'Kristine'

This is Kristine, professional model. She's been photographed

before by professionals, and her image is somewhat visible. Your

ratings, critiques and observations are inivited and most welcome. If

you rate harshly, very critically, or wish to make a remark, please

submit a helpful and constructive comment; please share your

photographic knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks!

Enjoy! John

I met Kristine with a personal assistant; and soon she became what we both regarded as a friend.  We haven't seen each other for a while, but she is extremely bright, has a wonderful personality, and is extremely lively and active with great promise.  

I had a wonderful time photographing her and recommend her to others as a model.

john

John (Crosley)

Hi John

I really like the soft light you have used here and the top&bottom crops work for me. I do find the left and right crops a bit tight though, her arms are totally cut off in an awkward way, I might have tried a square image for this one.

The hair over her eyes also seems ok to me but the tangle by her left arm is a bit distracting I might have tried to untangle that a bit but still leaving the "natural" look.

Very nice shot overall, good effort by you and your model, nude portraits are very challenging in my opinion.

All my best,   Bill

You are right; nude shots are very challenging. This was done in a living room on a couch in a rented flat with light from the windows -- nothing else.

I came across this the other day, worked it up, and said 'why didn't I post this long ago?', so I did.

I am glad you enjoyed it.

I last saw Kristine on the street with a bunch of her friends, and she called to me, but also have seen her photos on the Internet from time to time, so she's been active or had been.

She is very, very bright and very, very mature.  I liked her very much and would welcome seeing her again.

Thanks for a helpful critique.

john

John (Crosley)

I look at an image like this as being much like a film still. You get the sense that this is a moment in a sequence. I love the casual feel especially the way Kristine's hair is falling is a wild, uncontrolled way. The soft light falls beautifully on her and adds to the feel. Her stare out of the frame makes me wonder who she is looking at or for. This is very well done, John.

When I look at comments, I have to consider who makes them.  In your case, your comment is well written as was Bill Symmons' comment next above.  He was in his eighth year here, and you are in excess of your tenth year here, and both of you with such extensive experience and exposure to literally tens and hundreds of thousands of images have written almost priceless critiques.

Thank you.

A member, who hails from Israel, and who sometimes is my harshest critic, may have forgotten that although I post few nudes, he wrote that I do them the best of what I do. 

I'm a complete naif about shooting nudes; never studied it, never examined what made nude shooting good or bad or even spent much time looking at others' portfolios and folders of nude shots (although I certainly have looked longingly at the models of John Peri).

I dislike the 'posed' look of so many nude models, which makes them appear somehow to be 'art' maybe in the 'statue' sense when in fact they really are shown for their feminine attributes and nude to show their sexuality.

Kristine is shown casually, and in a most tasteful way, I think.

It is a contrivance of mine that I never have fully understood, how i can take such different shots of nude women and somehow get interesting and good photos.

Even when I get what some consider a tasteless photo . . . . . as one photo that got at least 94 comments and is one of the all-time most commented photos on this service.   Some people were really angry at that photo, yet I, the same man, posted this photo, probably taken with the same camera, and this is the most tender while that photo was seen as the depiction of a prostitute, yet nothing in the photo said 'prostitute' except her pose.  I hadn't intended to show her as a prostitute, and she was not tough, hard or selling anything either, just willing to assume a pose that was explicit, but nothing so explicit as posted by some of the top nude shooters on this service. 

It probably has to do with the model and my capturing her essence.  Here, Kristine is a most beautiful and really a most sweet young woman, small, tender, and delicate physically but mentally very large and potentially challenging, although wonderful to get along with.

I think what you are noticing is that somehow (as in that photo that got so many other comments) I got directly to the model's essence and the same here. . . . .and to me that's a new discovery . . . . made since I began reading your comment and replying to it and analyzing what it is I do. (I post so few nudes that it requires some introspection on my part why those I post get such remarks, both kind and unkind, but in most cases they do seem to capture the 'essence' of the woman being depicted.)

