What's in a name? Take the term glamour photography for example. To me-it means so many things. And apparently it does to you as well. Every time I write an article on glamour-I get more emails (and questions) than on anything else…
Certainly there are aspects of photography that are not glamorous. Those editorial shooters who record slices of history for us all, often cover subjects that are less than appealing. They have society's deepest appreciation. They put their lives on the line to record history-and make it art at the same time. I'm sure forensic photography falls into a category that most of us (with all due respect) would consider less than glamorous. And there are other areas as well. But when it comes to photography of people, portraits, editorial layouts and right down to snapshots of friends
and family; shouldn't it all be "glamorous?" I always thought so…
In reality, glamour shooting has always had a tinge of extra excitement and of the sensual-because the subjects are women, who typically meet and surpass the standard of what society deems, well…"glamorous." Without
question, glamour is the fastest growing style of photography-and with the digital era upon us (and many shooters even retouching their own work)…more and more non-pros are trying their hand at glamour shooting.
Like most red-blooded American guys-my ideas of glamour started at a young age with trips to the movies and the magazine stands. I'm lucky in that I got to photograph many of the world's glamour icons though the years-some of which are shown here. But none touched my heart and soul like my ultimate soul mate-and to me the ultimate beauty-- Kay Sutton York. Over many years, I've produced thousands of glamorous shots of the lady-no doubt due to her abundance of glamour. As a magazine editor once told me upon meeting Kay, "Gary, my boy, you over-married."
The king of contemporary glamour is arguably www.ZugaPhoto.TV star, Rolando Gomez. Rolando packs them in all over the country (and beyond) at sold-out seminars. He has a sexy new DVD coming out this month that's already selling like crazy (advanced copies at a discount, by the way). It's entitled appropriately Glamour Made Simple DVD. In the DVD Rolando covers everything from lens selection to building a rapport with the subject, from film to great tips for the digital photographer, from soft lighting to hard, and how to use inexpensive cameras to produce professional quality glamour images. It's quite a show and a sexy show at that-almost as good as being at one of his seminars. So I thank Rolando for sharing some of his images for this column. If you want to learn from the best-check him out.
OK, here are the shots and some notes about the "taking and making":
First my stuff…
A Max Factor ad. One light behind the model (a small strobe) in a Chimera Soft Box, and a Larson Enterprises reflector next to my camera to fill in the Shadows. The grey background is really a white piece of paper that’s underexposed by 2 exposure steps.
A photograph of the one and only Sophia Loren—made with two Lowel hotlights—one a hairlight behind Sophia (goboed (blocked) from my lens to stop flare)—the second placed right above my camera in a Chimera softbox. A low camera angle and a Hasselblad camera did the trick.
A black and white of another one and only--Elizabeth Taylor—made during my first session with her. The shot: One strobe in an umbrella over my camera with Elizabeth leaning against the paper background (causing the shadow behind her). Nothing says glamour like butterfly lighting.
International glamour girl Joan Collins whom I photographed for so many years. I love this angle of Joanie’s face—classic—and the shoulder to the camera never hurts either. One light to camera right (tucking that shadow behind the far nostril) and a silver reflector below her face to camera left. Can you do these exact same techniques with a small strobe? What about a desk lamp? You bet. Are critical things like lighting angle important? Absolutely! Every change makes a difference. Notice composition and eye placement on every shot on this page (both mine and Rolando’s). The eyes are always above the top third of the image—regardless of cropping—for maximum impact. Rolando covers all this in his DVD, by the way.
A full-length fashion ad with Jane Seymour—taken on 35mm with a 105mm lens—and one light. Yes, I was on a ladder.
Now down to my lady…Kay York… A book cover shot…black and white…red lips…a yellow flower…shot on 35mm film with direct sunset sunlight coming through a window. Gotta wait for the right time. Can’t adjust that main light!
A burlap background for a swimsuit layout -- Harper’s Bazaar in New York. Again, a single Lowel light fits the bill. You gotta love Lowel. They’ve been around forever making great affordable, lasting products—and the benefit of hot lights is that you always see what you get.
Kay for Mr. Boston Rum. Shot on the beach in sunny California (it rained most of the day), once again, direct late afternoon sunlight is the key; 35mm Kodachrome (you remember Kodachrome, right?); exposed through the camera.
And once again, in this half-length on the beach--my favorite non-electrical light source: the sun…late afternoon on the island of Aruba. What a memory. Glad I took the picture!
And now to Rolando Gomez…
The first shot is of April Florio bending toward you. It is actually a screen capture directly from Rolando’s new DVD. Rolando makes his photographs with the Olympus E-1 System (my camera of choice as well). And we’re both Lexar Media guys when it comes to digital media…opting to record our images on the highest jpeg setting.
This first shot was made by Rolando in Cozumel…and the backup photograph shows just how he made it using a Dyna-Lite strobe right in the crashing waves! It was shot on ASA 100 using an Olympus E-1 with the equivalent of a 200mm lens on a 35mm camera. The strobe was triggered with an infra-red release. The main light was filled with the reflector to camera left.
Rolando’s words: Today's digital photography allows you to use just about any light source to illuminate your subject and still get great color balance in the image. That was never true with conventional film, I assure you. There are two main reasons why digital is so unique in this area. 1)Digital cameras have more “latitude’” or room for error in terms of exposure, and 2)they automatically adapt the camera to the color temperature of the light source.
To compensate for this with film you would have to use a filter or change film emulsions if you were shooting anything other than outdoors or indoors using camera flash. In addition, special films are usually slower in speed, while the use of filters typically cause light loss--sometimes up to two full f/stops or more.
If you are shooting digital, you can use your table lamp or even the fluorescent light overhead and still receive beautifully color-balanced results. With traditional film you would receive red to yellow-shifted images from your table lamp and greenish images from fluorescent lights. Just remember to set your digital camera to “AWB” or automatic white-balance and you shouldn't have any problems. And with digital you can shoot at even higher speeds.
Some thoughts from Rolando on this image of Kristen made by window light:
Digital photography, unlike conventional film, is very forgiving in the shadow areas and will soak-up that natural sunlight your subject reflects. And if you use white-balance settings on your camera like I do to my advantage, change your white-balance to around 6000K or the electronic flash or even the cloudy day mode, the results should be beautiful warm-toned images that appear to be the late evening sun—color that light, pure daylight is just boring. This photograph of Kristen was made with my Olympus E-1 Digital SLR and an Olympus, Zuiko Digital 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 lens, 1/50s @ F/4. I used natural sunlight filtering through patio door with white-balance set at 6000K internally on the E-1 camera.
I'd like to thank Rolando for the thoughts and the great images. And for a great departure into the sexy and exciting world of glamour photography, just check out his new DVD. Now, guys, memorize this line: you’re purchasing the Glamour Made Simple DVD to "take better glamour photographs of your wife (girlfriend, etc.)." And for those of you who want to compete for some great prizes from companies like Zuga, Omega-Satter, Lexar, Art Leather, Bogen, Pro Studio Supply, More Photos, including limited edition prints from our world class photographers, please stop by my home www.ZugaPhoto.TV and check out our always cool monthly photo contest.
