photographing male fitness / body builders
February / 2012 fitness / body building
I am so used to photographing women where the goal of lighting, posing, editing and retouching is to capture femininity in a manner that is tasetful and elegant. Photographing men, especially those who want to focus on fitness, muscles and tone, requires grittier lighting technique and photo finishing to bring out the masculinity the client is wanting to capture and portray.
when the model picks up a camera
At our recent workshop there was a spontaneous moment when one of the models picked up a camera and turned it on the male model. Workshop participants quickly picked up their cameras and got a few fun playful images.
Contact us for info on our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”, or to book your personal fine-art nude, and glamour photo sessions.
male and female models in workshop
Contact us to book your personal fine-art nude, and glamour photo sessions, for info on attending one of our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”.
Medusa body paint project
June / 2011 body paint, fine-art nude
This was a test to replicate scales, test colors etc. The plan is to create Medusa, with rubber snakes woven into her hair and a real 4 foot long snake as a prop. This will be a huge collaboration that will require 8-10 hours for makeup and hair.
contact us for information on our body paint or fine-art nude photography
modeling portfolio photo session
June / 2011 fashion, modeling portfolio
This recent photo shoot was a great reminder how fun it is to help women interested in pursuing their interest in modeling with a dedicated modeling portfolio photo session. We provide a fully professional photo studio experience to create high quality professional images. A dedicated portfolio photo session involves working with professional makeup artist and hair stylist
Contact Us for info on modeling portfolios photo session, or client testimonials.
photograhing fitness model & body builder
May / 2011 fitness / body building, glamour
Photographing female fitness models is all about accentuating definition of muscles. Recently I photographing a fitness model in her 40’s just prior to the provincial championships. She is returning to fitness competition after a two years off.
Fitness models photo sessions provide a challenge, rather than photographing a woman with a soft and feminine look. Fitness models and body builders requires strong dynamic lighting techniques and photo editing to accentuate muscles.
contact us for information on arranging a personal Look Studios photo session
Graffiti body paint project
April / 2011 body paint, fine-art nude
The current hot trend in the world of makeup artistry is body paint art projects. Look Studios most recent body paint collaboration was with Leah Wilburn makeup artist. The theme was “Graffiti” with model Cera Sabotage from Toronto.
It was another long day of makeup, body paint, and photography. The day of the project, the model flew in on the ‘red-eye’ from Toronto arriving at Vancouver airport at 9:00 a.m. and rushing down to Look Studios. Then Cera spent the next 5 hours standing while Leah did the airbrush and graffiti artwork, followed by an hour in the studio for the photography. All in all, a very long day for everyone involved, especially the model whose day began very early in Toronto.
contact us for info on our body paint and fine art nude photography.
art-nude photo workshop reflections
April / 2011 fine-art nude, art nude photo workshop
Look Studios has conducted 6 “fine-art nude photography workshops for photographers” over the past 7 months. Looking back, here are some reflections.
The workshops have been well received with participants saying they appreciate the small class size and the hands-on practical part of their studio experience. Workshop participants have ranged in age from mid-20s to mid-80s with female photographers in the majority by a slim margin. Workshop participants come with a wide range of experience and backgrounds: from relative beginners, to serious hobbyists and professional photographers. While most photographers attending the workshops have been from around Vancouver, participants have included a photographer attending from Toronto, and a German student who had recently graduated from a 2 year college program in photography.
Contact us for info on our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”, or to book your personal fine-art nude, and glamour photo sessions.
the Dirve Dance center photo shoot
April / 2011 dance
April began with a fun dance shoot in Vancouver at the Drive Dance Center photographing 4 of the Drive Dance Center’s instructors. Each of the dance instructors presented a different style of dance ranging from contemporary dance, Jazz, and hip-hop, to more traditional salsa and ballet.
It was a great evening working with the wonderful dancers from the Drive Dance Center, makeup by Leah Wilburn makeup and design, hair styles by Sarah Huggins.
contact us for information on our dance photography
the model-photographer relationship
March / 2011 model-photographer relationship, fine-art nude modeling
Earning the model’s trust and creating a comfortable atmosphere is essential to making quality artistic images. The best images are ones that are either dynamic in form, capture a mood, or evoke emotions in the viewer.
A photographer can’t achieve this if there is no connection with the model. Creating intimate images of people is a collaborative process built on trust established through a positive model-photographer rapport.
Look Studios fine-art nude photography workshops feature a different model each day. In our workshops, we teach how to provide a model with direction in a respectful, professional, and constructive manner. The photos above are of Gabrielle and Jena, 2 models from the March fine-art nude photo workshops.
Contact us to book your personal fine-art or glamour photo session, or for info on attending one of our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”.
dancers from SFU dance program
March / 2011 dance
Simon Fraser University (SFU) dance program has moved into its spacious new location in the downtown campus that is part of the new Woodwards development.