It's a wonderful awakening for me.

I probably should at least post more nudes; it is not an unhappy task and could vary my 'street' shooting as I did before.

I usually start nude work with a model, tell her I'll take a ton of photos (as I do almost all others being posed whether clothed or male/female or whatever), then tell her that the first photos will look terrible, then I'll somehow start to connect as I shoot and move, 'connect' and begin to 'zero in' on what makes her appear attractive in her depiction or otherwise photogenic or photographically interesting.

I usually aim not for a portfolio of shots, but for one shot only -- just one defining shot.

In this case, this is the one (there was one other similar shot, partial frontal, as well, but this is first choice.)

Thanks for helping me develop my ideas about continuing and developing my nude shooting, something I had mostly given up.

I wonder if that critic remembers what he wrote several years ago -- he had spent his photographic lifetime trying to depict nudes and was exhibited seriously on a  professional level if I have my facts straight, but did not make it to the top, so such words from him had special meaning to me.  It was a serious endeavour for him.

For me, I often devote only a few minutes to any depiction -- it's entirely spontaneous.  I just point, move around and look for 'magic' and at the end, I often find it in just one or two photos and almost all at the end -- never at the start -- for those starting photos almost always are wooden, stiff and contrived.

Best to you and thank you so much for your comment -- it made me think and make some connections.

john

John (Crosley)

I never crop this way and try to work with the golden rule to give attention to the eyes.....

That is said and now this, i really like it.

Those eyes are great and now i am jealous....

Cheers Dolf

I have had the golden rule explained to me and even pointed how many of my photos employ it, however I do not consciously understand it,  even if I internalize it and understand it naiively.

I am also naiive about shooting nudes.  I get behind the viewfinder, focus and frame and if it looks good, press the shutter, and then move around and do more.  At the end, I always seem to get something new, different and unusual -- never something textbook.

But never be jealous -- it's just my different way of doing things - a way even I cannot now explain.

I post so few nudes too - it's been two years at least, I think, but when I do, they seem to do well.

But you are right, the eye(s) here are important.

My best to you, and thanks for commenting.

john

John (Crosley)

Beautiful eyes make the photo. Kristine chose her profession well. Just to nitpick: there is a shiny hair blending into the the left edge of her nose. Can you calm that down at all?

This is the best image I have seen today. Congratulations on a great effort. If you find any other Kristine images, please post them.

I'm pretty much a minimalist with image editing and thought maybe that 'shiny hair' was perhaps a piece of nose jewelry, but I think you have it right.

That's a very big compliment you gave me; thank you so much.

I have other photos of Kristine, one nearly identical but with a different orientation; she's looking at us, but looks nearly the same - I tend only to post one pose as to post more suggests a dearth of material, and there are many photos posted in my HUGE portfolio for which there are maybe 20 or 30 other photos just as good from an episode of shooting a subject, and I only choose one, then move on -- even from my last Photo of the Week, a shooting from which I got wonderful photo after wonderful photo, but I chose just one to post (and hit the PN jackpot).

I suppose I could tone down that hair . . . . . and would if I displayed this in a gallery now that I know it's there and realize it's a hair, not jewelry.

Thanks for a helpful, (flattering), and informative critique.

john

John (Crosley)

You have achieved a nice unposed very natural looking nude that I like, much more than those over posed perfect nude. The girl looks real and her personality has a certain innocences with great eyes staring off into the distance. A very successful environmental nude, congrats William

Kristine is (or was) a semi-pro model with ideas of her own about what constituted modeling, including certain arm/hand motions that I chose to disregard in certain circumstances because they looked a little contrived.

In this photo, cropped out by my lens, is precisely one of those movements with her right arm and possibly her left too, but I just bore in with my lens.

She was experienced enough to know to not look into the lens except when directed and/or expected, and she knew enough about makeup and her age (just barely legal) not to be overly made up.

