My Sunday Series on Available Light Portraiture continues today with a photograph of the always amazing Pam Simpson, that was shot in a bedroom in my home using a combination of natural and artificial light. This post could also be considered a backstory about my interest with glamour photography plus a look into the future of my home studio.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
For every two minutes of glamour, there are eight hours of hard work.—Jessica Savitch
It may come as a surprise to some of you but I didn’t start out as a people photographer. When Mary and I opened our studio In 1982 we divided the workload matching the type of images our clients needed and our own skill-sets. That division of duties turned out to be simple: Mary photographed people and I photographed things, mostly architecture and some products. Every now and then because of Mary’s availability I would shoot a few head shots and business portraits but people were really Mary’s game and she was, and is, great at it.
All changed when, for health reasons, I took an extended sabbatical from studio operations, that I never returned from. Things changed more dramatically for me after looking at some of the glamour photography that was then appearing on the Internet, especially Dave Hall’s Glamour Models forum, that inspired me to become interested in photographing people
All of which leads us to…
My newfound interest in creating glamour images eventually led to my writing a book called Part-time Glamour Photography – Full-time Income. Right now, a few new copies of the book are available on Amazon with used copies starting around six bucks. Because of when it was published, the book is based on film capture and while it’s filled with images of beautiful women, it’s main focus is on the business side of glamour photography.
Both that book and the more photography-oriented Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography were marked by a few disputes with their publishers over the selection of images that were included. I wanted to post some of those unpublished images but it would surely run afoul of the Nanny Software that abounds on today’s Internet. That’s why I created a series of Password protected posts that are only available to Patreon subscribers—the cost is quote low—so they could see completely uncensored images from these and other shoots.
How I made this photograph: This portrait was made in one of the bedrooms of my Daisy Hill home using a combination of daylight from the octagonal window behind Pam and a Westcott D5 fluorescent light head in a 24×32-inch soft box that was placed at camera right. It was shot using a Panasonic Lumix GH4 and Lumix G Vario 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens (at 45mm) with an exposure of 1/50 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 640. Although CFL bulbs can be safely recycled, they have fallen out of ecological favor and lighting systems, like the D5, are no longer available. That system was replaced by the company’s uLite LED 2-Light Collapsible Softbox Kit ($79.99) that I do not currently own. The image was Captured in RAW format and processed using Color Efex and Vivenza.
Previously…
…I had made some statements here that I was going to cut back on my studio glamour photography and move my LEGO-based train layout into the space that was occupied by my home studio. Some people asked, “does that mean you won’t be photographing beautiful models anymore?” Well, those plans have changed. With my wife’s urging, I expanded my layout—you can see a video of it before its expansion here—in place and re-started my in-home studio. When I made that decision a year or so ago, my friend Barry Staver came over and helped move all the equipment out of the camera room and put it away. Now I have put it all back together and an using it. If I’m lucky, to have a shoot with the amazing Erin Valakari aka Vala the Artist this past Wednesday.
My book Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography is full of tips, tools and techniques for glamour and boudoir photography and includes information on all of the cameras used as well as the complete exposure data for each image. New copies are available for $37.50 with used books starting around thirteen bucks.as I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital format.
New copies of my film-based book Part-time Glamour Photography – Full-time Income are available for $28.99 with used copies selling for around six bucks as I write this.