chu-chu and totoro... [link]

featuring *NicotineDesire

[link]

*NicotineDesire and I made us a little video.
[link]

Sooo....turns out someone out there was listening and my deviation was unflagged.
I do have to say, for all my bitching sometimes, I have met many awesome people on this site and it has been a great place to share as well as learn.  Sometimes I need to take a step back and remember that when someone errs on the side of caution that it's a human making that error. One of the few things we ALL have in common.

previous rant below.
-----------------------------------
You flagged my deviation [link] as mature content without giving a reason.  It's had 4500 views, and ONE person flagged it so you stuck it under mature content.  IT is not mature content.  A bikini shows more.  I am religious about categorizing my own material if it is adult content, but you take it upon yourselves to police situations that don't need policing.  How about starting by removing the cell phone shots and myspace shit people post.  The site has started catering to the lowest common denominator for pure profit.  I'm not on this site for ego, or assurance that what I do is loved.  I'm on this site to share stuff with people that might enjoy it, but you make that harder and harder every day. No wonder I'm never on here anymore.

I made ~DarkSyren a my little pony macaroni valentine.
Gluing my little pony's to paper is hard.

My good friends and colleagues are holding a workshop.  You should really go if you can afford it.  This will not be one to miss.

~DarkSyren's birthday was on saturday, but we partied a little too hard and I'm just getting around to posting this.
I put together a slideshow of a bunch of unreleased candids from the last year.
If you are not already completely in love with this little hellraiser, watching this should do the trick.



I made sure to upload it at very high quality so watch it full screen.
[link]


p.s. since I wanted this to be postable on youtube I needed it to be mostly work safe, but you have no idea how hard it was to find ~40 pictures of this girl actually wearing clothes.  It's like she's allergic to them or something.



Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

...another broken nose.  Guess this isn't the week for my face. At least I broke his worse.

Someone threw a beer bottle at the guy who runs the burger joint near my house and of course I had to jump up and bust his nose. I just wasn't fast enough to duck his punch. Swallowing your own blood with someone elses blood splattered on your hands keeps you alive.

Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

-How to bring home some grade-A Christmas booty-


Mischa asked me to go shopping for a present for a girl at her work that she wants to bring home.



Do I know how to shop for a girl, or what?







Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

I'm going crazy. I miss my bike.
No, miss is not the right word....more like cannot live without.
Like I have cancer and the bike is my chemo.
Like I'm Japan and the bike is my fucked up gameshow.
Like I'm gay and the bike is my giant glitter covered golden cock that will finally satisfy my emptiness.

I miss waking up on a cold day and trying to coax my bike to life over a smoke and black coffee.
The smell of a zippo and an engine running too rich make me hard.

I miss always smelling like gasoline and old spice. Its mixture combines to make the most powerful pheromone on the planet.
Panties explode off of women when they smell it.

I miss sitting in a lavender soap bubblebath with a glass of whiskey, cutting gravel out of my forearms with a pen-knife.
The way the blood swirls off the gravel as it sinks into the blue water is poetry without words.

I miss sitting on the tarmac at laguna seca in full leathers when the track temp reaches 130 degrees.
With every breath that ricochets off my visor I can smell the adrenaline boiling in my blood.

I miss climbing on top of my bike and easing into the seat like you would a woman.
Grabbing a handful of a hydraulic clutch, pliable like a nice firm breast. Flicking the accelerator that is as sensitive and unforgiving as a clit.
You treat it tenderly until it warms up, then you hunker down, drag it to the ground, open it up and ride so hard and fast your eyes roll back and you struggle to breath.


I think I've healed enough from my last big crash to survive my next one.
Time to get another bike.



Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

As I posted in my last blog, natural light is awesome.  But is also uncontrollable.

Sometimes we need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Last time I was shooting Mischa in LA, we met these really awesome people that had a nice heated pool.  We decided that it would be an awesome place to shoot.  So as to keep the direct sunlight to a minimum we scheduled the shoot for 7am.  LA isn't exactly known for it's rain or fog and this was in the middle of the summer so we were pretty much counting on regular old burning hot LA weather.  We were wrong.  On the day we decided to shoot it was overcast.  Bad.  Extremely muggy and grey, and so the water looked flat and didn't have that glassy reflection we would have gotten if we were shooting into the sun.



