive. I don't want to have to get up close in my subjects face to get a head-shot that is not as flattering making her nose look larger than normal. Also, every time they change their lens it introduces dust on the sensor, which will make dark spots on the images. If you download the full resolution image file I have posted here you will see how clear and sharp these images are even when zoomed in at full size with no visible camera noise, where other photographer's image do not look good full size. Many may not care about these details, but this is an important detail that separates the amateurs from a professional level photographer. Or those claiming to know photography.
