First Fine Art Nude Photoshoot
Early 1990s. Likely the summer of ’94 I was cycling across the Bloor Street Viaduct (bridge). Came to the stop light and started chatting to a young lady stopped on her bicycle there as well. At first she wouldn’t take my card. I’m sure that she thought I was full of crap when I said I was a photographer. I told her to call my wife.
A few days later she did. She came by a few days later with a male friend. Smart girl. During her conversation she said that one of the things needed was body photos. I was freaking out inside but casually said sure.
I had seen some photos in some fashion magazine that I wanted to try and emulate and thought that the style of lighting would work well for nudes.
She came to my small studio a few days later. My wife made us some coffee and away we went. I was shooting with a Nikon FE camera with a 50mm manual lens. Two rolls of 36, Ilford black and white film. Two camera flashes reflected with two small umbrellas.
I got some contact prints made then asked my lab, near Dundas and Bay Streets in Toronto, to print a couple of copies each of about 10 of my favourites. A copy each for me and the model. I asked him for 8x10 prints. When I went to pick them up several were a larger size. When I began to question this, he said there would be no extra charge. He told me that he had dozens of photographers come to him with what they called fine art nudes to print.
He said mine were the first truly artistic ones he had seen. I was quite taken aback. The model quite loved them as well. These accolades kept me striving to make photos I took of women as aesthetic as possible.
I’ve added a few filters to the few that I posted on Instagram so they would be allowed.