This dance shoot was in the large neew and spacious Simon Fraser University dance studio featuring Natalie Johannesen and 5 other dancers who are studying contemporary dance at SFU. Dancers are dynamic, creative and fun to work with.
contact us for information on our dance photography
CAPA gold medal: winning Dance image
March / 2011 dance
This image, “Take Off” is the winning image at the 2011 North Shore Photographic Challenge. The North Shore Challenge is a photo competition featuring work from 270 photographers from throughout British Columbia and the Yukon. This is the second time that one of my images has won the North Shore Challenge.
It is an honor having my entry judged as “Best of Show” at the North Shore Challenge. The Challenge is hosted by NSPS (North Shore photographic Society) and sponsored by CAPA (Canadian Association for Photographic Art).
contact us for information on our dance photography
February fine-art nude photo workshop
February / 2011 art nude photo workshop, fine-art nude
Both of our February Fine-art Nude Photo Workshops were in our new 2 day format. Based on lessons learned from earlier workshops, as well as feedback from participants, the maximum number of participants is now reduced from 5 to 4. By keeping the class size down to 3 or 4 participants, everyone gets plenty of opportunity to work with the models and I can meet the needs of the range of experience workshop participants bring to the sessions.
The experience levels of participants range from relative novices to professional photographers, with an even mix of male and female photographers. For many participants, these sessions have been their first experience shooting in a studio.
Contact us for info on our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”, or to book your personal fine-art nude, and glamour photo sessions.
Octopus's Garden body paint project
February / 2011 body paint, fine-art nude
Visit our body paint page for information on body paint photography, or contact us
new 2 day format for photo workshop
February / 2011 art nude photo workshop, fine-art nude
Fine-art nude photography workshops have now been expanded to 2 days, Every person who had previously attended one of my 1-day introduction to fine-art nude photography workshop in my Vancouver studio have requested I offer a Day 2 session. In response to their interest, I developed a Day 2 program and to date eighty-eight percent have returned for Day 2. As a result, the fine-art nude photography workshops for photographers are now offered as a two-day program.
I recently held the first two-day workshop and by all accounts it was a success. The workshop continues to keep the small intimate format with 3 - 5 participants working with a different model each day. This give plenty of opportunity to shoot and everyone coming away with great images. It’s been interesting to see how much more comfortable workshop participants are on Day 2 as they feel more confident giving the models direction and more familiar with shooting fine-art nudes in the studio environment. Visit the comments page to hear what workshop participants have said about their Look Studios fine-art photo workshop experience.
Contact us for info on our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”, or to book your personal fine-art nude, and glamour photo sessions.
EROS - Vancouver art nude and erotic photo exhibition
February / 2011 couples, fine-art nude
The EROS Fine-art Nude, Figure and Erotic Photography Exhibition is one of the largest annual photo gallery exhibits in Vancouver. This year, the EROS exhibit featured features two of my images.
The two images chosen by the Photohaus Gallery’s selection committee for the exhibit are:
- “Power & Grace”, a dynamic image of a couple (appears above).
- “ISIS - Goddess of the Universe”, a body paint project”
universe body paint project
January / 2011 body paint, fine-art nude
This project began with a simple sketch for an artistic body paint project consisting of planets of our solar system. Working with Viktoriya Kammaeva (a very talented makeup artist) and Carmen Durrer (an outstanding figure model), the whole project came together at Look Studios. Makeup and body paint took 5 hours to complete and about 45 minutes to shoot approximately 350 images.
Overall it was a great collaboration between model, makeup artist and photographer. It is always such a pleasure to work with creative people on unique and interesting projects. Being engaged in a creative process is so rewarding when it all comes together and produces something exceptional.
visit our body paint ; fine-art nude or art nude photo workshops pages
fine-art nude photo workshop for photographers
November / 2010 art nude photo workshop, fine-art nude
In November I put on two workshops with all eight of the participants coming away inspired and asking for a Day Two session. The fine art nude photography workshop for photographers has now evolved into a two day session working through a progression from portrait, to implied nude and full fine-art nude, ending on Day 2 with an exploration of the nude abstract. Check out the comment page to hear what workshop participants are saying about their Look Studios fine-art nude photo workshop experience.
Contact us for info on our ”fine-art nude photo workshops for photographers”, or to book your personal fine-art nude, and glamour photo sessions.
dancers and dance photography
October / 2010 dance
Dance is an area of interest in my creative journey through photography. Capturing the beauty and grace of dance is extremely challenging. Recently I had the opportunity to do a dance photo session was with three dance instructors from the Freestyle Dance Center in Abbotsford, BC.
Working with dancers is pleasure. Dancers are very aware of lines of their bodies and take direction well. Dance photography is a wonderfully rewarding creative process when it all comes together in that precise instant. Visit my dance photo gallery to see more dance examples of dance photography.
contact us for information on our dance photography
dance photography: capturing movement
October / 2010 dance
Recently I had the the opportunity to do 2 days of dance photography with David Cooper working with 8 professional dancers from Ballet BC and the 605 Collective Dance Troupe of Vancouver.
This unique experience provided an amazing opportunity to work with top level professional dancers and one of North America’s top dance photographers. This turned out to be a tremendous learning experience.
contact us for information on our dance photography.