To alleviate the gloomy conditions I set up a single 580ex speedlight on a stand on the opposite end of the pool I was shooting from, just off camera.  This gave me the reflections I was looking for on the water, gave Mischa a nice edge light and froze the water droplets for nice action shots like below.


Sometimes you need to supplement natural light, sometimes you just want to add a light source to make a otherwise plain image stand out.
For this image of Mae, I was shooting her in my backyard on a typical San Francisco overcast day.
The background is just ivy on the fence, but with a strobe pointing straight into it, it gives a nice ethereal halo around her that makes the all the difference.  It makes the image pop.

Remember, strobes are just a tool. They should be an ingredient in your soup when needed.  Never think that it has to be just natural light or just strobe.

As far as underwater shooting, when your friend offers to lend you his scuba gear along with his underwated camera housing....take it.
I thought I would be fine, it's only a pool right?
Well...when you have as much metal in your body as me from motorcycle accidents...you don't float.
I jumped in the deep end and sank straight to the bottom.
Holding a big metal camera housing.
With no swim fins on.
Or goggles.
Almost drowning is not a fun thing to do at 7 in the morning.  Definitely save that for the afternoon.




Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

Mr. sunshine is your friend.
Diffused sunlight is the most flattering light there is.  It is such a powerful tool in your arsenal, but many photographers get obsessive over their strobes and toys and rarely ever use it.
Besides the flattering look it gives, the lack of stress and relaxed shooting environment it allows are often overlooked.
You can just sit around and shoot without fiddling with stands and strobes, cables and clips.
Trust me..I curse a whole lot less when I am shooting in natural light.
Also, the dazzling flash of the strobe is a constant reminder to a model that her every move is being photographed.  To some models, this brings out glamor in them...they really enjoy it.  But more often than not with a less experienced model it makes them tense up and go rigid.

So next time you think that you can only get high gloss pictures glamorous pictures by using a strobe...think again.  It's a finicky tool, as it is subject to the weather report...but one you learn to harness it it will be your favorite go-to light source.

To start with pay attention to rooms in your house at different times of the day.  Find one that gets good late day light.  If it gets direct sunlight through the window put up a very thin piece of white fabric. Silk or gauze are both good diffusers.

For these pictures I was in a small bright room.  The bright close walls gives great bounce to even out the light.  Make use to set your camera to spot metering mode, and (in manual mode) expose for the skin and bump up the exposure slowly till you get nice well lit skin. A couple exposure steps up usually does the trick.
For learning purposes stick the model on a bed or chair in the center of the room.  Walk around her and -see- where the light is falling and what it does at different angles.  There is a huge difference between shooting with the sun at your back, shooting with side lighting and shooting into the sun.  If you shoot with the sun behind you you get very flattering shadowless light, such as in the picture below.



If you shoot with side lighting you get subtle shadows and emphasis on the curves as in the shot below. Pay attention to the shadows, such as under the nose to see where the light is coming from in pictures.



When shooting from the shadow side (into the sun) you get maximum emphasis on curves with a lot of edge highlights.
My dear friend Michael Helms calls it "seeing the light" and he couldn't be more spot on.
Once you can see it, you can use it.

Another note on erotic photography is "the tease."
Just as the courtship is the most exhilarating part of a relationship, the tease is far more erotic than the actual reveal most times.  Don't get me wrong...I like the nekkid parts just as much...but don't rush into it.

The unhooking of a bra, the thumb hooked on stockings, the slip of a strap are atomic bombs in the erotic arsenal.
Draw the audience out, make them sweat.  It makes the end that much more rewarding.



Give it a try.  See how it works.

Then come to our workshop and learn how to really nail the shots.

Ciao,

Conan



The Zivity Photography Bootcamp is an all day intensive workshop geared towards bringing your photography to the next level.  Taught by three internationally published photographers recognized as the top in their field, the Zivity Bootcamp is your chance to step up your game in the competitive world of photographing female models.    Starring three amazing (and highly sought after) models, the Zivity Bootcamp pulls no stops drawing upon the local fashion and makeup scene as well to bring you a one of a kind event.

Held at the spacious Blue Sky Studio in San Francisco, the Zivity Bootcamp is your chance to work with top talent and your chance to get one-on-one time working with all three models.