It drives me crazy to see women overly made up or badly made up, which one sees all the time for instance in the less wealthy parts of Los Angeles, especially in the immigrant populations, where I sometimes shoot -- bad make up for me is a total turnoff and detractor from good photography.

Ukrainian women, on the other hand, (Kristine epitomized this when she showed up for the photo shoot) are skilled in general in minimal use of makeup and its proper application.

On the Metro which nearly everybody uses, including some of the world's most beautiful women, one almost never sees a poorly or overly made up woman - and great care especially is taken by these women in making up their eyes, which most of them feature quite well and not obtrusively, and they do a wonderful job on the greater part with eyes.

The women are extraordinarily lucky; most are not rich, but most can look fabulous simply by pulling their hair straight back and tying it into a pony tail; one sees that look a lot and it shows off some of the standard and almost showstopping Slav profiles which one sees so commonly that one forgets how great they are until one goes to another country.  (There are other countries nearby with similarly good looking women, Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Czech, Slovak, Lithau, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova and the ethnic Russians who poured out in the diaspora of Russians who populated the former Republics of the Soviet Union.

I haven't in a year or two seen any woman with overly made up lips or rouged cheeks in Ukraine, but in Los Angeles in certain sections, that can be seen on almost a block by block basis -- and to me it's ghastly.

The Ukrainian women know they are possessed of some of the world's classic Caucasian (in the sub racial sense) beauty, only slightly differing from the Russian Slav look, with many mixtures among the women in Ukraine between Russian Slave and Ukrainian (Slav).  

I can often tell parentage by facial features.  (e.g., poppa or momma was Russian and the other was Ukrainian or vice versa I'd tell a model, and most often I'd be right.  Stalin sent Russians in large number into Ukraine in the mid 1930s in a controversial move that Ukrainians equate with a period of mass starvation which many would like to call a genocide; teachers teaching would suddenly fall to death of starvatiion at their schools, and the same with with students, but few complained publicly because the price of complaining was to be seen as a traitor to the Soviet Union and to be sent to death.

In any case, minimal makeup is good enough for the fabulous featured women on the street and good enough for young Kristine here too, which  suited me just fine, as I just am not interested in having to deal with heavily made up women; it suits my aesthetic just as minimal photoshopping suits my photography aesthetic. 

I believe in 'natural' where I can get away with it, though there are exceptions e.g., the photo of Rita, right now next to this in this folder, shows a more heavily made up Rita, but well done, and then I've made her photo 'high key' for an exception to my 'minimal photoshopping' rule, but it works well and I think Rita looks fabulous.

I treat each photograph separately and individually; nothing 'mass produced' here, even though there are just shy of 2,000 photos in my portfolio.

If I see Kristine, I'll be sure to point out your laudatory critique of her look, and I accept personally your kind compliment; it's the look I was aiming for, even if I was not able to previsualize it. 

I am not to the point of previsualizing nudes yet, though with 'street' and other genres, I often can.

Nevertheless, all genres seen to  come out OK in my estimation.

And cross genres, all seem in one way or another to bear my imprint, I think, just as Svetlana Korolyova's fine work all bears her inimitable artistic qualities and in her way is inimitable and not in any way able to be mistaken for mine (lucky for her!). 

I'm a fan of Svetlana K's work; we shoot same subjects, often in similar areas, but  in quite different ways and each of us has our own 'look' which we pride ourselves in.

(I invite you to look at her best work, it's really worth while -- and I barely know her at all, having met her far less than a handful of times, but having viewed her work seriously for a couple of years now and think it has gallery potential)

Best to you, William, and thank you for taking the time to let me know your thoughts.

john

John (Crosley)

A most charming and sensitive portrait... Well Done!
-r-

You use two wonderful adjectives.

Thank you; I aimed for that treatment, and am glad I connected.

john

John (Crosley)

I have never done a nude photoshoot, and at my ripe old age, probably never will, however I do appreciate beauty and your images certainly do justice to your lovely models.

(I could just say "nice pic"... smiles).

