Change of pace: Two hours with Kym

I’d been wanting to add something different to my own portfolio and while pondering what this might be, Kym got in touch. We discussed a blend of sheer, implied, boudoir, and fine art nude. All genres I am familiar with and well within my comfort zone.  

Good pre-shoot communications are imperative to ensure all parties are clear on themes and boundaries are not accidentally overstepped or misunderstood. There are, of course, those who have no respect for other's boundaries, as I have discussed in a previous post. Intuition and emotional intelligence are useful tools in this process, and I had a particularly good feeling from Kym. I’d recently indulged in a mint Fuji X-T100 bundle with an extremely low shutter count. It was at the right price (and the catalyst for shifting some old but still serviceable camera bodies and kit lenses).  

However, there’s a golden rule of not running unfamiliar equipment-same goes for motor/cycle racing or any event where reliability takes precedence. I brought my hand-held “Light wand” for some additional, tunable lighting, trusty Sony A6000 and A6300 bodies, spare batteries, memory cards, and  Viltrox 1.4 lenses to counter problems associated with low light. Retrospectively, the lighter of my tripods might’ve been helpful, too. 

 

No sooner had I headed out on the motorway, rains of biblical proportions struck, and, while sandwiched between two HGVs, a tidal wave of water threatened to spell the end of KA and I. Waterlogged surfaces were also making traction difficult, despite decent tyres. At one stage, the little car’s engine began to misfire, so I pulled onto the hard shoulder, left the engine running and we recomposed ourselves.  

I eventually arrived with 4 minutes to spare (despite almost doubling the time suggested by Google and Sat Nav alike). Against this backdrop, I was determined and focused. Kym was extremely welcoming, with an infectious curiosity and enthusiasm. As an experienced model, I wasn’t surprised to find her very self-aware and while collaboration and ideas flowed seamlessly between us, she needed minimal direction.  

 

Sally

While I’ve been planning shoots with select models, I’ve not been doing very much shooting, due to the pandemic and more recently, escalation in cases. I’ve been a little cautious about working in confined spaces, although thankfully, those studios at my disposal are very well organised in this respect.

Sally is a new model who has entered via the Instagram corridor and works shoots around roles within social care- a sector I am very familiar with, courtesy of previous careers, which thawed the ice very readily.

We covered a mix of themes from very casual fashion through to lingerie, which gave me the opportunity to watch how she moved and how to pose her in the most flattering ways.

This also enabled me to get a closer look at this Leica M6, which grabbed and held my attention rather longer than the owner might’ve hoped/bargained for. Sally impressed with her open, considered approach and willingness to take direction. Talking equipment, I shot this set using my trusty Alpha 6000 and Signa 30mm 2.8 prime lens. The otherwise brilliant 50mm Viltrox (which I also carried) would’ve made things a little trickier).

The A6000 is a good default for me, especially since I’m presently in temporary accommodation, most of my camera and other belongings in secure storage. Works well in the studio and on location, compact, though handles well, even for longer periods and quite good for street photography, since its less conspicuous than an SLR, or SLR sized CSCs.