Lace tan

レースタン

Concept

A naked girl is chilling by the river under a small fabric canopy. The sun penetrates the lace fabric, creating a lovely lace pattern on the girl’s young body.

Inspiration

The windows in my apartment are covered with lace curtains, and every time the sun shines brightly, it penetrates them, casting beautiful shadows on the floor, furniture, decor, etc. I often admired this beauty and decided to run a photoshoot whereby such beautiful lace shadows would fall on the girl’s body.

Choice of Colors

All the elements in the shot were initially chosen so that the viewer’s attention is not distracted from its primary focus – the girl. The colors are warm, summer-like, and beach with a vintage accent. A mild “soft effect” creates a haze that highlights a scorching day.

Outfits

The girl is naked. Her only clothes are the lace shadows on her body. She’s wearing an old straw hat, which makes the photo romantic and more natural, while its vintage style refers back to the 60s-70s.

Background

I had to show the girl by the river. Hence, she’s lying on the warm sand, and the background shows bushes and the river. If the photo had been taken on the beach, the bushes would have been replaced with sea surface, and the girl would have faced seashells.

Hair and makeup

The model’s makeup is ultimately natural since she’s on the beach. Her hair is let loose and hangs down the left side of the model. This separates her lower face, neck and arms from the background. Alternatively, you could have made a braid and put it on the girl’s back. 

Light

I picked out a cloudless day so that the sun would create bright shadows as it penetrated the fabric. It’s almost impossible to achieve this effect in cloudy weather. The reflector was leaning on the right-hand side support and slightly illuminated the girl’s breast and side.

Posing

I wanted to show the girl’s beautiful young body and, simultaneously, hide the elements of erotica. Hence, the girl is lying on her tummy, and from the side, we can see her slim body, buttocks, and a part of her beautiful young breast. She leaned on her elbows and raised her upper body, thanks to which we could see her breast and the curves of her back. Besides, we know the girl’s face is sidewise, and it’s slightly turned toward the camera. Her breast would have been flattened and looked less attractive if her position had been utterly horizontal. Moreover, it would have been challenging to show her arms naturally without cropping. Furthermore, this pose is natural, the model isn’t tense, and you can have this visual experience. The girl is deep in her thoughts. She’s looking somewhere in the distance, not at the camera. This produces a feeling of the girl being spied on.

Camera and optical features

Nikon D750, Nikkоr 85 1,4g  F3,5 1/400 ISO 100.

Depth of field

The field depth was chosen so that it captured the girl and the fabric below and above her. The background containing bushes and a river is quite blurred yet visible. If the scene was sharper, a lot of dark leaves and twigs against the light sand would draw the viewer’s attention and distract it from the primary focus, which is the girl.

Shooting angle

The girl’s face is shot sidewise, and her body is filmed from the side, yet the camera is positioned in front of the girl’s knees. This shows her beautiful buttocks, which look very sexy. Her buttocks would have been invisible if the camera had been shifted to the left. If the shooting angle had been moved to a higher point, the upper fabric would have covered a part of the girl, cutting her visually.

Cropping

The shot is horizontal. To show the girl’s beauty and lace patterns, I decided not to show the model in total, but to crop the left side of the photo to her knees. The bottom of the image is trimmed under the cover so that some sand is seen. The top of the photo is cut over the fabric above her head. It made no sense to show the photo more from above, as it was all about the material.

On the right-hand side, the shot is cropped in such a way that a part of the twig with leaves occupies the foreground. This makes it possible to fill the top right angle with details and make the photo more interesting. 

Expression

The girl is chilling on the beach. She is relaxed and is looking “nowhere.” She’s deep inside herself, her thoughts and dreams. As an option, she could have closed her eyes, and that would also look good. If she was smiling, it would have slightly changed the entire mood of the photo, and the viewer would have asked, “Why is she smiling?” This wouldn’t have made the picture worse, but its mood wouldn’t have been so tranquil.

Post-processing

Looking at the photo, the viewer must feel that summer day's warmth. I had to use color correction and apply the “soft effect” to make the photo ultimately warm and romantic, with a retro film effect. The bright colors, foliage, and water were replaced so that the viewers were not distracted by color accents. I also changed the depth and brightness of colors. For instance, I used depth reduction to turn bright-green foliage into yellow-green. Besides, the contrast and sharpness were also reduced, which made the image “softer” and more pleasant to look at. Alternatively, if the photo had been taken in more fabulous shades, it wouldn’t have conveyed the heat of the summer day, and the entire mood of the image wouldn’t have matched its initial idea.

You can view and download the high-quality Lace tan your smartphone from the NYMF art gallery.