Course includes lecture and demonstration of the following topics:

Natural lighting

Studio lighting

Content photography- producing photo"sets"

Model interaction lessons including how to work with a nude model Photo retouching and workflow

Q&A:

Q:   Why should I pay twice as much for the Zivity Bootcamp as these other

workshops I see happening?

A: Most other workshops around fall into two categories; the group shoots

and the limited "art nude" workshops.   At the group shoots you have a bunch

of photographers and a bunch of models eager for portfolio shots.  With little direction and almost no chance to work with the models one-on-one you will never get the shot you are looking for.

At the art nude shoots you get direction but in a very limited scope. Art nude workshops tend to center around beautiful, but a very basic style of photography.

At the Zivity Bootcamp you will get a wide range of instruction and a chance to work one on one with every model and you will get a chance to pick the brains of all the instructors.

Q:  San Francisco is too far for me to travel, when are you going to hold a workshop in my area?

A:  Good question!  Go to [link] and submit your email to get updates for upcoming photography events.  If you have a desire to have us hold one in your area please email us a message with your request: info@zivity.com.

If we get enough interest in your area we would love to come out.

Q: What level of experience do I need to attend this class?

A: All we ask is that you own your own DSLR camera, and know how to work it in manual mode.  If you know what the difference is between ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed you should do fine.  This class is geared towards photographers that can use their cameras and want to get better shots.

There won't be long discussions about lighting math or things like that.  We will teach you how to get the shots using the tools on your camera.  If we teach you how to "see" the shots you want and get them,  that is a lot more valuable than any equation on paper.



Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

Originally published at addictedimage. You can comment here or there.

One problem I see in many “sets” online is the fact that people try to frame everything within the photo perfectly.  Perfect sucks.

Let me rephrase that.

Perfect sucks…because anyone can learn to take a technically “perfect” shot.  Keep it flawed, keep it interesting.

What is the same on 90% of the photos you see?  They are all taken at eye-level and everything is dead center of the frame…usually too small to give much impact.

Here’s the mission for today, see if it helps bring you out of a rut.

Get a small room. A bedroom will do fine.

Take your zoom lens and set it to 85mm (or use a prime).  Do not change your focal length (remember if your camera has a crop factor take that into account. 50mm on a camera with a x1.5 crop factor is a 75mm zoom. Look up what kind of camera you have to find the crop factor… it will say somewhere.)

Force yourself to work in a situation that is otherwise less than desirable.  This will force you to find new ways to shoot outside of your normal way.  If you have to squish in the corner, or climb on the dresser you will pay more attention to the shot and how it works in the frame.

That’s what I did for this set.  I was using an 85mm prime in a 12×12 room.  Our friends were moving out so I had space to play with, but not enough to get her full body in frame easily.  I got down on the floor and behind the bed leg to give it a slightly voyeuristic feel.  I used my surroundings to give interest and depth to the image.

Most people would have shot this in portrait format, but I went horizontal.  This let me play with keeping her eyes out of frame to further emphasize the voyeur factor.  It’s good to have the model make eye contact every once in a while, but if you want to play up the “stolen moment” situation then having the model NOT look at the camera makes it feel like she is the only one in the room. Like you are witnessing something you aren’t supposed to.

Give it a try.  See how it works.

Then come to our workshop and learn how to really nail the shots.

Ciao,

Conan

The Zivity Photography Bootcamp is an all day intensive workshop geared towards bringing your photography to the next level.  Taught by three internationally published photographers recognized as the top in their field, the Zivity Bootcamp is your chance to step up your game in the competitive world of photographing female models.    Starring three amazing (and highly sought after) models, the Zivity Bootcamp pulls no stops drawing upon the local fashion and makeup scene as well to bring you a one of a kind event.

Held at the spacious Blue Sky Studio in San Francisco, the Zivity Bootcamp is your chance to work with top talent and your chance to get one-on-one time working with all three models.

Course includes lecture and demonstration of the following topics:

Natural lighting

Studio lighting

Content photography- producing photo”sets”

Model interaction lessons including how to work with a nude model Photo retouching and workflow

Q&A:

Q:   Why should I pay twice as much for the Zivity Bootcamp as these other

workshops I see happening?

