Photo shoots for Skinfolk
Dec. 29th, 2017 02:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shantellSeveral photos needed to be taken for Skinfolk. There are four photo pages in total, but since some of those pages are composites, I needed to set up at least twice as many photo shoots as I had pages.
All photos were taken in my home studio, which does not have studio lighting or proper backdrops (yet). When I couldn't use natural light, I used a halogen torch lamp shining off the ceiling for a flood fill. After photos were taken, I cropped extraneous details out of the back (I have a very narrow shooting area) and then changed everything to greyscale.
The first photograph is for Tuglik & Qujapik. I needed, and found, a model who could play a powerful grandmother. I took several photographs, some with a strap-on dildo, and some without. This is the photo I chose. The ones with the strap-on looked too modern for my liking. The model wished to remain anonymous, so her face is obscured by her hair which adds a witchy feel.
![[Tuglik & Qujapik]](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2723b1e4b0e5d1df915533c9568ad799/tumblr_p1qnlqvbWH1qe8by0o1_540.jpg)
For the story of Kiviuq & The Spider Woman, I originally had planned on photographing a model who has extensive scarification in the form of spider webs. However, I was unable to work out a location and time for the shoot, and went with another model and a slightly different idea. Trish Sweet was an excellent model and after we conferred, she designed her own body makeup. She wore one of my wigs and we used a fake fur blanket. We tried a few different poses, including ones where she looks like she's slicing off one of her eyelids, but in the end I went with this shot because this portrayal of the Spider Woman is powerful and has a regal bearing.
Since the model had also shaved her eyebrows off in advance, I chose to make a small adjustment to the story. In some versions of the Kiviuq & the Spider Woman story, the Spider Woman cuts off her eyebrows rather than her eyelids. This version matches up perfectly with the model.
For the story of Blubber Boy, I needed to make a composite photo. First, I set up a shoot with myself as the background model. This was straightforward. For the next shoot, I wanted and found a masculine model with a slim to muscular build, not too tall, with no visible body art. My first photos of him were straightforward rear views. Then I applied KY Jelly all over his back and legs and photographed him this way. I ultimately chose a shot of him with the jelly. I then printed a 12x17 shot of my crotch, and a 8.5x11 shot of Blubber Boy. I cut out the Blubber Boy photo, overlaid it onto the 12x17, then dolloped hand sanitizer gel all over the bodies. I photographed this composite and put it back into grey scale.
For Sun Woman and Moon Man, I took several photographs of multiple models, including myself. I do not have access to traditional ulus or ivory forks, so I found images of both and printed them out life-sized. I then cut them out for use as props. Both the feminine models used the ulu for the crotch-cutting shots, and everyone used the ivory fork for the butt-stabbing shots. After each photo was taken, they were printed, cut out, and placed onto a dark background and rephotographed. This photo was then put into greyscale.
All photos were taken in my home studio, which does not have studio lighting or proper backdrops (yet). When I couldn't use natural light, I used a halogen torch lamp shining off the ceiling for a flood fill. After photos were taken, I cropped extraneous details out of the back (I have a very narrow shooting area) and then changed everything to greyscale.
The first photograph is for Tuglik & Qujapik. I needed, and found, a model who could play a powerful grandmother. I took several photographs, some with a strap-on dildo, and some without. This is the photo I chose. The ones with the strap-on looked too modern for my liking. The model wished to remain anonymous, so her face is obscured by her hair which adds a witchy feel.
For the story of Kiviuq & The Spider Woman, I originally had planned on photographing a model who has extensive scarification in the form of spider webs. However, I was unable to work out a location and time for the shoot, and went with another model and a slightly different idea. Trish Sweet was an excellent model and after we conferred, she designed her own body makeup. She wore one of my wigs and we used a fake fur blanket. We tried a few different poses, including ones where she looks like she's slicing off one of her eyelids, but in the end I went with this shot because this portrayal of the Spider Woman is powerful and has a regal bearing.
Since the model had also shaved her eyebrows off in advance, I chose to make a small adjustment to the story. In some versions of the Kiviuq & the Spider Woman story, the Spider Woman cuts off her eyebrows rather than her eyelids. This version matches up perfectly with the model.
For the story of Blubber Boy, I needed to make a composite photo. First, I set up a shoot with myself as the background model. This was straightforward. For the next shoot, I wanted and found a masculine model with a slim to muscular build, not too tall, with no visible body art. My first photos of him were straightforward rear views. Then I applied KY Jelly all over his back and legs and photographed him this way. I ultimately chose a shot of him with the jelly. I then printed a 12x17 shot of my crotch, and a 8.5x11 shot of Blubber Boy. I cut out the Blubber Boy photo, overlaid it onto the 12x17, then dolloped hand sanitizer gel all over the bodies. I photographed this composite and put it back into grey scale.
For Sun Woman and Moon Man, I took several photographs of multiple models, including myself. I do not have access to traditional ulus or ivory forks, so I found images of both and printed them out life-sized. I then cut them out for use as props. Both the feminine models used the ulu for the crotch-cutting shots, and everyone used the ivory fork for the butt-stabbing shots. After each photo was taken, they were printed, cut out, and placed onto a dark background and rephotographed. This photo was then put into greyscale.
