“Like the classic Sharmila Tagore pose” remarked Priya excitedly when we discussed what we will click next, “and..” she continued “I have the perfect sari for it.”. As she unfolded her suitcase to reveal the sari she continued blabbering. “It’s my mom’s you know! She wanted to give this away! I saw it and said, I will keep it, it’s so beautiful…”. She continued remarking about the color and texture and I like any other guy in the world who is clueless about clothes, colors, etc, just nodded my head in agreement, and remarked “It looks great!”
30 mins later we were shooting this.
The scene: A classic “sitting on the floor” pose against the bed. A retro black and white photo.
The pose: No doubt Priya is very graceful and gave a very striking pose and her wide open eyes, and although the posture was difficult to maintain it gave a very casual feel to it. Some of the postures always look easy and relaxed but they are difficult. We did not want a laughing or a brooding snap but just a simple straight relaxed face looking at the camera. It however did take many takes to get the foot and hand in the right place. Priya had this ability to make her foot disappear the moment I tried to click her.
The backdrop: I don’t like the backdrop and I wish it was better but I guess acceptable for a casual snap. The cushions were added in the middle of the shoot to add more patterns to the black and white snap. Although a bit hidden a rug was added as well to add to the gradient texture.
The lighting: Natural lighting from the balcony ensured the subject was well light although it did create a gloomy background.
The angle: I should have clicked from a higher angle, this would have reduced the gloomy background a bit at the top and added the rug texture more. But this was difficult with the setup we had.
The camera setting: ISO 800 as it was indoor with natural light. f/4 which was the widest aperture setting on this lens which ensures enough light falls on the sensor and also makes the background blurred. 45mm, at 1/160 sec.
Priya thanks for this wonderful snap! You are an excellent model!