A: Most other workshops around fall into two categories; the group shoots

and the limited “art nude” workshops.   At the group shoots you have a bunch

of photographers and a bunch of models eager for portfolio shots.  With little direction and almost no chance to work with the models one-on-one you will never get the shot you are looking for.

At the art nude shoots you get direction but in a very limited scope. Art nude workshops tend to center around beautiful, but a very basic style of photography.

At the Zivity Bootcamp you will get a wide range of instruction and a chance to work one on one with every model and you will get a chance to pick the brains of all the instructors.

Q:  San Francisco is too far for me to travel, when are you going to hold a workshop in my area?

A:  Good question!  Go to [link] and submit your email to get updates for upcoming photography events.  If you have a desire to have us hold one in your area please email us a message with your request: info@zivity.com.

If we get enough interest in your area we would love to come out.

Q: What level of experience do I need to attend this class?

A: All we ask is that you own your own DSLR camera, and know how to work it in manual mode.  If you know what the difference is between ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed you should do fine.  This class is geared towards photographers that can use their cameras and want to get better shots.

There won’t be long discussions about lighting math or things like that.  We will teach you how to get the shots using the tools on your camera.  If we teach you how to “see” the shots you want and get them,  that is a lot more valuable than any equation on paper.

Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

I spend part of my life doing photojournalism.  It doesn't pay shit anymore, but I love it and will never stop.
I spent 12 hours at 24th and Utah.
A long 12 hours that ended with 4 people dead in a one block radius in under 4 hours.

6pm
I arrived at the parking lot of the general hospital at 6pm sept 4th.
Two people pulled up in a car with the windows shot out.  They were shot in their car at 18th and Bryant and drove to the hospital.  Upon arriving the woman was rushed into the trauma center with multiple bullet wounds, including one that pierced her kidney. The man fell out of the car with a wound to the head and died.
The 2 month old baby they had in the car was safe and taken away by the police.
Family showed up and was told by the doctors that the woman was in surgery for the next few hours and should pull through.
Detectives speculate that it was the Norteños attacking the Sureños.

7:30 pm
Most of the family has shown up by now.


1 dead.  1 wounded. One child left without parents.
The Sureños are furious.
Detectives repeatedly warn me that I shouldn't be walking around the neighborhood.  Espesially with a camera.
They warn me that I'm not safe.
I tell them thanks for the concern, but they don't know me very well.



On the other hand the beat cops who know me just smile.



9:00 pm
Shots ring out.

3 people at 24th and utah have been shot at a local bar.
Two are rushed a block away to the trauma center while I watch the blood from the third pour down the sidewalk in front of me.
A Sureño retaliatory shooting is the speculation.
Cops throw a sheet over the body and cordon off the area.

Back at the hospital, one of the victims is rushed into surgery while his girlfriend stands outside.
They were at the bar singing karaoke minutes before.
The doctor comes out to talk to her.
After doing this for years, the howl of someone being told their loved one is dead is undeniable.
It's upsetting that it doesn't effect me anymore.
3 dead. 2 wounded. 1 child without parents.

~10pm
Doctors inform the waiting family that the woman shot in the car has died in surgery.
4 dead. 1 wounded. 1 child left without parents. Scores of others stand outside the hospital, lives shattered.

I buy the grieving girl some water.  I don't take her picture. She cries alone while the family of the car victims cry together.

~midnight

A stabbing victim is brought in to the E.R.

Police say he is a suspect in the shootings, and comment "one day a victim, the next a suspect."



Later the medical examiner comes to take away the bodies.

The lifeless juggle a dead body on a gurny makes as it is  being loaded into a van is unmistakable and eery.

4:00 am sept 5

I start to walk back down to 24th and Utah to talk to the people standing around the hastily erected memorial where the boy died in front of me.

The Detectives once again warned me and said, "pictures aren't worth dieing for."

I replied, "I'm sorry you feel that way," and kept on my way.

I spoke with the brother of one of the dead boys and the cousin of the other.

They were young. One was 19.  And were not involved in the conflict.  Just random killings in revenge.

They said that the extra police presence in the neighborhood is the reason people are getting killed in their neigborhood.  They have cracked down and arrested all the older gang members in the area that used to keep the violence under control.  Now young kids are fending for themselves.  Impoverished and undereducated, they turn to violence.



