The shot: No words
Photographer: Inkblotch; Model: IDiivil
Inspiration/concept
When I arrived for this particular collaboration, Inkblotch told me he had a dream the night before of a woman in fog. Inkblotch and I tend to work pretty spontaneously. We don’t discuss much in concept ideas before a shoot, but in spite of that, we’ve always created amazing pieces together. He said he had never tried anything like what he wanted to that day, but he was very interested in trying to recreate his vision.
Under other circumstances, I might be concerned about such a last minute idea. However, whenever I collaborate, I put a lot of trust in my photographer’s talent, so I gave a shrug of my shoulders, smiled, and said, “Sure.” I knew something awesome would come of it.
The shot (from a model’s perspective)
This image consists of Inkblotch’s camera, a leafblower, a piece of fabric, and a fog machine. I threw the fabric up into the air, and Inkblotch aimed the leafblower at me. Our hope was that the strong wind would push the fabric and hold it against my figure. He’d quickly snap a couple shots off when the fabric caught on my body, but then it would blow off into a corner, leaving me to go running after it.
The first couple of times, I managed fine. But this shoot was in the middle of summer in Los Angeles in a large garage studio, so it had to be over a hundred degrees in there. I was sweating bullets and had to take numerous pauses to chug down water. Funny enough, all the sweat eventually helped stick the fabric to me, and we had just enough time to snag that one magical moment where that shot came together.
When it comes to shooting under rough conditions, it can be hard for a model to keep her head together and maintain her composure. Imagine – you’re sweating, you’re panting, your head feels a little dizzy. It’s very easy to let the exhaustion show on your face.
As a model, though, you pull it together. You take a moment to drink your water or catch your breath and tell yourself, “I can do this.” You start to feel better, and you tell your photographer you feel all right (and you truly do). You step up with newfound determination.
And then it happens. The image crystallizes, and you can feel it as it does. You nearly break character in your excitement as everything comes together and you feel that fussy fabric finally stick to your figure. It’s perfect, you think. This is perfect!
Result
The image is, to me, impeccable.
When you look at the shot now, there’s no evidence of just how worn out Inkblotch and I were from the heat during that shoot. The result is calm, collected, and absolutely beautiful. I think it goes to show that if a team is determined enough and communicates clearly, they can overcome any obstacles that present themselves during a shoot.
To this day, this shot is one of my favorite images. I’m so proud of myself as a model for being able to keep it together and keep trying even when the concept felt so difficult to execute. More so, I’m thankful that an amazing photographer like Inkblotch collaborated with me and that we were both willing to embrace spontaneity enough to let a concept like this happen.
Inkblotch and I have worked like this more than once now, and every time we get something good. Sometimes, choosing what seems like a crazy concept and being determined enough to go with it can create some wonderful works of art.
IDiivil
IDiivil is a freelance art nude model who travels between her home bases of Ohio and Los Angeles. When she is not glued to some sort of screen playing a video game, she lurks the site of ModelMayhem and maintains her own modeling website at http://idiivil.com/.
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November 29, 2012 at 6:18 pm, LOOX said:
Nice article. I’m all for anything that sings the praises of things improvised and extemporaneous–that’s more or less my native MO. As a sidebar, it’s worth mentioning that while the image was the product of mutual trust and willingness to experiment, mutual trust and willingness to experiment are often–too often–the product only of having collaborated previously, rather than of an innate sense of adventure. Spontaneity, unfortunately, doesn’t always happen spontaneously.
That said, I always try to encourage it. In discussing non-assignment shoots with models I’ve never worked with before, their first question often is “what concepts do you have in mind?” I tell them that trying to pinpoint what we’ll shoot beforehand is like trying to figure out ahead of time what you’ll talk about over dinner on a blind date–not always time well spent. Face time, vibe checks and going eyeball to eyeball are the building blocks for shoots that, in the absence of initial trust, help nurture the spontaneity and collaborative spirit that went into this photo.
November 29, 2012 at 7:45 am, Eros said:
First, this is wonderful work and I love your trust of you photographer’s imagination. You have to be willing to fail at trying to make art in order to make great art. Your description of a model working through tough circumstances and “pulling it together” for the sake of the work is excellent as well; and I wish all models understood the concept.
I am curious as to why the stockings? To me, it seems to serve no purpose other than a distraction. As strong as the image is, my personal opinion is it would’ve been stronger with the fabric clinging against the sweep of your bare thigh. Nit-picky, but just something that popped out to me.
November 29, 2012 at 11:44 am, IDiivil said:
We felt the stockings added to the image. I think we just have different opinions there. Nothing to be done about that 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to offer your feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed the article!
November 28, 2012 at 2:37 pm, Photone Photography said:
Most creative ideas come in those magical moments of being in a sleep and awake—where the imagination is more vivid and not disturbed or cluttered by the real world. And, a good model is the one with a sharp intuition for a potential good work—of course, if it’s not a paid commercial work. Good collaboration, great result: in all respects a pure professional work (the photographer and the model). Thank you for sharing. Great work !
November 28, 2012 at 12:44 pm, Jamil Nasir said:
This is extremely beautiful. Having been experimenting myself with smoke machine shots, I know how difficult they are. Either the smoke diffuses so the shot just looks hazy, or it covers the model too much, or you can’t see any smoke at all . . . And then to have the fabric (which is a perfect color) mimic the shapes in the smoke, and the dramatic pose that just shows the model’s shape through the fabric – it’s just too fabulous. Your approach of picking something difficult and just slogging away at it until you get the shot is liberating to me too.
Can I ask just one question? How were you sure you had gotten the shot when you got it? Sometimes something feels right and looks right in the back of the camera, but upon enlargement and study doesn’t look so right. Was the photographer tethered to a laptop or something where you could keep tabs on what the shot looked like in real life?
Thanks so much for this.
Jamil
November 29, 2012 at 11:45 am, IDiivil said:
Inkblotch doesn’t shoot tethered. We just kept going and, based on our intuition and what we could see from the little screen on the back of the camera, we eventually decided to move on to another concept and kept going on for the day. This concept actually didn’t take that long of the shoot day, funny enough 🙂
November 28, 2012 at 8:36 am, Shiva Sharifi said:
This is an amazing artistic image, congrads lovely lady to you and the photographer… ! I loved reading the little behind the scene details
November 28, 2012 at 7:21 am, Darrin said:
Such experiences are what it is all about. Your passion for what you do draws others. Love your work and how you spoke of the shot. Kudos to the both of you, and look forward to seeing you out in LA
November 28, 2012 at 12:13 am, DaneHalo said:
Girl, since meeting you, you’ve been a source of neverending inspiration to me. You rock. This photo rocks. Inkblotch rocks. 🙂
November 29, 2012 at 11:45 am, IDiivil said:
Thanks so much 🙂
November 27, 2012 at 5:07 pm, Natural Body Photo said:
Really a superb image.
November 27, 2012 at 11:42 am, JOHN said:
yeah you gotta be open to letting things happen!