I have always admired photographers who specialized in glamour.

They may be men but they are very in tuned to how makeup works on the variety of skin tones, hair color and  facial features of the women they photograph.

Coordinating all that and wardrobe alone is enough to make my head spin.

 

Having a makeup artists on hand is definitely a god sent.

I recently connected with makeup artist and hair stylist Anna Cameron recently so we when we got together, we collaborated to photograph aspiring model Maria Nuñez.

We worked in the basement of Back to the Grind coffeehouse.

Important Questions

On my early conversation with Maria, I had some very important questions.

I learned  her hair was silver.

I also asked about tattoos.

Then I made a call to Anna Cameron makeup artist and hair stylist.

We both agreed this would definitely be a fun shoot.

It’s not very often we come across silver hair.

Imagine asking a model to color their hair silver just for a shoot?

Probably not going to happen.

Safety, Psychology & Other thoughts

Keep in mind that this was the very first time I was meeting Maria so it took a bit of time for us to get comfortable with each other.

Maria brought along her very helpful friend Arielle to watch and for company.

Arielle made the wonderful  behind-the-scene pictures.

Thanks again Arielle!

(I highly recommend young ladies going out on photoshoots to bring a companion or escort especially when you don’t know the photographer )

My skills are nowhere close to where I’d like but I keep trying.

Glamour requires a sense of style which I’m obviously lacking.

I am responding instinctively  as a straight male when I look in the viewfinder asking myself these questions.

Do I like what I see?

Does she look really awkward the way her torso  sits?

Is her pose too revealing?

Is it too naughty?

My praise and instructions to Maria and female models/subjects are in that sense very genuine when I say, ‘Yeah… just like that. That looks really hot. Yes,  hold that pose…’

So what happens when what I see doesn’t look so good but the model is obviously trying?

You never want to say to your model that she doesn’t look good.

Better to blame yourself, so I might say, “oh..sorry it’s me, I’m lame. My lights are not right, so we’ll come back to that pose.”

When I photograph men, I don’t praise them the same way especially if I know they are straight because that would be extremely awkward for both of us.

Some women on the hand, respond to  flirtation resulting invert natural  smiles when  their uneasiness in front of the camera fades.

Others just need good conversation.

A whole lot depends on the photographer’s people skills and how quickly they can size up the person in front of their lens.

So it’s a very delicate fine line for a photographer to figure out in a short period of time.

First exposure I made according to the EXIF info was 10:25a, the last one was made at 11:53a–the shoot took a little over 90 mins.

Like slow-dancing with someone you just met.

Hold your partner too close or place your hand too close to her posterior and you’re liable to lose the use of it.

Holding her too far and she’s going to think you’re don’t find her attractive or you’re nervous and lacking in confidence.

Previously I used Back to the Grind to photograph Lesly but on that occasion I used my studio strobes.

Do you feel there was a noticeable difference?

One final note: I used a battery operated LED light which I bring to help me focus in dim lighting situations like this.

Peter Phun Photography

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