The next post in the series of most viewed models in my on-line modeling site portfolio is, not surprising, Maria Cedar. It’s worth mentioning that this #studiothursday post was shot using available light and not in a studio.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
I recently took a look at my on-line modeling portfolio and was surprised to see that several of the images displayed exceeded one thousand views. For some photographers that may not seem like a big number but, to me, it seems like a lot of views. I decided that for the next few #studiothursday posts, I’m going to feature some of those popular models, write about how I worked with them and made, maybe not the image in the portfolio, but one similar. I can’t show the actual images because they are too intense for nanny software and social media censors. Instead, I’ll choose one that has the flavor of the “most viewed” photograph without any of the censorship baggage.
About the model:
Today’s featured model is the legendary Internet model, Maria Cedar. I was lucky enough to photograph Maria four times between from 2017 to 2019 and then BOOM, COVID hit and our shoots hit a wall.
Before that first shoot, we had hoped to work together for years. At one time we scheduled a shot in Utah, where she lives, and I was driving there with my wife who had business in Salt Lake City but we got half-way there before being turned around by a blizzard. I called Maria and she was buried in snow too, Then I hoped to photograph her at one of my friends, the late Dave Hall’s, semi-annual group model shoots, but our schedules never worked out until our first shoot together in October 2017 in my home studio. The featured image was made during our third shoot together,
Recently Maria talked with me about retiring and she hasn’t updated her on-line portfolio since last fall. I had hoped we would have one more shoot together before she actually retired but so far we have not been unable to get that scheduled. Her home in Utah is 550-miles away from Daisy Hill so there’s that. Hope springs eternal, so I’m hoping that one day, we can have that final shoot—for old times sake.
About the portrait:
I photographed Maria in the living room of my Daisy Hill home. There are two double-width windows that face South West on the first floor and three large windows on the second floor that add to the room’s overall ambience. She was photographed using only the natural light coming from the window she standing next to and one behind her. The camera used was an Olympus E-M10 Mark I with an Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 lens that was my go-to Micro Four-thirds lens for available light portraits. Exposure was 1/60 sec and F/1.8 and ISO 400 with a plus one-third stop exposure compensation. A similar but more revealing version of this image appears on my modeling website and has 1748 views and is featured on eleven lists.
The following Studio Thursday post will feature the next most popular model on my on-line modeling site, who has, so far, 1326 views and is on one list. That one was shot in my home studio.
If you’re interested in learning how I shoot portraits and use cameras, lenses and lighting in my in-home studio and on location, please pick up a copy of Studio Lighting Anywhere that’s available new from Amazon.com for $24.48 or starting around thirteen bucks used, as I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital format.