What is the best way to take a great photo without great lighting?
I recently got a digital camera and my biggest problem is shooting with
the flash. When it goes off, it really washes the picture out and creates
all that red eye and junk, but with the flash off, the pictures often turn
out very blurry.
Good question! This is the first step
in taking your self photos up a notch! I'd suggest you invest in
some lights for your home “studio.” Some options for lights are to
look for beginner or basic studio kits sold on eBay, Amazon, and various
photo supply stores. (I still often shoot with my $125 3 light start up
kit with quality stands. Its not dirt cheap, but I've well gotten my money's
worth!) The next best (and cheaper!) option is to pick up some inexpensive
flood lights at Home Depot! Just be VERY careful with whichever you buy,
because most of those lights are not meant for tight quarters- the last
thing you want is to set fire to your room! Keep things away from your
lights and don't leave them on for too long at a time.
You can search online for photography tips
about lighting, but one big tip is to use more than one light source. Play
around and see what works. Sometimes you will find a great moody shot you
weren't planning for just by messing around. Another thing to consider
is the starkness of one direct light can be softened by adding a "fill"
light on the side. Also, a small light between you and your background
can add dimension and separate you from it, visually bringing you into
focus. Be creative, and use your home lamps, too!. They will give
you different effects. Keep in mind that some of the pinups shot in the
40's and 50's were shot in someone's living room with minimal lights! You
aren't trying to recreate a LaChapelle here, you're emulating what really
was a low-brow art done on bare bones budgets!
I would love to be a pin up model but for some strange reason no
matter what I do I can't lose weight. I'm not a plus size model size just
"chunky" Is there any way that I can model being this way?
Absolutely! Like I've said before, everyone
is different and everyone's tastes are different, too! For every person
who thinks you should lose 5 pounds, there's another who thinks you should
gain 5 more! I read on a website yesterday where someone commented on a
picture of me that I needed to start eating some donuts 'cuz I had no ass.
Which cracked me up, because in the Hollywood acting world, I'm the girl
with the junked-up trunk! In acting, I'm kinda thick. In pinup, I'm borderline
skinny. I'm perfect nowhere! (Like a proper human, since nothing's perfect!)
Regardless, I'm happy and healthy and always trying to learn how better
to flaunt what I've got.
Some of the BEST models I've ever seen work
are girls not with the best figures, but who know how to use what they've
got. THAT matters more than actual measurements! I've seen girls with no
curves pose and suddenly make me jealous! Its not necessarily just what
you have in front of the lens, but what you can show to the camera. I always
say the camera doesn't lie. You can lie TO the camera, but it will capture
what you present to it.
Practice in the mirror and if you have a camera--see
what poses show off what you're working with the best. (Usually, the least
comfortable ones look the best!) If you know how to present the "package"
you are selling (yourself!) than people will start seeing that and the
people who've been looking for someone just like you will eventually start
coming your way.
Again, some people want the standard proportions
("standard" being a relative term of course) and will be resistant to shooting
girls with different looks or body types. Don't get discouraged! If you
really want to do this, then stay strong and keep learning! No matter where
you go in the world, SOMEONE is gonna not like what you've got, and SOMEONE
is gonna love it. You've got to hold strong and be proud of what you've
got. Because, frankly, if you don't look confident and proud of what you're
selling, no one will have enough confidence in you to buy it.
Besides, social perception of the perfect
body type changes with the times. Remember the Kate Moss
heroin chic waif trend? Bootylicious Beyonce wouldn't have
seemed so hot then. Look at fashion and history. Once upon a time pale
skin and extra weight meant you were rich and of high class. Things change.
Accept the fact that sometimes you will be the Belle of the ball, and sometimes,
you'll be the girl with the "wrong" body type. Know that as long as you
are happy and healthy and taking care of yourself, its only a matter of
time until you are the paragon of beauty again, too.
For anyone wanting to shape up, check out
Punk
Rock Domestics' ASK the EXPERTS Fitness section with my friend,
Pin Up Model and Fitness Pro, Amie Decker!
Heidi, what tips do you have for someone who is just starting to
dress in retro style? What do you wear in your day to day life?
I'd first suggest to check out my Shopping
Links page at my site (HeidiVanHorne.com).
There are tons of cool companies I love and support--and work for and buy
from--listed there. Also look at links pages of other models and photographers
who shoot the style you like. Some companies and clothing lines are very
affordable, while some are quite pricey! I also love eBay- some of
my best vintage finds came from there, as well as thrift stores and vintage
shops, when I can afford them! My day to day is going to acting auditions
and shoots, so I never know what I'll be wearing, dressed up like a character
or vamped up for a shoot! When I'm at home or on a regular day off, I usually
am a jeans and tank top sort of girl. When I am going out at night to a
show or on the town, I'll add a cardigan and some capris with sexy heels!
If I am feeling fancy I might sport a retro dress. I pretty much get paid
to get dressed up, so usually I like to be low maintenance in my off time.
Sorry! I know, I'm so not glamorous! ;)
Final words this month from Heidi: I posted a few pin
up castings on the PRD
board, so keep an eye out over there! If I hear of open calls, I
try to let you girls know!
Well fellow pin up lovers, I will see you
here next month! Keep sendin’ those good questions to me or Java
or on the board at http://www.punkrockdomestics.com/!
Love and Pin Ups!
Heidi Van Horne
www.HeidiVanHorne.com
A little about Heidi: "I starting acting
in Texas at age 13, I have worked and trained as an actress in film, TV
& commercials for most of my life, as well as working behind the lens
on various projects. I have been shooting my own retro pinups since late
2003, when I started doing self-shot photos (just like Bunny
Yeager did!) with a self timer and a tripod in my home. Since
then, I've been on the cover of 3 books ("Hot Rod Pin Ups" by David
Perry and MBI Publishing, "How to Be a Dominant Diva" by Avalon
Press, and the new "Modern Vixens: World of Winytiki" by Octavio
Arizala and Goliath Press) as well as being featured on the
cover of 3 (and inside 2 other) Pin Up Calendars for 2007, magazine covers
and countless layouts, features and interviews in counter-culture publications,
as well as a few mainstream mags. I've gotten to work with tons of amazing
companies and photographers, including original pinup, pinup photographer
& living legend, Bunny Yeager--shooting on the same beach
where she and Bettie Page made
Pin Up history! Living in LA pursuing my acting, I've kept myself busy
on the side shooting the genre I love the most- and I'm thrilled to see
how the niche has grown and grown worldwide!" |
Have a question for Heidi? E-mail
us and we'll send it along to her!
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