On Saturday I took part in a group model shoot at Ariane Studio in Tamworth that I had arranged for me and a group of photographers from a forum I participate in.

The object of the day was to give lighting tuition to the guys who had not been in a studio before, and to give all of us the chance to photograph a model in the studio.

(More after the break – including images which are not safe for workplace viewing)

Our model (well, substitute model as the original one no-showed – incidentally, big thanks to Geoff the studio owner for managing to find us a replacement so quickly!) was DaniMarie. Little did she know that she was about to embark on a tiring and relentless 7 hour shift working with 7 photographers!

A variety of sets and lighting arrangements were used in the morning fashion session, showing the new guys how to begin setting up lighting in a studio environment. Naturally, DaniMarie brought different outfits to give us some variety.

In the afternoon we moved on to a more glamour style of photography, and I took this opportunity to try out my new macro lens. Usually you’d use a macro lens to get close to small insects etc, but they also have the reputation of being amazingly sharp. To get the shots I wanted, the lights were turned down low, and my lens was used at its maximum aperture to get just a small amount of the photograph in focus, and leaving the rest to blur pleasingly.

From there we then moved on to a more art nude session, concentrating more on the curves of the female form. In order to accentuate these more, careful positioning of soft lighting was used to balance light and shade, along with a strong concentrated light from behind the model to add a small halo.

And then, after a good seven or eight hours in the studio that was the end of the day! DaniMarie put in a faultless performance, working hard for the entire day and assisting the new guys as much as she could. Geoff ran the studio beautifully, arranging lighting and offering advice when needed and Geoff’s wife provided a well received lunchtime buffet. All in all an excellent day which benefited both the new guys, and the more experienced ones.