[View with PicLens]

1234...141516►

All images are the sole property of Nike. I take no credit, nor do I claim any ownership of these photographs.

What you have to keep in mind is this – the solutions I have setup at home works perfectly for my needs, and only my needs. This article is here to hopefully spark an idea to help you build your own solution to meet your own needs.

1 – Vosonic VP8870 250GB
When I’m out in the “field” I always make sure I have my trusty 250GB Vosonic media harddrive to back up to during and after the shoot. This little beauty will hold up to 250GB worth of images. Obviously, if you’re using a DSLR of high quality and you’re shooting RAW, then you may want to look at buying the 320GB version for a little extra space.

The unit is incredibly easy to use; you just slot in the memory card, transfer the images from the card to the device and hey presto! Job done! The images are safe and you can clear the memory card and start all over again.

2 – G-Tech G-RAID mini 400GB Hard Drive
Once at home, I will transfer the images from the Vosonic to 3 G-Tech G-RAID mini 400GB Hard Drive in a RAID1 setup.
What RAID1 basically means is that the same information, in this case pictures, are copied to all 3 drives. The information is exactly the same across all 3 drives, so should anything happen to the other two, I still have one backup left.
Once the images are safely copied across all 3 drives, the images are left there – they are the master images. They don’t get edited, changed or mess around with at all.

3 – LaCie 2big Network 2 4TB Hard Drive
At this point, the images saved onto the G-Tech drives will be copied across to the NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive – these are the images I work from, they get all the attention!
This particular drive allows you to split the 4GB space (2 x 2GB harddrives) into RAID1 for mirroring, or can be used as RAID0 (no mirroring (total capacity: 4GB)). Now the great thing about this little piece of kit is that it’s network attached, so I can access the images from any computer in my house, or anywhere in the world for that matter.

Well folks, that’s my current setup and it works perfectly.
Memory card -> Vosonic -> G-Tech -> LaCie -> And beyond!

Remember folks – BACKUP, BACKUP and BACKUP some more! I have lost a lot of pictures in the past through not backing up properly but since I implemented this solution – I haven’t lost a single image!

If you need any help setting up your own storage solution, or you have any questions then please feel free to email me, or comment on this article.

Here are some samples from the 18 page PDF

You can download the 18 page PDF here

1.  Plan ahead with your model.
It is a good idea to meet with your model prior to the portrait session.  This meeting gives you the opportunity to get to know them a little bit, which will help you later when you’re trying to capture an image that represents who they are.  It is also a good idea to discuss what they are looking for.  You can get an idea of what style of portrait they are interested in, as well as finding out what shots they want.  (e.g. Mum and daughters, just the kids, generation shots, etc.) Additionally, you can make suggestions about how they can best prepare for their session.

2.  Direct the session.
When you are doing a portrait session, think of yourself as a movie director; you are in charge in coordinating everything. Part of that involves having a plan.
Take into consideration the shots the model would like, and move through them efficiently and effectively.  It is a good idea to start with head shots, and gradually include more of the body, saving the full shots for last.
The second part of being the director involves direction; the model will depend on you to tell them what to do, don’t expect them to have any idea what to do.  Direct them in everything that you want them to do, and they will feel comfortable, and confident in your abilities.

3.  Interact with the model.
Helping the model feel comfortable is crucial!  If they don’t feel completely at ease, it will show in their portrait.
One of the most valuable things you can do to help them relax is to interact with them throughout the whole process.  From the moment you greet them at the door, to the moment they’re finished and leaving, you can maintain an ongoing interaction with them, to help them feel comfortable.  Tell jokes or anecdotes, or ask them about themselves.  Balance the talking and the listening, and get to know them.  If using a tripod, use a shutter release cable to take the photos, so you don’t have to stay hidden behind your camera the whole time.  These interactions will not only help the model relax, but it will also allow you to capture real emotions and expressions.  Rather than being flat and lifeless, the portraits will come alive and reflect the model’s character.

4.  Posing your model to capture their personality.
The model will rely on your skills to pose them in a way that is both natural and flattering.  As you interact with your model, you should be getting an idea of which types of poses would be comfortable for them as well as reflecting their personality.  Some people will prefer a more formal, traditional pose, while others would rather be more relaxed and casual.  As a photographer, if you can find poses that capture the personalities of your model, they will come back to you again and again.

5.  Focus on the eyes.
The eyes are the windows to the soul.  Yes, its cliché, but it’s also true.  When you look through that viewfinder, the first thing you should check is to make sure the eyes are completely in focus.  It can be the difference between a lifeless photo and a vibrant portrait!