A large tattooed man named Coco decided he liked me because I had the "cojones" to come around during all of the violence and actually talk to them as opposed to just judging them.  He tells me he wants me to shoot for his record label.  Because I am "no bullshit."

I leave them after an hour and head back to the hospital where one cop cracks, "so...you survived I see."

I said, "Yeah.  And I got a Job."



Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

Araya wrote me a couple questions I thought I'd share....

Q: Do you shoot in RAW?
Always.  The amount of data preserved in a raw file is paramount to the amount of data preserved in a actual film negative.
People may not like the looks of a raw file straight out of the camera, because it is just that. Raw.  You have to know how to process your raw files correctly to get what you are looking for out of them.  Adobe Lightroom is my favorite program for processing raw files.  It lets you make the adjustments without actually changing the files, so if you screw something up you can always go back to where you started if need be.  Learning a non-destructive work flow is a very important thing.

Q:What camera do you shoot with? Lenses?
As long as you know how to work your camera and lights a $1000 camera works just as good as a $8000 camera.  Good glass matters most if you are shooting for huge prints and need super fine detail, but decent glass works for everything else very well.

The things that a professional camera and top of the line glass do are far more than the average person needs.

Q:It looks like you do a significant amount of Photoshopping on your photos. Do you use the Diffuse Glow filter a lot?
I actually do very minimal post work on most of my images.  I don't even know what the diffuse glow filter is.  I would recommend that you never get in the habit of using "canned" plugins.  If photoshop doesn't have it built in, don't rely on it.  Since I have to edit on many different computers I stick with the tools I know are there.

Most of what you see in my images are in there when I take the picture.  Shallow DOF and soft focus are tools that photogs have been using since before photoshop, and knowing how to use lighting to make things look the way they do will get you farther than photoshop.

I basicaly do color correction and fix skin blemishes, undereye bags and stuff like that.  If you add contrast it tends to make the model look less flat...things like that.

Here are two examples; a image with a lot of post work, and one with minimal.  Notice that even on the heavily photoshopped image I barely touched the model.


Learn about how to get the shot you want at the zivity bootcamp.




Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

Not all women instantly feel comfortable modeling.  In fact, some of the most beautiful women I have ever met are reluctant to get in front of the camera.
When I first met Mischa, she was incredibly shy in front of the camera if you can believe it.

Well, Nell is another one of those.  She is quite gorgeous but also a little body conscious as she used to be a little heavier and is not quite to her goal weight yet.

She was happy and having fun in front of the camera, but still seemed a little stiff.  A little too aware that the camera was on her.
I took a second and said, "ok...lets slow this down."

I told her where I needed her in the bed for the light to fall on her right, and what angles didn't work. Then I took a step back, and parked myself in the corner of the room with a longer lens (85mm) and asked her to just close her eyes and get lost in a fantasy.  I asked her to picture herself lying there on the bed bathed in light, to picture how sexy she looked in her black lingerie. I told her to ignore everything except the place, the scene and the feeling.



She looked back at me and I said, "see how sexy you are...without even trying..."

Once she started enjoying the moment, and stopped concentrating on looking good for the lens, things just popped.

Remember that when you are talking to a model, she is the one in front of the camera.  She is the one you need to appreciate.  No shot will come out good if you are forcing your model into something she isn't comfortable with.
Talk to her like she is fully clothed.  Make eye contact.  Tell her how beautiful she is...but don't be creepy.

Words like; beautiful, gorgeous, sexy, and amazing are all words you should be using.

Derogatory words or trashy words will just piss her off or make her feel uncomfortable.

Remember, if a model isn't posing the way you want, don't say that she is doing something wrong...don't blame her.  Try phrasing it in a different way such as, "Ok lets try something different now."  It keeps the model from feeling like she is failing.  Keep the spirits high.

As a photographer, your models are your greatest asset. Treat them as such.
Once you have good models that are comfortable with you, models that actually enjoy working with you...any shot is possible.



If you are interested in seeing how to work productively with models in a stressful situation, come to our workshop.   At this workshop you will get your own time to step up and direct each of the models and get the shots you like. There will be a few of us there with years of experience working with all types of models.  Feel free to come pick our brains and watch how we work.

Ciao!

Conan





Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

With the upcoming photography workshop put on by zivity, I have decided to start writing blogs on the sets of mine that are being published.

