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Shoot: Outdoor Drop Cloths and Chair Pose One

Lesson 14 from: Fine Art Women's Portraits

Jennifer Thoreson

Shoot: Outdoor Drop Cloths and Chair Pose One

Lesson 14 from: Fine Art Women's Portraits

Jennifer Thoreson

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Lesson Info

14. Shoot: Outdoor Drop Cloths and Chair Pose One

Lesson Info

Shoot: Outdoor Drop Cloths and Chair Pose One

so we took the tarp out of the tank and this is just done with ratchet straps and often do this in the woods with between two trees and just pull it tight enough it'll hold the way the background still wet so um I kind of like what it will do if you kind of dragging around a little bit if you look at the bottom of it nice and dirty and very organic e looking I'm going to show the ground and everything so you can really see it's kind of this awkward like people used to do ten times you ever seen the movie the piano there's a scene in the piano where there's two a couple I think it's their wedding portrait they just drape a tarp on the side of a house and this this photographer under the cloth everything making the photograph and it looks really odd you know abadan used to put the white background on the side of the building and stuff so it's like intentionally showing that it's just kind of a random cloth in the woods and we're we're going to make a makeshift studio out of it and it loo...

ks really romantic and stuff when it's all finished okay I talked about a little bit gonna move towards some sort of advanced supposing I suppose um you play with the chair for a little while and aiken do chair posing for ever it is play with all the different shapes of it and uh all the things you could do with a body in a chair because you have a back to work with and of course the seat so that shape lends itself to all kinds of interesting poses so we're going to play with that for a while and then we may put some people in together and do some groups and stuff talk about howto to photograph people especially to but I mean to but especially three because that gets really complicated you go multiple subjects right we've done a lot of one girl at a time the whole time so we're gonna try that too okay so the kind of the idea behind the style I was telling somebody over lunch to that the styling is my favorite part of this whole thing you know this part is mechanical and I do love coaching people and seeing the image come to life um but I love the styling so that is really the theme of it or the more important part is is the look of the model on the set so um for instance we had well all three girls today but the face is officer like l yesterday she had kind of a serial look we called her the little alien because she she had that look and she loved it so um a picture of l's face is going to be interesting because her face is interesting sometimes I'll work with somebody's body more because their body is so interesting I'm just trying to figure out the most interesting part of somebody and work with it as much as I can so that bit of it's what we're going to experimenting with now is really all about the body and all about the form and less about the face so yesterday we did some beautiful closer to people stuff like that today are this I'm gonna focus mostly on the form of the figure so styling wise where I was kind of headed with that is we're goingto drench these gown so they cling to the skin really closely uh it's the same idea as a tank session that translucent tissue white gown and we could do a figure study yesterday we used cheesecloth today we're just going to use a wet gown totally different costuming but ending up kind of in the same area actually the question question from mark who asked you ever use animals as props yeah um in fact if you go into my block there's a bit of stuff from a workshop shot in colorado just last week we used horses andi I love animal parts selected the antlers like a bear rug first wolf all kinds of stuff like that organic stuff that's from animal I like too interesting to use so she's a drenching our model over there we need her hair really wet too another question that is coming in from just rob and what are the metaphors that you relate to with things like the antlers in particular uh life and death yeah so this these get cast off and think with animals once a year or something so it could signal something grandest are large is a life cycle or small is just renewal I'm really interested in that idea of rebirth baptism so when you have a part of an animal that you know it could be it animal that's passed away it could be an animal that's just said something just like people should things when they're going through life so it's still that theme of burial and resurrection yeah how's she looking amazing cool let's just have you sit in the chair and start there well that's already pretty you're amazing photograph by the way I'm sure you know that but you are let's bring the leg just all the way together but in that same gesture yeah so the feet aren't crossing there just uh there we go what about just laying your head on the top of that chair right there that's lovely yeah I think the arm over here can just kind of fall by your side bring it forward just a touch so I can see the hand and just rotate the hand yeah but the fingers gently close in beautiful the other one could go through the back of the chair and then oh yeah yeah and not by face maybe with hand I think when you had it through the closer slot it was a little easy yeah to see that's gorgeous all right again you're going to see some edge of the background but I'm going to end up with a square crop so I'm not worried about it oh hang in there check the exposure real quick because it comes out you guys did great in the water looked awesome so I'm back a little little bit I'm still in effort your priority I'm just using my exposure compensation and that one's a little underexposed so I just moved it up about