6.  A few more things to check.
Before pressing the button, there are just a few more things to check in the viewfinder.
First and foremost is composition.  Be sure that the model’s face is dominant in the portrait, and that everything else is secondary.  Check to make sure that the overall composition is pleasing and flattering.  In addition, it’s always a good idea to check the model’s hair and clothes.  Make sure everything is lying properly and looks clean and neat.  Most of us have had photos taken where a lock of hair was out of place, or a shirt was sticking out funny, or any number of mishaps!  And we never like those pictures, even if no one else notices!  So do yourself a favour, and retain the loyalty of the customer by checking to make sure they look their best!

7.  Taking the shot.
You’re finally ready to take the shot!  Here are a few quick tips for the moment of pressing that button:  When shooting, don’t feel limited to one position.  Move around the model and get the shot from different angles.  Also, be flexible with camera orientation (vertical versus horizontal).  Vertical portraits are more traditional, but there are many situations when horizontal orientation will make a more striking photo.  Be sure to take multiple shots of everything.  No matter how hard you try to avoid it, you will still get pictures of people blinking!  Finally, continue interacting with the model.  Help them feel comfortable so you can get the most natural-looking smiles in their portraits.

8.  Capture honest expressions.
Everyone experiences a wide array of emotions.  So, while it is traditional to have all portraits with the model smiling, there is no written law that says they must all be that way.  Watch your model carefully, and occasionally steal a shot when they don’t think you’re ready.  Get a shot of them rolling their eyes, laughing at a joke you just told, or getting frustrated at their sibling outside of the frame.  Sometimes these portraits can become the most treasured, simply because they are the most REAL.
So, take a little creative license and catch them when they think you’re not watching.  They may just be pleasantly surprised with the results!

9.  Capture personality.
Sometimes we stumble across little tricks to help bring the personality out of our model, and we capture their true personalities.  Always strive for this kind of success.  Here are a few ideas of how to do this.  Have a model bring his favourite CD to play during the session.  You may get lucky and capture him playing air guitar – a shot that he’ll always love!  Or you can invite a little girl to bring some of her favourite dress-ups.  In doing this, she may feel more comfortable and begin twirling around the studio.  Won’t her mother treasure that photo for ever?  These are a couple of examples, but you get the idea.  Find ways to bring out the personalities of your model, and they’ll absolutely love the result!

10.  Come prepared.
You should always be prepared with back up equipment.  Chances are you’ll never need it.  But it’s better to be prepared, than not.  If some of your equipment should fail halfway through a session, you want to look professional and be able to complete the session.  Having a back-up camera is essential.  Other items to have on hand would be additional memory cards (or film, if using film), extra batteries for camera and other needs, and extra lighting equipment.  If you are ever in a position to need any of these things, you’ll be so glad you were prepared!

11.  Smile and have fun!
One of the most important things you can do as a photographer is simply to smile and have a good time.  If you’re having a good time, then odds are that your model will be having a good time as well.  Your positive and fun attitude will help them relax and enjoy themselves, thus enabling you to capture a better portrait of them.  Most importantly, everyone will simply be having a good time!

You need a digital camera. There’s nothing worst than having to collect your sexy photos from Boots or Jessops when you know they have had a sneaky peep at your photos. Of course you could get a Polaroid camera, but the films are costly, the shots generally are not of very good quality, and if you want to email them to your lover at work, you will have to buy a scanner as well.

When buying a digital camera, you may also want to think about buying an additional memory card – just for good measure! Most digital cameras (those point and click ones) are in the region of 8MP to 10MP, so if you are going to invest in an additional memory card, buy one with a size of 1GB or greater.

You can feel a bit silly posing, trying to look sexy and having no idea of where to put your hands.

Get some adult magazines. They have professionals demonstrating the sexy pose’s for you. Copy the stance and positioning of the photos you like in the magazines.

Get some props! If you are holding, leaning or have something to do with your hands you will look more natural, and wont feel uncomfortable. The props might be an everyday object, food, a sex toy, a door frame or even massage baby oil into your skin.

Play some music or have a bottle of wine to help you to relax. If you are taking the photos with your lover, you will soon stop feeling silly as they get hornier watching you posing and teasing.

Leave something to the imagination, save all your intimate bits ‘n’ body parts for the passionate sex scene, don’t flash them off in the snaps – this leaves nothing for the grand finale. Sexy photos are just an appetiser. A few shots of a slow sensual strip show are far more arousing than an up front and in your face view of your nether-region! Get your sexy undies on, or wrap yourself in a towel or some bed sheets and show little hints if flesh.

To  get that sexy smile – never smile with your lips fully closed. Try imagining that you have a pea or a two pence piece that you are holding between your lips. Also give your lips a lick of gloss before the shot to give them shine.

Check your location. Your photographs wont turn out very sexy if unwanted mess is in the frame. Make sure that the area you are using is tidy. And wherever you are taking your pictures, make sure you are not going to be disturbed – It can be very embarrassing. Also, beware of mirrors!

