I definitely have been enjoying shooting glamour lately. Lord knows how much testing and practicing it’s taken to reach the point of consistently getting images like this though. Who knew photographing beautiful women was so much work?

The right model makes 99-percent of the difference. I mean you have to know your camera and lighting and all that, but the model is crucial. I really have to give a shout out to Charlie (the model here) for making my job easy. This girl is seriously amazing.

portland glam photographer pete springer

Here’s an online resource for photographers looking to get canvas prints: Royal Canvas

If you’ve never had a photo printed up on canvas that is stretched over a wooden frame, you have to try it. Canvas prints are my personal favorite way to display photos.

portland photographer pete springer

These are definitely the sexiest jean cut-off shorts I’ve ever seen. The backs were especially interesting. Have some photos of that too so stay tuned.

So on this shoot I was determined to shoot glamour with all natural light. It’s a little different than a lot of glam that relies on strobes but I like the results.

model Charlie

portland glam photographer pete springer

I’ve really been digging the Playboy style but without frontal nudity. And with natural light. So here’s one from a recent shoot trying out that style.

portland glam photographer pete springer

Meanwhile, back to the real world of working with actual models. Issac is a Portland guy who was signed by a Paris modeling agency and will be walking the runways of Paris Fashion Week this year. How cool is that?

I had a chance to work with him recently for a couple of hours and he definitely impressed me. Paris will love him.

portland photographer pete springer

I’ve been following this case since last June when Michael Fox was first arrested. At the time, the guy already had a reputation as a douche bag who used his agency as a dating service. Well it’s not exactly a date when the girl is only 16 and you sexually abuse her, is it? Fortunately the courts agreed.

Portland modeling agency owner sentenced to a year in prison

The amazing part is that Fox was re-arrested for violating the terms of his release agreement just last month (wild guess – no contact with minors?) This is clearly the kind of guy you want to avoid, much less have him represent you as a model.

I’ve had a number of Vault “models” contact me in the past year and I refuse to work with them. I explain to them that I work very hard to maintain a positive reputation and associating with an agency who’s owner was arrested for sexually abusing a minor is not the reputation I want.

Anyway, there is a legitimate modeling industry in Portland and there are legitimate agencies. Take a look at this post I did back in June when Fox was initially arrested. Only thing I’d change about this post is that I’ve since worked a bunch with Sports and Lifestyle Unlimited and they’re absolutely fabulous. They’re generally the first agency I recommend to models now. Q6 and Option also remain stellar.

portland photographer pete springer

So this shoot was an absolute blast. Me and the model connected right away and it was just fabulous. She had all sorts of great ideas for styling but this idea blew me away. Pantyhose with the crotch cut out for the head to poke through, then arms in the cut off legs, and the feet become wrist gloves!

There is so much to say about this shoot. It was just so much fun. The model brought amazing energy and personality. I don’t do a lot of one-on-one shoots (usually I try to have a hair/makeup person plus an assistant or some variation of that) for a variety of reasons. This shoot was just me and the model and it was just awesome. Like I will practically have an entire new lingerie portfolio once I get everything sorted from today. We both worked fast yet it didn’t seem rushed.

Finally, I’ve always been a fan of glam. I know glamour photography kind of takes some punches here and there, especially from fashion crews. But I still love it. And that’s definitely what I was going for with this shoot. Straight up Glam.

Model Charlie

portland lingerie photographer pete springer

What an amazing day! I had so much fun working with this model. More in my next post.

Model Charlie

portland photographer pete springer

“Does your website have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.”

Trouble finding my contact page?!? Did you look at the title bar?!? It’s that link that says, “contact”!

It’s funny because I’m on twitter, FB (two accounts – business and personal), g+, linkedin, and I have my email and phone number listed online for anyone who is looking. I hand out business cards all the time, send promotional emails, and print postcards too. Not exactly hiding here, brilliant commenter! So it always cracks me up when people say something like, “I couldn’t find out how to contact you.” Really?

portland photographer pete springer

Shooting swimwear on location is definitely my preference. Photos almost always turn out better when there is a cool setting. Of course that’s not always practical in January in Portland so sometimes I find myself shooting swimwear indoors.

I wanted to create something more moody here thus the shadows.

Model Katrine with Sports and Lifestyle Unlimited, swimsuit by Jantzen

portland swimwear photographer pete springer