Today’s Post by Joe Farace
To be a muse is to be a wonder in someone else’s eyes, flaws and all. —L.H. Cosway
A muse is defined as a woman, or a force personified as a woman and who can be the source of inspiration for a creative artist, or in my case a portrait and glamour photographer.
For many years my muse was Tia Stoneman, an actress and model who inspired me with her style, talent and imagination. You’ve seen her photographs on this blog, including today, and in many of my magazine articles and books. She retired from modeling several years to focus on raising her children. In searching for a new muse I was fortunate to find Erin Valakari, who you’ve also seen on this blog in recent years but she has moved on to other aspects of her life and career.
I am looking for models to pose for the kind of photographs that you see on this blog and make photographs to illustrate how-to blog posts and stories as well as camera, lens and film reviews,
No experience is necessary. I prefer working with women from ages 21-45 of any ethnicity. I’ll be glad to work with them to help with wardrobe choices as well as posing. Recently I made an arrangement with a make-up artist who wants to work with me and she’s interested in providing professional make-up for this new muse.
Photo sessions are approximately two hours long and are typically scheduled during the day Monday through Friday in my home studio located near Parker, Colorado. For for an exceptional model some Saturday morning sessions are possible. Shoots will be on a TFP basis, which is basically a trade of service. The models provides the poses and I will provide them with their choice of a CD or flash drive full of 200-300 images that can be used any way they like, including their own website, Patreon, Bentbox or OnlyFans accounts. If they model for any of my workshops they will receive a 50-50 split of the income from the workshop.
If you have a friend (or maybe yourself) who would like to be my new muse, please contact me through the Contact page or send me an e-mail at joefarace at gmail dot com. We can schedule a test shoot or interview whichever is more convenient.
How I made this shot: I photographed Tia Stoneman near the foyer room of my former home using only available light from a window in the front door to the house with fill light from a Canon 550EX speedlight. The camera used was a Canon EOS 1D Mark II N with my go-to portrait lens the EF 85mm f/1.8. Exposure was 1/60 sec at f/ 3.2 and ISO 320.
Just a reminder: Podcast #3 is live now on my YouTube channel, Joe Farace’s Videos, featuring a look at the Leica Z2X and my experiences shooting 22-year old Agfa color film in a 40-year old Canon SLR, plus some information on where I get my ideas for blog posts!