Models and modeling photography including fine art, experimental, fashion photography, portfolio and editorial work
Wisconsin model Annette in a fun 1950's style portrait session. We met at the Drive In in Hortonville for some fun and portraits on a Sunday afternoon. Annette awesome pin up style poses and was so much fun to work with. This is a repost of a previous session and part of updating my website. You can see more of Annette's modeing on Annette's Page Back to my Modeling Page
A beautiful model, a warm November evening and a medium format camera loaded with Portra film - who could ask for a better time? Dreamera Marie and I met for my shoot-a-month project on a beautiful November evening. This is the 12th shoot in the series and I think I am going to continue into 2021. My December shoot has already been finished so why not? For November we did a film shoot - mostly medium format but a little 35mm. Capturing a model on medium format film can be a challenge! Film was all I had when I started…
A sunny and windy day in the early Spring is a great opportunity for a photo shoot. Of course, the location we picked had a wicked wicked wind howling through the set so not so warm! Cool hair effects though! Dreamera and I met for a shoot by Copper Rock in Appleton. This was a "bonus shoot" as our main shoot was a video for my Shoot-a-Month project. Before moving to another location Dreamera asked if we could do some photos too. Well, of course we can - how can you turn down a beautiful model? So this first set…
So you are a star! Part of being a star is to be able to pull off a classic look in a modern style. Or is it to have a modern look in a classic style? In any case, a star is timeless and could belong to any age... Enjoy our modern classic modeling photography shoot! Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out? Ian Wallace Trust your beauty to shine from your eyes and into the souls that deserve you.Melody Carstairs I am my own womanEva Peron A woman's heart is…
North East Wisconsin model Dani California has been my working partner a few times in recent years. She is fun, easy to work with, and has the "sparkle" that really comes out in her work! Dani is on Instagram @danicalifornia1986 and works with Meraki Tribe and America's Most Wanted Models. Our most recent shoot was on a cold and rainy evening in Oshkosh. The plan was to shoot with the full moon rising in the background over Lake Winnebago. Wouldn't you know it but the clouds rolled in about 20 minutes before moon rise! Of course, they rolled out again…
We did a some digital portraits after a recent tintype test session. TLKonfire (also know as Tia) is a Fox Valley Wisconsin fire artist and sat for this series of impromptu portraits. We didn't really plan this set and I used a monolite strobe with a softbox to back light Tia during some fun poses. Through clever, and mostly fortuitous, manipulation of the exposure and flash level we ended up with some amazing cinematic images. Our first image, let's call it "Artist with Firefly", is an amazing silhouette of Tia with her hair and outline glowing from the light. You…
We met for a Victorian wet plate portrait session. There was beautiful sunshine all week but on the day of our studio session it was dark and rainy and cold - and Madeline was the last session of the afternoon. But we always endeavor to persevere so with some long exposure time and bit strobes we did make some beautiful glass and tin plates. For the last 10 minutes of our time we decided to do a few quick digital photos - and here they are. The photo above features Madeline in high key. It was so dark that I…
A blazing fire provides a perfect foreground for some fiery portraits. Nataly and I met on a December evening to experiment with vintage lenses. After the vintage lens fun we stopped by the Neenah skating rink and did a little digital photography with modern lenses. The fire pit provided a great foreground for some intense portraits - and maybe a singed eyebrow too! Here are more pictures from our fun by the fire pit. Want to see more of Nataly's work? Check out Neenah Sunset with Nataly and Nataly Divine BTS Here is a Tintype session Nataly and I did…
Spent a wonderful morning capturing waterfall tintype portraits with Amber. Wequiock Falls was so beautiful with just the right amount of water coming over - dramatic without being dangerous. Of course, the water was a bit chilly in the dark little gorge. But sometimes you have to suffer a little bit to make some nice images! The bulk of our time together was spent capturing some amazing Tintype 8x10's. You can see those images on my Victorian Photography website SunandSilver.photo After the tintype session we decided to have some fun with digital image. Just played around by the waterfall and…
Spring portraits are in the air in Wisconsin. The weather can be like a teenager - up and down and back and forth! But when it is nice you have to take advantage and get out to take portraits. Here is a sample of a recent portrait session with Nataly. Sunset in downtown Neenah is a great time for a Spring portrait and we did a lot of wonderful looks. Of course, we also had some fun with colored flash to give a dramatic flair! The biggest challenge for portraits at sunset is balancing the light. The sky can be…
In your eyesThe light, the heat, in your eyesI am complete, in your eyesI see the doorwayTo a thousand churches The resolution Of all the fruitless searches, in your eyesOh, I see the light and the heat, in your eyesOh, I wanna be that complete I wanna touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes Peter Gabriel Part II of our Neenah sunset photo session. It is amazing how many wonderful pictures you can create with an old dock and a beautiful model! Nataly goes through a range of emotions with this simple setting. The Bryan Bridge provides…
There! See the line of lights,A chain of stars down either side the street --Why can't you lift the chain and give it to me,A necklace for my throat? I'd twist it roundAnd you could play with it. You smile at meAs though I were a little dreamy childBehind whose eyes the fairies live. . . . Sara Teasdale Sunset gives way to twilight and the light gets more interesting and mysterious. The skies are dark but not dark enough for the stars. This is the third set of pictures featuring Nataly on a warm day in March. After you…
