Bella... Creatively Provocative

 

Bella likes to combine three themes in a shoot, and this appears very successful. She wanted to play with the sensual secretary trope, working through more provocative, erotic themes. I let her lead the concept and shot these at F1.8 using natural light and a 50mm prime lens. This gives a nice depth of field, sharp image quality, and appropriate physical distance between model and photographer.     

 Art nude and other genres are open to interpretation. The hard and fast rule being that full frontal, exposed genitals should not feature.

However, others would consider concealed and implied nude as artistic nudity. Therefore, it's very important to be crystal clear about the content and terms before shooting. Some models would be very happy being bottomless and using a camera body to obscure their pubic triangle, others feel this a step too far. 

A model might be happy to reveal their breasts but conceal their nipples. Either way, never assume and never push someone's levels. Modela and indeed photographers should never be expected, or cajoled into doing something they are not entirely comfortable with. Aside from being deeply unethical, this will always tell in the images.

Bella Pt2 Domestic Goddess

Bella came back to me, asking to do a second shoot. This time at her home. Now, I’ll confess to being particularly flattered by this invite. Our homes are at once the spaces we consider safest, but they are also where we can be most vulnerable. I am a very private person, and my home is my sanctuary. I am particularly selective when it comes to people crossing the threshold.  

Bella clearly felt comfortable with me (and vice versa) during our first shoot and we discussed something a little racier. Tasteful, but not the kind of themes typically associated with the great outdoors-especially given the wet and changeable conditions. Both of us commented that far from being closed-minded, we have become increasingly selective about the people and concepts we are happy to work with.

 

We continued the lingerie theme and four sets in total. Bella sent me a selection of themes and ideas she wanted to explore, which was extremely helpful as a pre-shoot template.   There was a decent amount of natural light in her home, but still required some help from a reflector and, for the kitchen shots, a Godox speedlight set to 1/125.

I’d taken these with my trusty A6000 set to ISO 400 and 33mm 1.4 Viltrox lens. In some respects, a 23mm 1.4 would’ve made some of the angles and shots easier but the lenses' wider angle can also give less flattering results, so I went for the 33mm with a 50mm 1.8 in reserve.