Bodyscape

[jasonco]

What do you think of this photo? Sexy? Boring? Comments?

Also, are there any hard and fast rules for Bodyscapes? It seems to be a bit of a mixed art.

Cheers
Jason

http://www.coledigital.com/BodyScape_02.jpg

[martcol]

Well, I think I liked it so I'm in danger here of sittin' on the fence!

The colour and tone is fabulous. Not sure about the sand but it kind of starts to add some story...

And for me there's something not quite right about the backdrop... haven't got a clue what though!

I wondered what it might look like with some of the backdrop cropped out? Oh, and there's a little pimple on the model, near the strap. Once I found it I couldn't stop looking for it! Good idea.

Martin

[runrigger]

This is my first entry on the forum. Having looked at some of the shots this is the one that prompted me to reply.
As a woman I often find 'glamour ', and I use the word loosely, a little derogatory. However, I do admire the more subtle shots, of which this is one.
I think the sand adds to the shot and love the lines and curves. However, I have to agree about the background - I did find the 'boulder' or whatever very distracting.

[Man-Fai Wong]

Just a newbie myself, so take this w/ a big block of salt.

As I imagine (and recall) what often looks/feels interesting to me in the human body at any particular moment, I find that it usually involves a rather focused and/or relatively small area or some definite shape, contour or line w/ little to distract from the main element of interest. And when I look at this shot, I think there's just too much going on as well as the focus being placed on the bright red bikini strap instead of the body, and at the same time, there doesn't seem to be any sense of direction or impact. And if one would like some mystery, there seems to be none as well.

Perhaps, it would work much better to isolate the composition to say just the belly area and elevate the perspective somewhat from an angle for a more dimensional visual or lower it a tad to accentuate the curve/line of the belly as well as the belly button. And make use of light and shadow if possible, perhaps shooting B&W -- and yeah, blur out the background more.

Think about all the great "bodyscape" images you often see in ads, posters, etc. Think about what the old masters of centuries and millenia ago as well as modern times show off and accentuate in the human form across the various art forms, including painting, sculpting, dance/ballet and even photography.

Think about what you sometimes find your hands and/or eyes unwittingly drawn to and focused upon as you leisurely lounge around beside your mate intimately discussing some wonderful new thing you learned or something beautiful or curious you just witnessed or just sharing a lazy afternoon in the meadow beneath the sun and shade. Find what connects you in that sort of way to another human body.

OR maybe I'm just showing off exactly what little nonsense a newbie would be expected to come up w/. :D

Best regards,

_Man_

[jasonco]

Hey Man,

Thank you very much for your detailed and heart felt reply. I can tell your very pasionete about this subject. Stay tuned for more bodyscapes to come.. Youre comments are noted. :-)

Cheer
Jason

[Man-Fai Wong]

Heh heh. I guess I get passionate about all sorts of things and often they go in phases for me. :D

BTW, about the blurring background thing. I think that doesn't always apply, especially w/ this subject as you grow from the simple to the more complex/advanced. I think simplicity should probably somehow always be part of the composition, perhaps in part if not in whole. But I can also see using some possibly busy looking background (or peculiar looking props) to good effect. It all depends on what you're going for.

For example, something that comes to mind (probably from some ad or poster or what-not) is setting the curved line of the belly against a city backdrop that has good sharp focus. One could play w/ light and shadow perhaps to veil the reality of the foreground (ie. belly) and make it fade into the city backdrop as though the city is nestled atop. But leave enough hints in the imagery to suggest that there's really more to it than meets the eye -- perhaps a hint of the belly button, accentuated lines and curves, etc. I'm not sure offhand, but I think I can see that working. :D

And for these more complicated compositions that might even tell a little story, maybe doing a "storyboard" for it beforehand would help, particularly for the first few attempts.

_Man_