What I enjoy more (about your images) are the ensuing comments and diatribes that follow your postings. I have learned so much from those who comment and your subsequent replies and my learnig curve from this thread is your comment about "your best shots coming towards the end of the shoot........" food for thought for me, as I have a few of my son's girl mates coming over (in a couple of weeks) for a portrait shoot (also a newish genre for me).

So, thank you for the strong rapport you have with the PN members...... I continue to read and learn (yet not always comment).

Seasons Greetings,

Best regards 

I bought my first Nikon (my first camera ever) with the idea in the back of my head 'it's a great excuse to get women/girls to take off their clothes' but in my first roll of film there was a great 'street' shot, and I never looked back.  That was at age 21.  It's on display in in its own folder here as 'From My First Roll of Film (Ever)', in case you want to look.  I'd be proud if I could take photos of such quality all my life, and it's historical as well, now.

I never took those nude shots except for a couple until I was almost into my '60s or late '50s, and even after viewing your photo and reading your biography, I'd be willing to bet I'm older than you or at least as old, so why not? 

With a proper chaperone, why not memorialize the beauty of some of those young portrait subjects or others who are inclined with a nude shoot or two; you have plenty of experience, and believe me, it's easily translatable for someone with skills.

If you can capture formula one, catching the ephemeral moment when a women looks her best and most mysterious will not only be a challenge but a challenge easily mastered for you, I think, AND keep you young, as it has me.

I'm putting out a call for new models after several years of NOT shooting nudes and looking forward to it. 

What else you wrote is a kind blesssing to my soul; I spend a great deal of time and energy trying to share on this service what I have learned so others will be able to avoid my mistakes or at least be entertained. 

Why keep it all secret?  Some have criticized me for being so voluble, but my answer is 'don't read' if it is too much.   The fan mail exceeds the brickbats 9 to 1.

You have given me a great holiday gift, and put a glow on my face at this year's end (no alcohol either; I'm basically a non-drinker, though with no agenda against drinking - however in Ukraine too many drink too much and it's impossible to drink and take photos, plus it's dangerous to go around 'high' with expensive equipment, so I just don't imbibe).

Best to you, and don't be bound by age.

My friend, Alberto Conde, not deceased, on another service, lived his life to the fullest (I was just reading his remarks to me) and he was three months younger than I.  He left a rich heritage and had many friends, many of them very much younger, and he was mourned by then . . . . though old of body he was young of spirit.

My models pick up on that, quickly, and they respond, but then I don't touch either, which makes them comfortable.  If you don't leer and are seen as a serious artist, models will turn it on full blast, I think.

;~))

john

John (Crosley)

You are a persuasive man, with persuasive rhetoric that gives me food for thought.

I think, for me, it is a case of having the courage to ask, without embarrasing or being embarrased........... having said that, I suppose one needs the ability to identify the signs or the right moment.........

Your kind comments are stored on the "back burner" not in the archives.

Appreciate your time and carefully chosen words.

Best regards

An advertisement in a Craig's List sort of publication often works very well.  If you can pay, so much the better, and if not, time for a portfolio is a good start.

The model is everything so be sure you screen to get rid of the obvious 'hard' people, the scammers who are there to look at and potentially steal your equipment or maybe scout it out for a boyfriend to return and burglarize it, or who are druggies, etc., and look for 'sweet' girls who will project and have great bodies and faces.  They are, after all, models, and you do them no favors by leading them on if they are not qualified.

You can do much over the phone and even more by a public meeting before they are invited into a private dwelling where they can lift things if you're shooting at home; and if so be sure there'a a woman there you trust to help you and to vouch for you in case there are any untoward claims (or just to forestall them) -- until you get to know your model.

In other words, be cautious and use good sense.

I've never had any problems, but then I've used my own advice, but if I were shooting without an assistant, I can foresee there might have been problems, especally when two models showed up. 

