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

the shot

I used simple lighting for the shot, with three flash heads. My assistants set up

one light on each side, one with a large rectangular softbox, the other with a strip

softbox, which together outlined Alana’s body and lit her hair strongly. The third

light was mounted on a boom with an umbrella and placed in the middle next

to the camera to act as a fill-in light to put some detail in the shadows. I asked

Alana to hang from the chain by one hand, which was quite painful—we tried

several shots, and finally she bravely managed to hold the pose long enough.

184 PHOTOGrAPHers’ GALLery

The camera

I bought this camera from

a friend in the late ’90s, and

although it’s not the most

expensive 10 x 8 inch camera

available, it has helped me to

produce many nice photographs.

The Bride with White Hair

FOr THIs sHOT

Camera: 8 x 10 inch Wista field camera;

240mm lens

Aperture: f/16

Shutter speed: 1/125th of a second

Sensor/film speed: IsO 80

Lighting: Broncolor Pulso 4 flash heads

Processing

I processed the Polaroid

film in a dedicated Polaroid

processing unit. At room

temperature, this takes

about 60 seconds.

Adding powder

The powder shaken onto Alana’s body

and the floor beneath her suggests

dust and the idea that, though she is

still alive, she hasn’t moved or been

touched for a long time.