The first glad breath of day is dear;The sky is very soft and near;The noon is glorious with light;And afternoon is bright;But I love twilight best, it seems,When all the air is drenched with dreams,And up against the sunset bar,One small dream changes to a star. Annette Wynne Sunset is always a magical time! The light becomes golden and soft and the rainbow colors of the sky come out. Doubly magical is a warm day in March, in Wisconsin. So Nataly and I met in downtown Neenah for some sunset portraits. It is amazing how many beautiful photographs can be…
February was blessedly warm and so we used the weather to do some portrait sessions. Here are some pictures with Nataly Divine BTS (Behind The Scenes). Nataly wore a beautiful 1920's style dress is ravishing red. This was a wet plate collodion session where we made some beautiful tintypes. Check out my 19th century photo site for the plates: sunandsilver.photo/portrait/riverside-tintypes-with-nataly/ Our first picture is a real BTS of Nataly Divine along with my Intrepid large format camera. Nataly is a true professional because she not only held this pose for the tintype but also for the digital photo. Next a…
I ran across some older photos of Kateri while working on our latest safari together. Hard to believe these photos were taken in 2019 because it feels just like yesterday. Time certainly flies when you are having fun! So enjoy a few memories with Kateri! http://jalanlee.com/modeling/test-with-kat/
Photography is based on light so one would think that night time photography is no good. However, I love creating portraits at night! I think it is about the control over the lighting you have. During the day everything is lit up so the contrasts are lessened and there are limits to what you can achieve. At night you can pick from fully dark to fully lit backgrounds and then add in light for your model. You can also use ambient light sources to create drama in ways that are not possible in the day. There are some challenges to…
I love portrait photography at night. Photography is all about capturing light so "night photography" seems to be a contradiction. But I find some of the most interesting light comes at night. The darkness provides wonderful contrast with the lights you find - street lights, signs, cars and windows. The first challenge of night portraits is to find that interesting light and place your model properly. A small movement of the body or face can make the difference between an OK portrait and one that is stunning. The second challenge is technical. Low light limits what you can do with…
Today's post is about my recent Cinestill 800 film model shoot. Cinestill is a unique film that is known to produce wild and unpredictable colors. Especially at night. People seem to love posting night time photos of gas stations with Cinestill for some reason but they typically don't use it for portraits. So keeping the outlier vibe we set out to shoot a few rolls of medium format portraits in downtown Appleton. The photo above highlights just how trippy the colors can be with this film. The fountain was red but came out a glowing pink and the water turned…
Cinestill 800 film is not an ideal portrait film. It is used for unpredictable colors especially at night. Well, one of the reasons I shoot film is to get something unexpected and unpredictable. So I just went ahead and shot a model on Cinestill 800 film! So I met Wisconsin model Dreamera Marie in downtown Appleton for a film shoot one evening. We were extremely lucky as the weather was just beautiful for a late Fall evening. Of course, the warm evening also brought out a few interesting characters. Especially ones who had a bit too much to drink or…
Where are the male models? Seems like everywhere I look female models outnumber male models by something like 50 to 1. Why is this? Lots of possible theories - some not so flattering! There are more men photographers (maybe) and they like women. Men may not be as interested in modeling. Women may like looking at other women more than they like looking at men. But I will say this - I like photographing people of all sizes and shapes and ages and genders. I look to capture that spark that I think everyone has. The spark is a gift…
Light is the foundational aspect of photography. This should be obvious but sometimes we get so enmeshed in the subject that we forget how important the light is. The photo above really brought home for me how much the light can impact the quality of a portrait. Here is a close up of Dani's face I think everything about this really pops. The light gives definition to her face and lights up her eyes. The light pulls her out of the background and pulls your eye in. Her face is well lit but has interesting shadows and contrast. So how…
I met up with Dani and Cole in the North Woods of Wisconsin. After we captured our main image (for my Shoot-a-Month Project) we had some fun. We found a bunch of interesting, and strange, rock formations on the trial. They provided a backdrop for this gallery Dani and Cole in The North Woods Back to my Blog
Life is all around us. The trees, the birds and the water all team with life. We only have to open our eyes and our hearts to see it! Double exposures on film are a huge challenge. You first need to shoot a variety of background images. In this case I shoot water and trees around Neenah. Next rewind the film (but make sure to leave enough of the leader out so you can put it back into the camera). Then you shoot portraits over the original images. The portraits should be dark in areas you want the original image…
Love surrounds us like a flowing river. When we think we are alone people who love us are there. They nurture us, protect us, celebrate our good times and cry when we are sad. Often they are unseen, like a deep slow current - but they are there none the less! A Fall model shoot at Dave's Falls County Park, Wisconsin. The plan was to capture some images with the beautiful Fall colors. We chose the late afternoon for the golden light and to let us do some fun lighting around the rocks. Rain all day at my home but…
A just for fun gallery of a single roll of film. These are all double exposure shots with Dreamera Marie - top Neenah model. The double exposures were done on Kodak Portra 400 film. The first shots were just random landscape photos around Neenah. I under exposed each shot to leave some room for the portrait. The second shots were during 2 photo shoots with Dreamera Marie. These are the best shots from the roll (at least the most interesting). You can see more of Dreamera's work on Instagram @dreamera.marie or check out some of her galleries below. http://jalanlee.com/modeling/dreamera-copper-rock/ http://jalanlee.com/modeling/dreaming-st-pats/…