Home » Bikini, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Fashion, Model Portfolio And Portrait Photography » Rainforest Stream Swimsuit Photoshoot with Tamara – Hawaii

Rainforest Stream Swimsuit Photoshoot with Tamara – Hawaii

November 22, 2005

A cold stream in the Hawaiian Pali rain forest is the location for this swimsuit photo. It is a really short drive from downtown Honolulu and besides mosquitoes usually there is not a soul around.

I have done a few photo shoots at the same location and what I love about this place is the countless angles, lighting and background possibilities.

Some people find the model’s expression very cute also this photo happens to be one of Tamara’s personal favorites.

I love to take pictures with adventurous models who are up for shooting in less than studio perfect conditions.

More pictures from this photo shoot can be found in my Hawaii Modeling Photography Album which is No 2 in the navigation bar.

Photography And Copyright Infringement

Photography and copyright infringement manifest in different forms nevertheless it is on the mind of every photographer.

The picture also caught the eyes of the good people over at Vive Antiaging who decided to use my image without my permission.
Update: the photo since has been removed without an apology but here is the original screen shot with the swimsuit photo!
I guess some people believe copyright infringement is the sincerest form of flattery!

My Most Popular Hawaii Swimsuit Model Image!

My web statistics program clearly shows that more visitors land on this page then any other when they find my site through Google image searches.
This photo is in the first row of the following Google image results (and possibly more).

• swimsuit model
• hawaii swimsuit model
• hawaii model
• hawaii swimsuit
• hawaii rainforest model
• hawaii rain forest model
• hawaii rain forest
• hawaii rainforest
• rainforest model
• rain forest model
• rainforest swimsuit
• rain forest swimsuit
• swimsuit
• Tamara

Traffic wise this one post is overwhelmingly superior compared to the rest of the site. I guess when I named the image file I stumbled upon words which many people search for everyday?
Or Tamara is just too cute not to click on ? :)

UPDATES:
1. Isn’t the internet wonderful?
Something interesting happened since I blogged about Vive Antiaging!
Now I am on the first page of Google when someone searches for Vive Antiaging!!!

2. Tamara’s swimsuit photo is no longer showing up in the Google image search results unless the search is unfiltered (not the default setting).
Even though this site has no photos or text which can be considered adult the All Mighty Google has spoken and my blog has been removed from search results which the majority of internet users see.
It definitely shows on my visitor statistics, my website traffic has plummeted.
I sent a reinclusion request to Google but I am not hoping much from that.
For a photography site which could greatly benefit from showing up in image search results this is a devastating blow.

3. A few months passed by and Google seem to have honored my image search reinclusion request and the above photo is beautifully ranking high in all related image searches. Thank You Google!

More Bikini Model Photos In Hawaiian Rainforest

My fabulous model Tamara was a great sport during this last segment of our photoshoot as she was laying down wearing her classic black triangle bikini in the cold rainforest stream.
The soft light from the overcast sky on her beautiful skin color is one of the best part of this photo.

The props were not planned, I found them at this idyllic rainforest spot in Oahu’s Pali Mountains. The red hibiscus flower adds a pop to the photo, the yellow of the dry leaves provides another warm color balancing out the red and giving the eyes more to explore when looking at the picture.
Talking about colors the choice of black bikini against the black lava rocks is really right on visually speaking.

The concept of the next photo I call jungle warrior princess, the dried out leaves turned out to be multi-use props, in this case taking up the role of a spear or a tribal shield.

I took a few of photos of this concept carefully because I was quite happy with what I saw through the viewfinder. What I remember considering were the overall composition of the photo and the placement of the model in it.
Also arranging the background was key, it is a little bit busy but essential to provide context to the story; having it slightly out of focus made the model pop out and not get completely lost.

Peeking through the leaves while standing in a strong “muscular” pose the model conveys drama, I consciously make sure there is nothing cute or hoochie in these photos which would make them worthless to me:

A confident, graceful model with a beautiful body who knows how to move and pose is a dream of every swimsuit model photographer. The location inspires the intelligent model, the model inspires the receptive photographer. There are a few more bells and whistles needed but that is all what’s essential for a fun and rewarding photoshoot.

Making the most of every setup is important for me and by changing the countless variables a large amount really different photos can result from one setup.
I do not have my photoshoots pre-planned with notes, it is impossible to prepare for the unexpected for me the best policy is to keep an open mind; zoom in zoom out, portrait and landscape formats, different poses, dry hair and wet hair, don’t forget the baby oil on the model’s skin, pick matching colored bikini for the given background, etc.

The only possible downside of this kind of mad shooting is that the photographer may end up with too many great photos making the editing process a heartbreaking chore.

The red hibiscus returns this time in the form of a beautiful upper back tattoo. I love the lines that the body of the model create in this picture:

This excellent location is a 360 degree studio, full of possibilities. Next setup was on the bank of the creek where the roots of a huge banyan tree were grabbing a large lava rock.
The elongated body of the model and her limbs were placed to be in sync with the surrounding roots:

Spite that we were using up cans of bug repellent and we were under attack by mosquitoes it was time to shoot some fun Luis Vuitton handbag advertising campaign photos. Tamara switched into a brown bikini better suited for the lush jungle background.
The angled dead tree adds a picture prefect dynamic element and line which in turn aids the model to assume a very natural and elegant pose:

Just a bit more dressed up for a rainforest location, a fashion photo once again juxtaposes the model’s arms and legs against the zigzagging branches around her.
Since there are no assistants, only me and the model there are no reflectors so the soft diffused light coming from the overcast sky is quite a bit directional creating some shadows around the eye and under the chin and jaw.
I would not change these (not even in Photoshop) for the world, I like the drama and realism created as opposed to having a rather fake and artificial look to my photos due to perfectly setup studio lighting.

Let’s finish this set with a somewhat provocative but beautiful portrait, the wet hair beautifully frames the model’s face with a bold strong expression fitting to the wild scenery: