Black and White Bikini, Fashion Model Photography In Rainforest
I love black and white bikini and fashion model photos which are taken in exotic and dramatic locations. The lack of color brings out shapes and textures adding much drama and class to these photos.
The Pali rainforest is one of my favorite Hawaii locations, it has provided me with a wide variety of photographic opportunities due to its diversity landscape and lighting wise.
The Pali rainforest being up in the mountains means there is often soft light from overcast sky because the rain clouds that the Hawaiian trade winds bring in get trapped. This means occasional rainfall especially during morning and evening hours plus a healthy dose of mosquitoes but the end result, great pictures and great fun is always worth it.
Spite the cold rainforest stream Tamara delivers this gorgeous picture; nice in color as well but a real knock out in black and white:
Tamara is one of my favorite models, she is truly exotic due to her mixed ethnicity one of which is Hawaiian. She is a beautiful model and a very nice person with self confidence, intelligence without being spoiled.
One might say what is all that got to do with being a bikini model? The answer is everything!
It takes the mix of these internal and external characteristics to deliver such beautiful, nicely posed (but not posy) relaxed, smart, confident set of photos which are listed in this post.
A little less action and we get to take a closer and more intimate look at our model. Some of the ingredients that spice up the exotic flavor of these photos: applying baby oil on the model’s skin ensures the forming of large water drops, making sure the makeup is waterproof, including some accessories but not too much, letting the incredible location set the mood and capturing that mood as purely as possible:
A black and white bikini / fashion photo playing with the idea that we are shooting a Louis Vuitton handbag advertisement. This photo probably looks better in color (see related posts) but I included it for the sake of showing diverse concepts.
Taking full advantage of the never ending variety of the location the thick roots of a large banyan tree on the side of the creek is being used as a very dramatic set.
When it comes to shapes and textures like these roots have, black and white photography works exceptionally well. Not saying it is a better approach than color but it conveys the story on a completely different emotional level.
When something great appears through the viewfinder it is important to make the best of the situation. For someone like me who does not have detailed written down notes before photoshoots it took some time to train myself to really take full advantage of the best scenes and shoot them in many different ways using not only logic but improvisation and experimentation.
A slight change of pose, switching between landscape and portrait format, a step to either direction, etc. can dramatically change the end result with the last photo often being the best.
That might bring up the question that if I shot one more picture would that have been even better?
In my case no, by paying attention to my intuition as soon as I stop having fun exploring and shooting a scene I know I have done all I could and forcing more photos will not provide better results.
A more formal black and white fashion model photo but still in the rainforest. The goal is to deliver a dramatic, exotic and visually interesting image by the use of camera tilt therefore by the use of diagonal lines which are key elements of a dynamic image.
The background assists in telling the story but does not overpower or distract.
On this picture I especially like the juxtaposition of the model’s arms and leg with the tree trunks and branches. In this black and white version the model’s limbs look a lot more like they are part of the vegetation blending in much more effectively but because big positioned in the forefront not getting lost.
The directional soft diffused light coming from the overcast sky provide dramatic shadows on the model’s face accentuating her strong features. Beauty and strength, two very fitting and useful characteristics in this type of setting.
Let’s end with a portrait of an exotic model at an exotic location, the messy wet hair is arranged without much “care” and without a mirror or a big production. Capturing beauty with as little interference and manipulation as possible is my favorite way to take photos.
Would you be interested in selling the rights to any of these photos?