tanners. The disadvantage to this method is that most models don’t do a great
job of uniformly applying the liquid tan, thus their body often has streaks or
splotches, not to mention their hands will appear dark orange.
I often tell models not to get a tan, real or artificial, as I as don’t like tan
lines or streaks and splotches. I let the model know I can color their skin any
color I want using white balance. My experienced models follow this advice,
and they love the hues of yellow, red, and gold I can create on their bodies
without fiddling with tanning beds, the hot sun, and liquid applications.
LEFT—While driving around the
Moab area in Utah, I noticed this
windmill and the direction of the
sun. I estimated at what time the sun
would light the windmill from be-
hind, then returned with a California
Sunbounce Pro. Notice, that the hori-
zon line is well below her shoulders.
Photographers often place a horizon
line through the model’s eyes, neck,
or shoulders—a less flattering look.
Setting the white balance to 6000K
gave the model’s skin a warm glow.
(CAMERA:Leica M8 Digital Rangefinder
fitted with a Leica ELMARIT-M 21mm
f/2.8 ASPH lens. SETTINGS:28mm ef-
fective focal length,^1 / 180 second
shutter speed, f/8.0, white balance
at 6000K, ISO 160)FACING PAGE—One of my favorite
things to do when photographing a
model is to illuminate her with a
glass door or window light, as in this
case with Raven. Here, the lighting
illuminates the model’s robe from
behind. The late, great Monte
Zucker, a master portrait photogra-
pher, emphasized that back or side
lighting always adds impact to an
image. Setting the white balance to
6000K gave the model’s skin a warm
glow. (CAMERA:Leica M8 Digital
Rangefinder fitted with a Leica EL-
MARIT-M 21mm f/2.8 ASPH lens.
SETTINGS:28mm effective focal
length,^1 / 500 second shutter speed,
f/5.6, white balance at 6000K, ISO
160)