With the content that I have been submitting to zivity, I have been trying to showcase different styles with every set to show that there is not one right way to shoot sets.  There is room for natural light, well lit strobe lighting, incidental lighting, and dramatic single strobe lighting.  These different lighting styles are nothing more than tools we use to get the job done.  Don't fall into the mindset that all sets needs to be shot a certain way, or that one tool is all you can use to get the job done.

I have two basic ideas I follow in photography.  Ignore the rules, and learn from the mistakes.

If someone tells you that something needs to be done a certain way, smile, nod, listen to their opinion, and then take that knowledge to do something completely different... and blow them away.

One word though, by breaking the rules you have to be prepared to recognize your mistakes and to keep shooting till you make the mistakes look good.

Start off small.  Start with one element that is controllable and see how it  changes.

A single strobe is a very dramatic light source that when paired with a medium softbox can be used to great effect at creating mood.  It is my go-to combo if I am looking to create a "noir" look.



In this set, "a chair affair" I used a  3' octobox. I use profoto, but I linked to alienbees because they are a good, affordable place to start.

I hung the octobox about 3 feet above the model, and hung it straight down...pointing at the floor.

I then positioned her a little off center, and closer to me than the box.  This had the effect of highlighting her curves, and making the chinese dress (found at goodwill, thank you very much) shine.  The decision to shoot against a white wall came from the bounce it produced.  With the white wall reflecting it kept me free from having to use a back light to create the silhouette effect.



The light being above the model is called "top lighting." Any light source that is perpendicular to the camera, such as top lighting or side lighting has the effect of enhancing curves.  It adds depth.  But when side or top lighting a model you have to use a lot of diffusion on the slight source to keep the skin smooth, as any perpendicular light source will show off skin imperfections more than straight on lighting. By using a single light either to the side or to the top you also control where the light fades easier.  In this case the light being above the model also has the effect of a getting darker towards the bottom, as that is farther away.  I kept the light in the same place the whole time and instead changed model position to change where the light was strongest.



I have never taken a formal photography course, and have never apprenticed to anyone.  I have listened to what others said, and done my homework on the technical side of things... but everything I have learned, I have learned from making mistakes.

Feel free to come to our workshop and get a foundation to build your own mistakes off of.



Ciao!

Conan





Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

Zivity bootcamp is an all day intensive workshop geared towards taking your photography to the next level.  It emphasizes set photography, but the instructions can be used in all aspects of your photography.
Taught by 3 top photogs in the industry, featuring 3 amazing models.
Sign up soon, spaces will fill up fast!
[link]

Instructors;
`lithiumpicnic
~steeneeweenee
~addictedImage
Models;
~miss-mosh

~DarkSyren

and mariya
:thumb94439255:



Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

Billy from ~AntisepticFashion was trying to eat his sammich and I wouldn't leave him alone.
Because I'm a dick.





Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.

So am am developing this (as of yet un-named phobia) that all my problems are related to a family of raccoons living inside of me.
It neatly solves a lot of problems all at once.

Ulcer? nope...the raccoons are just picky about what I eat.
Strange noises I hear that no one else does....brain damage? nope....raccoons.
Insomnia? raccoons are nocturnal....keeps me up at night.


Anybody got any ideas for what we should call this phobia?
+points for creativity.

(not my image)

(edit)
and thanks to !Sanebedlam for this pic.




Addictedimage is Conan Soranno and Mischa Romo.
Mr. Soranno is a mad Italian who chain smokes and spends his days plotting ways to corrupt the pure, dominate the world, and perfect his recipe for chicken alfredo. Every once in a while he gets off his ass and presses a button on his camera (if he's not to busy arguing with people online as to why everything they believe in is wrong.)

Miss Romo is an absolute sweetheart who drinks too much, fights too much, and is a general pain in the ass. If it wasn't for the fact that she was a kick ass artist (classical and digital) and a damn good fashion designer as well as a smoking hot model... she'd have been out on the curb a long time ago.
Visit her here...
Model Mayhem
DevArt




Professional photography and illustration based out of San Francsico, Ca
Fashion photography and design.
Fetish photography.
Commercial photography.
World class re-touching and post work.
2-d digital design and art.
Fine art...sometimes.