A Girl with Grapes

拿着葡萄的女孩

Concept

Vineyard and a girl who collected grapes in a wooden box. A photo with nude elements (the girl with beautiful breasts). It represents the style of the last century. Grapevine, a beautiful topless girl. Maturation, fertility, sweet fruit associations. The girl in her garden does not hide her nakedness.

Inspiration

In the Soviet Union, one song was incredibly popular. The song has such words: “Once I looked into the neighboring garden in the morning. A tanned woman...a Moldavian woman was picking grapes…”. Furthermore, the topic of "women and grapes" is one of the most popular among artists throughout history. Discovering these art masterpieces inspired me to create these photos.

Choice of color

I originally planned to take a bright photo with diffused light in the shade, as in the picture. The photo had to be in warm colors and all the details, accessories, etc. in the frame were chosen according to this idea. Green leaves were also processed, and during retouching, they got a yellow color.

Wardrobe

According to the concept, it was necessary to show a beautiful girl’s breasts, so the model only had a skirt. The color fits perfectly the location and creates an effect of harmony. The girl also has a brown scarf on her head. I believe proper hats on women always look great and make the image more interesting. In this case, the scarf complimented this beautiful image very well. Also, the scarf effectively and naturally separates the girl's face from the background (grape leaves and stairs).

Background and accessories

I learned an ancient wooden stairway on an ordinary grapevine behind the girl. First, this is an additional and perfectly acceptable detail, and second, the staircase gives intrigue to the frame and adds an element to the monotone grape leaves. The grapes were previously picked at the time of the photo, while the berries in the frame were purchased only a few hours before we began work. Bunches of grapes on a grapevine, fixed with usual threads. The grapes in the box cover only a thin top layer; under it is a light cloth. Instead of a basket, as is common in retro photography, I used a typical wooden box transporting fruits. A rope was tied to the box because this way the girl could wear it like a bag belt over her shoulder.

Hair and make-up

The girl is wearing light makeup that emphasizes her eyes. The time slice shown in this photo is a hundred years ago, so that modern make-up would be inappropriate. The hairstyle is just loose hair covered with a scarf.

Light

The photo was taken on a cloudy day. The sun was behind the woman, and beautiful diffused light fell on her. I used a reflector to highlight the face and add sparkle to the eyes.

Posing

The most natural, like in the paintings of artists. She naturally holds the rope from the box of grapes in one hand and slightly opens her face, pulling the scarf aside with the other. The girl is turned sideways to accentuate both the beautiful breast line and the box full of grapes. In this photo, I wanted the model to look into the viewer's eyes (through the lens), so she turned her head 45 degrees. I wanted a skirt to be seen in the photo, so I asked the girl to bend her knee. A high chair was placed beneath it to make it easier for the girl to hold the box of grapes.

Camera and Optics

Nikon D750, Nikkor 85 1.8D F2.8 1/250 ISO 125

Depth of field

The depth of field was chosen to make the girl with the box in focus. Grapes with a ladder in the background are in a medium blur, which allows grape leaves and berries to be visible without distracting from the model. (if the aperture was closed more, for example, to f4 – 5.6)

Shooting angle

The angle is chosen to include the girl with the harvest and the location full of grapevines in the frame. This is the only possible angle that shows the vine in the background due to the old buildings to the right and left of this grapevine. At the time of shooting, the camera was at the girl's shoulder level. If the camera is lower, the hand will cover part of the breast, and the grapes in the box will be difficult to see. If you raise the camera a little higher, it will not ruin the photo but only make it slightly different.

Cropping

Left and right cropping along the vine leaves. To comply with the 1/3 rule in the frame, the girl is shifted to the left of the center. The cropping in the upper part of the photo was made with an indent above the girl's head according to the 1/3 rule. The cropping at the bottom is done to show the box. All valuable information in the photo is located in the middle of the box and above. There is a high chair under the box that you do not need to reveal, as well as the girl's entire height. If the model were shown in full growth, the model's total size in the frame would be almost two times smaller, and the viewer would miss her attractive face, eyes, and grapes in the box.

Expression

The girl is beautiful, and she knows that. Therefore, you will not notice any signs of shyness. She gathered her harvest and, with a fully calm face, looked at the viewer with her large expressive eyes, which drew as much attention as her breasts. Her face is peaceful, and serene, like the mood of the whole photograph. An unhappy facial expression in this case would not be understood by the viewer, as there are no bad, negative things or actions in the frame. In this case, however, a little smile would be perfectly suitable. (while the girl's emotion would be flirting).

Post-processing

When retouching photos, I was dedicated to my author's style and tried to build retouching in a vintage style, similar to a painting. Reduced saturation of all colors, and changed the green color of the leaves to yellow-brown, with slight shades of green. The girl's skin is tanned. The breasts in the original photo were much lighter than the face and attracted a lot of attention, being the main focus, which is wrong. I also made the breasts darker during the processing and removed signs of sunburn.