Be especially aware of two girlfriends showig up, as you cannot possibly watch two -- when you talk to one and another goes to the toilet, she can be ransacking while the other is disrobing for a test shot.

Use caution with strangers; if they're recommended, that's another thing, of course.

Students are good candidates, and their bodies should be super -- they are models, of course, and the camera will exaggerate any flaw in their features.  Don't be shy; ask for measurements and if they don't have them, ask them to call back with them.  Ask also for test photos -- even from cameraphones (be sure to ask for proof of age, too)

Give it a try; why go to the grave without living out life as it should be.  It can be fun and fulfilling.

Also, many such young woman are excited to do so and some are exhibitionists, which you'd never guess, even on interviewing them, when they put on feigned shows of modesty.  You never know until they take off their clothes, then the truth will out.

;~)

john

John (Crosley)

Good emphasis on the eyes and hair.

Thank you. You are an accomplished nude photographer, so your  compliment has special meaning to me.

john

John (Crosley)

You forgot to mention to Grayham the prostitutes.

I don't have direct knowledge of knowing such people; I know you do, you lived with them, you supplied their drug habits and probably qualify as an expert, but I'm unaware of having dealt with anyone who sells sex for a living among my models and of that, I'm the world's expert, as I'm the only one who has dealt with them and anything  stated to the contrary would be pure speculation and calumny.

john

John (Crosley)

just pointing out that prostitutes are affordable in lieu of a runway model. Why buy a Lamborghini if you can't drive a chevy? 

I can drive a Chevie and a Lamborghini and everything in between, but cannot make the comparison to women because I don't 'drive' women.

I photograph them, but only the ones with whom I get on well, and that includes that I feel 'safe' and 'comfortable' with them, and that they're not giving off indicators that they're scamming or may do so. 

While I have been known to pay and pay well, it was important for me and my then assistant then to drive off any we thought were 'hard', 'scammers', 'drug-influenced', or possibly 'addicted', or who might reveal the amount, value and size of my equipment away or even the photo site, for that meant undertaking risks with my equipment.

Models who are prostitutes and drug addicts as you have pointed out sometimes go together; you have pointed out many of your former models (many of whom 'look hard' were addicts). 

Money is needed to buy narcotics; cameras and lenses are easily stolen and sold for purchase of narcotics and even the location of those things can be sold for a price to a pimp whose buddies can try a theft later, so best advice - if using good equipment, keep the women of the evening away, far away, from the valuables.

Also, that hardness often shows through; that was part of your art, to show part of that hardness (among other things) but not part of mine, in general.

You did photograph prostitutes; but when I understood that someone was pedddling flesh rather than working their way through a bad financial situation, just liked posing in the nude for personal reasons (many do), or a student looking for a semester's tuition (one session often paid for that), I showed the 'hard' ones to the door, quickly.

Still do.

Always would.

I live in a different world than you did Meir when you photographed nudes and photograph usually a different kind of nude than you did, in general.

There may have been a few who snuck by, but many women have good qualities and are not complete scammers just because of what they do in times of recent economic hardship, but not that I've consciously known about it.

It just makes good sense; if a woman is a stripper or prostitutte, hard and possibly drug-addicted and you can see that, why let her near expensive equipment unless you are documenting her 'as she is' in her condition as just that -- with a hard edge, possibly strung out and addicted?

I did not seek to document that, so I let those few who passed initial vetting pass, -- the very few I ever saw and that was VERY FEW at all.

My vetting process worked VERY well; as I let a young Russian and a young Ukrainian woman, both with good instincts, do most of that work for me, and they both had amazing instincts.

I trusted them absolutely, even with my life, and they repaid that trust.

To this day, five or six years later.

john

John (Crosley)

If you're suggesting that some of your 'Chevie' models looked like Lamborghinis' than I suggest you have a good, long look at your past work.

I had supposed you photographed them just for the qualities they had and not for qualities they didn't have and never could pretend to, and that was a staple of your art. 

Am I wrong?

john

John (Crosley)