Pascal Baetens. Nude Photography. The Art and The Craft. 2007

74 Exploring tEchniquEs

lighting outdoors

nature offers a huge range of lighting possibilities. Just as

in a studio, you can choose to work with front-, side-, or

backlighting, except that with outdoor light there’s so much

more. the color, direction, and intensity will change

constantly. Morning and evening light are different, as are

winter and summer light. sunny days are different from

cloudy ones, stormy skies from misty meadows. shadows,

too, change throughout the day. For outdoor photographers

guarantees of light and weather don’t exist, so you must be

able to adapt to changing conditions. You can also, whether

by necessity or just for effect, supplement outdoor lighting

with lamps, fill-in flash, and reflectors.

Jella in the woods

i can understand why some people would

question this image. the unsharpness—caused

by movement of both camera and model—is

obvious. But not one of the other, sharp,

images from the set had anywhere near as

much atmosphere as this.

Having the model walk along a path suggests

a direction, a story. the hazy unsharpness,

backlighting, and anonymity of the model add

to the mystery of the image.

Front lighting would have made this a

completely different, less atmospheric image.

the halo of backlight surrounding the model

seems to make her glow.

Frank on a beach

sunrise is a good time of day for a shoot on

beaches, since they tend to be empty of

onlookers and the light can be wonderful.

The footprints in the sand are a major

element in this image. the set on the right are

intriguing—who do they belong to, where

are they leading?

Shooting into the low sun gave me a

silhouette and a wonderful long shadow

that stretches to the edge of the frame.

The spot of flare in the middle of the shadow

could be seen as a mistake, but in this case

i think it adds to the image.

Barbara pregnant

the last light of the day envelops Barbara with a

warm, dark orange light. the shadows have

already begun to turn blue.

A wide aperture allowed me to blur the

background so that it is part of the image

without being obtrusive.

Barbara is looking away from the camera,

as though her thoughts are with her baby, rather

than me, the photographer. if you are taking

a picture like this of your partner, you may want

to include yourself in the picture by having her

make eye contact with you.