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How to Photograph Girls - The Professional Way -- Part 1

by Paul Markham of

PaulMarkham.com

You've started your adult website and now discovering the images
you want are not available, too expensive or just not quite right. So what are
you going to do? And in a flash it comes to you "I'll take the pictures myself".
And without thinking further you're off to the cupboard to find your old camera
and ask one of the local girls if they would like to do some nude modeling. So
after dealing with some very irate boyfriends, shunned by the neighbors and had
your photos shown to the authorities, you're thinking, "Not the greatest idea I
ever had" You should have first asked yourself. Do I want to take pictures to
make money, get in front and close up to as many naked girls as I can or to
prove to the world that my fetish sells?

Reason one keep reading.

Reason two, go to the local lap-dancing club for the night, it
will be cheaper. Of course a lot of people do go there to recruit models and
wonder why she looks tired, bored and costs so much. I shall tell you how to
find models later.

Answer three, this is why you cannot find pictures of girls
masturbating and bursting their zits at the same time!! Be careful an Internet
site can survive with a small membership and be fun. But how many share your
fantasy?

After more than 20 years as a photographer I know, shooting
pictures can be fun and profitable, if you follow a few simple and basic rules.
Camera, digital or film.

First thing to decide is; am I going to sell these pictures to
magazines or just use them on the Internet. If the answer is Internet only, go
buy a digital camera. An excellent one for the beginner is the Olympus E10
($1,500) or if you have the money the E20 ($2,000). Now to be honest, as a
magazine photographer I know little about digital cameras. It will be a few
years before the print porno market moves to digital. But for some one starting
to shoot, digital is fine for the Internet. You do not want to be scanning
slides, it's expensive, time consuming and for the net a digital camera gives
good enough results. Plus you see the results as you work.

If you insist on shooting film it has to be transparencies. Do
not try to shoot on negative film because you have a good flat bed scanner, it
will not give you the results. And if you want to scan the slides for digital
use you will need a slide scanner. The Nikon Coolscan 4000 is useable and
without spending a fortune good enough ($1500). If you do not have a QUALITY SLR
you will need to buy one, with a lens it will cost from $1,000 up. Do not think
of buying something for $400 it will just need replacing. You will need a camera
with a "Hotshoe" or sync lead socket for the lights sync lead. The most
important thing with any kind of nude work is colors and skin tone. No one wants
to look at a green/yellow model, that's why you need to spend the money on a
good camera, film or slide scanner.

If you opt for the digital take a couple of days learning to
calibrate the color by photographing someone. If it's only them in a loose top
to get the skin tones right. Find the best colour setting on the camera to suit
your tastes. The E10 has a zoom lens, if you are using another camera, you must
have a zoom lens. Models get put off if you keep moving in and out to take
those, so necessary but intimate, close ups.

If you are going shoot slides, you have to sort out which film
to use. Again because of skin tones, we find best is Kodak's E6 100S. But some
prefer Fuji Astia, try out different types and see what you like the best.
Forget the cheap films.

Now you have to decide, shoot indoors or out? Unless you live in
the desert or tropics, consider buying studio flashlights and a light meter, for
indoor work. Not expensive two heads, stands, soft boxes/umbrellas and light
meter, should see some change out of $1500. Unless shooting in a barn don't go
for anything too expensive or powerful, there's no need. You could shoot with a
camera-mounted flashgun, but the best flashguns will not give the quality a
studio flashlight will. Of course if the "Amateur" style pics a flashgun will do
the trick very nicely ($500). But be careful it takes a lot of practice to
master shooting porn with a flashgun.

Now spend a few days experimenting and getting to know the
camera. Do not suddenly discover a button is not working, as it should, in front
of a model. Credibility is everything with the models. Seen the pictures where
the girl is looking at you as if she thinks you're a loser? That's what she
thought of the photographer who took those pictures. Or even worse bored, that's
because she has been waiting twenty minutes for him to figure out how the camera
works. Get very comfortable with the equipment even if it's only shooting the
cat. If you can get your wife or girlfriend to pose even better. Getting them
posing together would be ideal!! But for now nude is not what it's about; it's
about learning to use the camera and lights. This is a good time to get down to
your local bookstore and but a couple of books.

Budgeting to spend around $2,500 for the camera and lights
should be about right. It can be done cheaper, but this is about doing it right.
If you are going to improve you will not do so by cutting costs. Our cameras
cost a minimum $3000 and we shoot with a minimum of 4 lights. So when thinking
about saving money think, do I want good pictures or pictures. Read the books
and manuals that came with the equipment. Then practice using the equipment.
Lighting is crucial and you can only learn this by trial and error and a good
book on lighting. There are many excellent ones, they have examples of what
effects you can achieve and then show how to achieve it. With a digital camera
it's possible to check the results immediately after taking the shots.

So that's it for now. Sorry I have not got you in front of a
brand new, drop dead gorgeous blonde, performing your every wish or at least
posing as if she wants to. That's for next week. (If you're a good boy).

You can discuss this article here at Netpond

And thanks for this article to Paul Markham