three quarters of the stop that's beautiful okay try rolling your face up for me a little bit good if the fingertips can get all the way up into your head I area yeah that's so pretty really kind of smashed the legs together so there yeah what's it like if we lay the legs on that way kind of on the back that's great and then the arm maybe can just come across this legs that your hands are almost connecting trying in the back of the hand on the chair the other way on the inside of the chair yeah yeah I'm just missing the hands so if it lays right on the edge where the the bar of the chair is without going through yeah just turn it up for a little bit more and we'll have it gorgeous gorgeous and rolling your face up there we go and try to push the shoulder down in this state there gorgeous fi just a little closer if we get kind of tense that's pretty something to let this top leg lay over a little bit more good right there amazing they're just little tiny things if I bring your leg back up where it wass it was chopping through the arm so that gorgeous line that I worked so hard to get was kind of amputated right in half hour later leg over this way then we get the line back I wouldn't normally photograph somebody with their legs coming at me like this because it does for sure in the line but let's bring the legs completely center the legs themselves right there make an interesting shape so while they don't look very long they're still really beautiful interesting do we bring your arm to the edge of your knee right where you are just kind of let it fall over this way and she looks really drawn in and I like that gorgeous ok let's try turning your body that way if the chair is heading to let's flip the chairs that you're not heading downhill all the way around together side yeah thinking must get word to fit my face yes same bagged way way good okay let's see if there are no there's not okay let's bring your your bum this way little about almost to the end of the chair just straight yeah good and if you put your shoulders on the back and kind of arch your back and let your head fall beautiful and palm's up if you can just write on the seat of the chair beside you let's try drawing a left leg up as far as you can't write on the toes yes right there right there gorgeous eyes closed for me okay relax for just a minute I don't have a camera for a second so um this is kind of my go to safe place chair pose to start with and it's always beautiful if I had somebody who wasn't quite as uh limber and flexible and adventurously so as her I might just try letting yourself just sink into the chair without the arched back I would go with something more like that with with someone like that it's still really pretty if she puts her head back it's still really pretty yeah it doesn't have quite the drama and in fact if you wanted something sweeter you could go with that too actually kind of like the back arch this way too you're kind of punching in um tried that even more maybe to hunch over yeah maybe roll your face up this way like you're looking up in a way you're still letting the head drop can all of your hair go that way over here yeah beautiful face yeah I think the hand's still up on the chair with you it's pretty let's draw that foot all the way toward the back of it huh I kind of imagine that there's something there that you can place it on and let's do the other one the same way just pull it back in there and the other one could be a little flatter yeah just so they're right perfect just stare me down right through the lens beautiful trying to drop those shoulders as far as they'll go there and still rolling your face up there beautiful it's gorgeous ok is it possible to pull your legs up in the chair with you and it's going to get dirty but that's okay so um as small as you can become be cool just going to sit myself dollar there we go oh gosh I'm old okay try to point the toes a little bit they're so pretty what if those hands turn around and kind of touched the rungs of the chair right there just turn him so I'm not saying opposite way there we go perfect gorgeous what about pushing yourself so if you use your hands they're for some pressure pushing herself over your knees a little bit I don't know yeah kind of perched you had not loved the hands it's beautiful just look right at me kind of staring for me yeah and pointing this host kind of gargle like yes beautiful than ice right through me and then I closed or jess mcginnis let's try the perching thing facing the other way to see what happens so you couldn't just call yourself all the way in there that's fantastic so you look so ghostly and I don't know beautiful is there a way to put your feet through the let go and let your knees touch the back of the chair if you can uh fabulous what about putting your elbows can you get the elbows under then kind of arch your back that way if both of them are down there are you okay this way so yeah yeah well that's cool ok so I'm losing your face just a little bit if we take the hair and just smoosh it back there we go yeah hand are you using the hand for support maybe you could go up this way just lay it on the back of the chair right there good I think the head maybe this way to start yeah beautiful and then let it go back maybe so it's just really heavy and lets me have you look straight up so it's profile yeah really really heavy had just let it fall okay this is even weirder but let's see if we can do it um we might need to move the chair over a little bit to get it to work it was a deconstructed reconstructed so if you'll hop out and move the chair that way just I don't know six inches yeah is it too unstable there you ok dig it in a little bit of weight oh she's good perfect ok same exact thing we're just gonna it's changing out of touch okay so can you put your hands on the ground I thought you might be able t o girl okay and now I think let's try both with ahead maybe they head this way to start yeah just letting it fall the way back