Sorry, I gave my e-mail address incorrectly in my previous post. Please reply to this message rather than the other - thanks! - there's another jmackay out there getting some strange mail. :-(

I'm an amateur photographer with a particular interest in B&W photography. A workmate who is pregnant has asked me to take some photos of her - she doesn't have anything particular in mind and would be happy to pose clothed or unclothed. I have not done anything like this before, so wondered if anyone could give me some ideas as to lighting, poses, film to use etc. so I can make the most of this opportunity. All replies appreciated! Thanks, Janice.

-- Janice Mackay (jmackay64@hotmail.com), November 23, 2000

Answers

It's become very quiet here! ... I received some excellent replies to my original post, but would like to clarify a few points, so here are some comments & questions for Christian Harkness in particular - anyone else who has comments please feel free to add them. I have been doing my own B&W developing and printing for about a year (steep learning curve) and mostly use FP4+ and Tri-X. I expect to be taking photos of my friend inside using natural light as has been suggested - I do have access to a studio lighting setup through the camera club I belong to, but at this stage have no experience in using it. I agree with your comment about the possibility of 'messing up the mood' and making technical mistakes, so will give this a miss unless I have the opportunity for a serious learning session first. 'Work with a tripod, and film rated at ISO 400 to ISO 1600.' I will be using a Pentax K1000 (fully manual SLR) and do not have flash equipment, so I imagine using a slower film such as the FP4+, even though it has finer grain for enlargements etc, would not be a good option. 'For the faster films I would recommend Fuji Neopan 1600 at an exposure index of 1000 and developed at an e.i of 1000.' I have not used anything faster than 400 before, so would like to try this suggestion. Can you please clarify the e.i. bit - do you mean set my camera at a film speed of 1000, then develop as though it is 1000 also? I guess the info for this (how long to develop) will come with the film. I have been using ID11 1:1 for developing to date. What would the grain be like on an 8x10" enlargement? 'A HIGHLY recommended alternative would be using Ilford XP-2 Super @320 and developed by your local photofinisher and then printed in your darkroom.' A couple of people have recommended this (on other forums as well) - but I know very little about it. What ISO is it? Would there be any advantage in using XP-2 rather than Tri-X? (eg. better for portrait photography?) I have not used infra-red film before and it would be an interesting option. (It's something I've had on my list of 'things to try out' for some time.) Using a variety of different films would be a good way of following the advice to 'shoot plenty of film. Not less than three rolls, more like six, and if both of you can manage, use more than that'! though I have heard that infra-red needs to be loaded & unloaded in the dark. It might be better to keep things simple! Someone else advised me to use two camera bodies, to save time by capturing similar poses on two different films. Sounded like a good idea to me. Comments? I would like to do more than one session with my friend but this may not be possible. There is a possibility of doing some outside shots as I live in the Southern Hemisphere and we are going into summer here. :-) In that case I would probably use FP4+. Any suggestions for backgrounds, poses, props etc for outdoor shots? Privacy would be important. 'I would also suggest you look at some of Joyce Tenneson's work and perhaps Sheila Metzner's.' Thanks for the Joyce Tennyson link you e-mailed me, there was a photo of a pregnant woman in the 'Mother & Child' section that I particularly liked (clothing, pose etc.) I have not been able to find anything on Sheila Metzner or any examples of her work yet, could you give me some more info please? Thanks also for the suggestions re use of fabric remnants. 'In regards to poses. It really depends on your personality. If you are a detail, directional kind of person, you might want to come up with some poses and 'work' them. If you are spontaneous forget about trying to pose your subject in other than general ways.' I'm not sure about poses yet, but have some 'seeds' of ideas growing. I would like to have some specific poses to suggest to 'get the ball rolling' then be more spontaneous and creative as we both relax. I have not had the opportunity to talk about this with my friend since my original post, so am looking forward to discussing some creative ideas. Alex Haglund - I liked your idea of documenting both physical changes and emotional states throughout a pregnancy. I don't have the opportunity to do that in this case, but maybe in the future? Dave Roche - use of a mirror is a good idea, thanks for your comments and the website you recommended, it had some good examples of poses. Thanks again to you all, Janice.

-- Janice Mackay (jmackay64@hotmail.com), November 28, 2000.

Oops, no paragraphs! Sorry!!

-- Janice Mackay (jmackay64@hotmail.com), November 28, 2000.

I'm going to try that again so it's easier to read. Is there any way of deleting the other one?

I received some excellent replies to my original post, but would like to clarify a few points, so here are some comments & questions for Christian Harkness in particular - anyone else who has comments please feel free to add them.

I have been doing my own B&W developing and printing for about a year (steep learning curve) and mostly use FP4+ and Tri-X. I expect to be taking photos of my friend inside using natural light as has been suggested - I do have access to a studio lighting setup through the camera club I belong to, but at this stage have no experience in using it. I agree with your comment about the possibility of 'messing up the mood' and making technical mistakes, so will give this a miss unless I have the opportunity for a serious learning session first.

'Work with a tripod, and film rated at ISO 400 to ISO 1600.' I will be using a Pentax K1000 (fully manual SLR) and do not have flash equipment, so I imagine using a slower film such as the FP4+, even though it has finer grain for enlargements etc, would not be a good option.

'For the faster films I would recommend Fuji Neopan 1600 at an exposure index of 1000 and developed at an e.i of 1000.' I have not used anything faster than 400 before, so would like to try this suggestion. Can you please clarify the e.i. bit - do you mean set my camera at a film speed of 1000, then develop as though it is 1000 also? I guess the info for this (how long to develop) will come with the film. I have been using ID11 1:1 for developing to date. What would the grain be like on an 8x10" enlargement?

