Anya

The more I've worked with models - for about 23 years now -, the more I became convinced, that the only way to get a really strong image of a model was to get to know - and show on the photo - who she really is. Even when imposing on any model any weird pose - and one needs not always impose anything at all ! -, each model will have her very own way to present herself in this pose. Anyone can very easily verify this : all it takes is to ask 3 or 5 different models to take the very same pose at the very same place, and compare. Some will appear contrieved in this pose and place, some will naturally be very sensual, some will look like teenagers, some like 10 years old girls, etc. (I'm talking here about the model's expression and attitude, not about her looks or age.)

And so, I believe the best photo a photographer can get of a given model - absolutely speaking - is the photo where she will be doing what you wish, but still be absolutely herself at the same time.

I think it happened here. I looked at your other photos of her too, and each time, she appeared posing, and in almost each of her poses, I noticed that she had a special way to handle her own body, what I'd call a "bone-based attitude". As if she had a very special relation to her own bone structure. She's quite tall and mostly slim, but she somehow can't seem to stop playing with her body's center of gravity. That's what I saw in all photos, but you did not enter that road, it seems...? Perhaps you didn't notice this as "special" too...? I'd be interested to know. I feel she almost needs to feel un-balanced or borderline-falling, in order to feel the very existence of her body.

I think that's what you nailed here in this weird pose, and I think both her hand + arm position AND her expression are really great in this picture, because the picture meets her very own and private relation to her own body.

Now, there are a couple of things I don't like about this picture. Firstly, the arm is decisive for this pose, and you cropped her elbow, which was the soul of her "angular" (almost dis-articulated" if that's proper english ?) personality. Then the harsh light reflected on the background is a bit rough, but the frontal and direct lighting mostly flattens her facial features. But it appears you were probably using an on-camera flash here, which leaves you with very little room to play with the light. The right light and the elbow included in the frame, and you'd have a very good picture, I think. Regards.

That was a great critique. Anya first was a very easy model to work with. I think she was very comfortable in her own body. In a lot of the shots I did with her I was asking her to bend and lean. She has a long and slim body with great features but with the wardrobe I was working with, the top you see here and the black short skirt in other photos, the beauty of her body was not appearing in the images. So I tried different poses. She does seem to come off center somewhat but I kinds like that edginess.

The background was way to reflective (I even softened it up more in PS) and my lighting here was too strong. These are things that I am working on improving.

I will be shooting her boyfriend this weekend and I hope to shoot Anya again soon.

Thanks for the comments. I really appreciate it.