eyes closed really trying to press those knees together into the back of the chair so it becomes one line there you go you okay this is where the wet hair looks pretty amazing right and just pointing the toes one last there we go right and let's try the head now into your chest your chin to your chest be cool if can I have you just take her hair and sweep it all kind of in front of her face is sort of strange ghostie look your head was perfect she's going to just yeah I like that so it's close to her head becomes yeah yeah that's really cool perfect so I'm not photographing her face it's just a total form thing right now at a great shot of her face in the shot before this cool okay let's get you out of that precarious position unless you think unless you think you might be able to go back on your elbows and arch your back you can let the dress just come down on the need we could see your knees a little bit could be cool yeah what if your your bum comes this way a bit so you can have a little more leverage yeah yeah it's uh oh you did it you did it you can be on your back they're if that's possible that's amazing okay way have a lighting issue are you in absolute pain right now okay can we work on getting something or we can flip you around way need something to block the light on her face that tarp is a veil boya it's still that might be too far up block high that's working if you come this way toward us there see it there we go um so I can see that in the shot so let's just let it fall a little bit and be kind of part of the deal yeah that's actually going to be fine I think if you hold yeah it just looks like it really looks like an irving pin I love it actually that third wall so I know you're in a crazy position but if you push your shoulders that way just a little bit we get a longer neck yes so cool is it possible to point your toes or do you need them on you it oh my gosh girl go ahead let the feet rest down though there can you push yourself to where your shoulders are on the ground I think you had it a minute ago just let your face coming this way I just wrote it toward me yeah that's really cool eyes closed love the hands and maybe just roll your face straight up for a full profile kind of head the head goes back to the weights on the top of your head a little more there we go there we go that's absolutely unbelievable ok um I'd like to stand you up in there but we have a little limited background back there I don't know what can we raise it or not wait I'm not sure I understand no one of sander in the chair let's see how much background we need how about that you start with that let's move the chair this way a little bit so we get a little bit more stability because I don't want her to feel anywhere with it's it's really solid okay it might actually work with what we've got here you look great just standing there actually movie straight center of the chair just rights making little the seat yeah what happens it well just that's beautiful the way it is so this is where I'll have to extend the background later and I could show you guys how I do that it's quick and dirty trick but it works well put myself in peril to oh uh here we go okay okay kind of work the hips a little bit so you're kind of broken dollars yeah and if all your hair goes that way uh I think that's amazing just roll your face up so we kind of fade your face and beautiful like there we go again if you guys are seeing these images come up you're seeing a really strange loose crop that it'll eventually be a square so all that cock I won't be in the picture um I think what this arm being even more heavy and dead and yeah that would be sort of a fingertip close right in here so a little yeah good chin way up for me it's still leading your head though full that direction and rotate your face back to me and now chin up right their eyes closed okay let's try this just said sand deadpan for me a little of that this is getting tiring up here some of us aren't as um athletically try that for a while you know technology like letters okay that's good just like you are except ben one me and just a touch for me yeah and just let your head only fall over this way and rotate your face up toward the light it's beautiful changed my focus point I'm up here by the way to get a little more background that's what part of this whole thing is you and let it fall you kind of strangely far good eyes closed okay

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

I can't review the course as I haven't seen it yet, but I am buying it. I'm buying it based on the one free session on inspiration. I was so moved by who Jennifer is and her courage and commitment. I want to know her; be her friend, because she is so fearless and courageous. She admits that it took a long time for her to find her path. She reminds us again and again that it is hard -- art is hard. She was inspired by amazing paintings -- I completely understand why they inspired her, and in the direction that they did. I can't wait to watch this whole course, because I can't wait to witness more of Jennifer and her courage, her creativity, and her big lioness heart.

Laura Arrowsmith
 

I love her work and her teaching. Her perspective is so beautiful and inspiring. I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with her in Colorado this summer and it was a life-changing experience. The location was spectacular. Jennifer is so brilliant, yet so warm and friendly. I really just don't have enough glowing adjectives to describe this event.

Joshua Pheneger
 

Jennifer is a talented and genuine artist with a gentle soul. Her perspective on how to approach the creative process and how to "quiet the little voices" and practice quiet observation are very helpful. I have been tremendously inspired by this course and I feel as though I am a better artist for having participated. Thank you for bringing this wonderful artist to the amazing creativeLIVE community.

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