'A HIGHLY recommended alternative would be using Ilford XP-2 Super @320 and developed by your local photofinisher and then printed in your darkroom.' A couple of people have recommended this (on other forums as well) - but I know very little about it. What ISO is it? Would there be any advantage in using XP-2 rather than Tri-X? (eg. better for portrait photography?)

I have not used infra-red film before and it would be an interesting option. (It's something I've had on my list of 'things to try out' for some time.) Using a variety of different films would be a good way of following the advice to 'shoot plenty of film. Not less than three rolls, more like six, and if both of you can manage, use more than that'! though I have heard that infra-red needs to be loaded & unloaded in the dark. It might be better to keep things simple! Someone else advised me to use two camera bodies, to save time by capturing similar poses on two different films. Sounded like a good idea to me. Comments? I would like to do more than one session with my friend but this may not be possible.

There is a possibility of doing some outside shots as I live in the Southern Hemisphere and we are going into summer here. :-) In that case I would probably use FP4+. Any suggestions for backgrounds, poses, props etc for outdoor shots? Privacy would be important.

'I would also suggest you look at some of Joyce Tenneson's work and perhaps Sheila Metzner's.' Thanks for the Joyce Tennyson link you e- mailed me, there was a photo of a pregnant woman in the 'Mother & Child' section that I particularly liked (clothing, pose etc.) I have not been able to find anything on Sheila Metzner or any examples of her work yet, could you give me some more info please?

Thanks also for the suggestions re use of fabric remnants.

'In regards to poses. It really depends on your personality. If you are a detail, directional kind of person, you might want to come up with some poses and 'work' them. If you are spontaneous forget about trying to pose your subject in other than general ways.' I'm not sure about poses yet, but have some 'seeds' of ideas growing. I would like to have some specific poses to suggest to 'get the ball rolling' then be more spontaneous and creative as we both relax. I have not had the opportunity to talk about this with my friend since my original post, so am looking forward to discussing some creative ideas.

Alex Haglund - I liked your idea of documenting both physical changes and emotional states throughout a pregnancy. I don't have the opportunity to do that in this case, but maybe in the future?

Dave Roche - use of a mirror is a good idea, thanks for your comments and the website you recommended, it had some good examples of poses.

Thanks again to you all, Janice.

-- Janice Mackay (jmackay64@hotmail.com), November 28, 2000.

Hi Janice,

I am glad to know you are really getting serious about this. It sounds like a good project and wonderful opportunity.

Let me try and clarify some of the points raised:

Pentax K1000 - Lately I have been falling back on using my Yashica FX-3S with a 50mm Zeiss lens as my 'primary' camera and lens. It gives me a wonderful freedom and lets me use the 35mm the way it was intended, quickly and 'all over the place.' [A personal opinion of course]. So, I think you can be entirely satisfied with your equipment. For me, the simpler the equipment is, the better my photos seem to turn out.

Fuji Neopan 1600 - You are right. I set my meter at ISO 1000. The developing instructions that come with the film give developing time/temp info for the film shoot @1600 and @800. I simply divide these by two and use those times. Not exactly 1000, but that's what I call it. The sheet gives figures for ID-11. I use Sprint chemistry, which is the same as D76 1:1. I regularly enlarge my stuff to 11x14 and even 16x20 and like the results I get from the Neopan 1600 with that. HOWEVER, this is a very personal feeling. There is grain, but I like the Neopan grain. Don't know if you have looked at my web site, you can get a bit of an idea of what the stuff looks like.

XP-2 Super: I think XP-2 has a super smooth tonal range, UNLIKE any conventional black & white film for 35mm. It is an ISO 400 film, but based on color technology/chemistry and must be developed C-41 - hence your local one hour lab. Color negative film and thus XP-2 (which is a b&w film) do better when overexposed a bit. Hence my reference to XP-2 @320, meaning set your meter to 320 or 200. Since I found out that I like my portraits a little grainy, the XP-2 is actually too smooth and nice for me, so I don't use it much anymore. For what you are planning to do, I would definitely try at least a couple of rolls. Just make sure you overexpose it just a little.

Infrared - yes, it would be a good choice, especially with nudes and outdoors would really be super. However, it does complicate the situation. Perhaps you can 'knock the socks off' your friend with the first set of pictures and then get a chance to have a couple of more sessions later on, and that might be the time to try infrared. I have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time, and agree totally with you re: keeping it simple - it will be complicated enough. In that vein, I would stay away from two camera bodies. If you end up using more than one kind of film during the first session, just make SURE you change the ISO/meter setting on your camera as you switch film!!!!!!!!!!

Sheila Metzner: I can't find any web site reference that show more than one or two of her images. Do you have access to a library? If so, I would recommend inter library loans for books by the following photographers: Sheila Metzner, Joyce Tenneson, Martha Casanave, Sally Mann, and Deborah Turbeville. I just like them, you might not. It's all such a matter of 'taste.'

Poses: I like to get photos from magazines, Internet etc., that I like and then show them to the people with whom I am working, to get their feedback. I also ask them to bring images from fashion magazines etc. that they like. Then I come up with a theme [if that is the purpose of the session] and put together a notebook with images and notes for myself as to what to do and try for. That way I can show the person being photographed an image and say, hey, want to try something like that. It's a starting point and things get rolling from there.

I think that's about it. Don't hesitate to drop my a line via e-mail.

Cheers,

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), November 29, 2000.

I hate to put it this way, but, words is words is words...let's see some samples.

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), December 02, 2000.

Samples? - who from? I haven't taken the photos yet. :-)) I'd like to see some samples of other people's work though. Do you have any?

-- Janice Mackay (jmackay64@hotmail.com), December 02, 2000.