A prime example of poor surroundings.Image Provided by COIstock

Back lighting (having a light shine behind your subject) is flattering. It softens the outline, and makes you look slimmer.

Taking pictures outside – a very risky business! Make sure you are not going to be disturbed or arrested! Warm up the tones of your photo and give yourself a warm sexy glow by changing the white balance on your camera from auto to cloudy. It increases the reds and yellows resulting in a richer, warmer shot.

Always point your toes even if your feet are going to be touching the ground (when sitting in a chair for example) It makes your legs look longer and more shapely.

If your going to wear shoes wear high heels. This is because high heeled shoes instantly ‘improve’ your posture and ‘improve’ the shape of your legs.

Don’t just stand with your legs together like a soldier on century duty, its not doing you or the picture any favours. Instead stand with your legs a stride apart or cross one in front of the other to exaggerate the leg length.

Experiment with camera angles, they can add to the mood of your finished images. Looking down on your subject makes them look very submissive; whilst having the camera look up at the subject from a lower position makes them look dominant and powerful – experiment.

DIY Sexy Photos – For an added surprise at work, email them a ‘right at this very moment‘ photo taken with the self timer function; this delays the firing of the shutter for up to 10 seconds (maybe longer, depending on your camera).

Simple back-lighting and a clean room can give great results! Image provided by Aurora_Dawn

If something does manage to spoil your photograph, remember you can always crop and change your digital images later on your computer.

Work it baby! Its a digital camera so it costs nothing to take hundreds of photos. You can always disregard photos you don’t like later. The more different photos you take with different lighting and camera angles, the better chance you have of finding the perfect, sexiest photo.

Don’t stand face on to the camera. Its not very interesting and its not very flattering. If you must stand face on to the camera turn slightly away to improve the shot.

Most importantly have fun! Because it comes across in the photograph if you are enjoying yourself or not. Your not going to turn on the viewer of the photo if you look like you have the snap taken under duress.

**** Important ****
If you are sending sexy photographs to your loved ones at work, be aware… company policy will prohibit them from viewing such material and could lead to disciplinary action, or worse… getting fired! If in doubt, check!
Please, don’t blame me if you get sacked or arrested for following these tips – use common sense

Some of the tips offered in the article have been sourced from various websites in the public domain.

The market is heavily saturated with compact cameras (point and click) which do the job perfectly for what they are built for but when you need pictures that have that something extra special, you may need to look at investing in what they call a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera) BUT steady on there tiger! Don’t jump straight in and spend a small fortune on a camera you’ll barely be able to use.

If you want to start to learn photography, and I mean really learn photography, I would strongly suggest you start at the very bottom and work up, start with a standard SLR.

Even with the digital revolution, there are still 1000′s of good quality old SLR cameras free to buy that offer stunning picture quality and are a great building-block on which to learn on, and progress from.
Have a look at your local second hand camera shop, charity shops and car-boot sales or even have a look on EBay (Caution to buying on EBay!). If you are just starting out, and you’ve to the patience to start from the beginning (instead of jumping in and buying an £800 DSLR) then I would recommend you look at spending anywhere from £20 to £50 for a good quality Canon, Minolt or Pentax (or any other brand) camera.

1. When buying your SLR camera, inspect the item thoroughly. Listen for squeaks, tapping or knocking. Obviously, with this being a bog-standard SLR, when you release the shutter, you’re going to hear clunks and knocks and other little sounds so read up about the particular brand you plan on buying; see what the common problems are with a camera that age.
   • If it comes with a lens, take it off. Inspect the lens – check for scratches, marks, clouding and mould. If you spot anything that looks like the for-mentioned, leave it. The last thing you want to do is buy a nice camera, only to find the lens has dust or mould between the glass elements.
   • Open the back of the camera – does it look to be in a good condition? Check the seal on the door for any damages – ‘light leak’ will render the camera and your pictures useless until you fix it.

   I guess what I’m trying to say here is, have a good look at it, play with it… take it to bits – make sure you’re not buying a dead camera!

2. Prepare the camera. Make sure any batteries are new, the lens and viewfinder are clean… oh, and make sure the film compartment if free from dust, fluff and anything else that may hamper the film.
3. Choosing the 35mm film – this is crucial! My personal recommendation is to use Ilford 35mm film. Ilford have been around for over 100 years and their film is second to none. I’m sure you meet and speak to other film enthusiasts that say differently but at the end of they day, it’s your choice – buy a few different brands – experiment!
   Pop on over to Ilford’s website and read up on their handy tips – http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/
4. Once you’ve chosen your film the only thing left to do is to get out there and shoot!

As a beginner, it’s all about having fun and learning fundamentals – shoot, shoot and shoot some more!

In part two, I’ll look to explain the workings of aperture, shutters speeds and other critical topics to enable you to capture stunning photography.

Here are some photographs taken on a Canon AE-1 using various Ilford films.