Apologies for the delay in getting these images finished. My car accident scuppered things for a while and though I’m not quite back to shoot level fitness, I managed to get my shoot with Artermis all edited and away.
Whittling nearly 500 images down to a select handful was a mammoth challenge. There were so many looks: The bicycle, the Helmet, the poses with the block, the fabric and, finally, the striped socks.
Which ones worked, and which needed a bit more development?
I love the bicycle images, and chose one of the edgier compositions due to its strong shapes. I think I’ll circle back on the helmet & spanner set, as though they were strong, they didn’t give the industrial feel I was after. Perhaps I can do this in a different space next time.
The Art nudes with the block sang to me, so I picked two or three of the best ones from that set, showing different poses.
The green fabric worked, but although I was pleased to try the more sumptuous “Chaise Longue” look of the old masters, I didn’t bring enough fabrics to make them useable.
The striped socks and gloves produced more contenders than the rest of the shoot combined. It was hard to whittle this down to just a couple!
Frame Selection
First thing was to group each “look” together in Lightroom. and then rate each image from 1-4. Then we reviewed all the four star images to bring out only the top few from each look.
Down from 500 to around 80 three-star images, and then to just thirteen four-star images.
Frames were cropped and cleaned up to maximise their geometric, sculptural impact.
Editing was restricted to tidying up blemishes and the usual dodging and burning to emphasise form while maintining skin texture, though the bicycle needed a little more cleanup to remove distractions like brakes, bosses and the wheel stand.
Most of the images received a contrasty monochrome treatment, reminiscent of the work of celebrated photographer, Helmut Newton.
The final set can be seen in my portfolio archive here.
