My Favorite Model

My first column for Photo.net ("Simplicity") was about one of my favorite photographs called "Make Love Not War." The star of the photo is my beautiful wife and favorite model, Kay Sutton York. Kay and I have made thousands of photographs through the years for leading clients, magazines and books. She's been on the cover of just about all my books.

I am planning a traveling show of my photography of Kay through the years, and am currently in the process of printing those images for display and for limited editions. By the way, I am using an HP Photosmart 8750 to make those prints with results that are nothing short of spectacular. (Editor's Note: This is the same printer model that HP is awarding as a Grand Prize in its Photo of the Week sponsorship.)

For this column, I thought I'd write some more about our favorite shots from a lifetime of work (and play) together.

No, that was not a stuffed cat, as Kay will attest after extensive scratches on her arms and body from this "frisky" little dude. The shoot was hired by American Express and Tiffany's (note the $500,000 bejeweled collar around the little kitty's neck). We alternated between a baby leopard and a baby lion. Each had an attention span of maybe a half roll of film on a high motor drive Hasselblad (www.hasselbladusa.com) before completely losing it! I used a 150mm lens and shot on Kodak Plus-X (www.kodak.com). Lighting was a 1200 watt-second electronic flash unit in a pan reflector (directly above my lens) with 2-1200 watt second backlights angled at 45 degree angles to the white coved background.

The image of Kay at the beginning of this article was taken for Max Factor in the backyard of our home. It was about 2 in the afternoon with hot sunlight behind a row of trees blocking the light from striking Kay. My assistant held a silver reflector high to camera left to bounce the sunlight back into Kay's face. The image was made on transparency film with a short telephoto lens on a Canon 35mm camera. At the time I was playing with Polaroid transfers as a natural consequence of my use of their Type 669 film for proofing from 35mm slides. Right from the gate, I started printing them on textured cold-press art papers and then began adding paints, acrylics and water colors. My clients loved them. They still do even in this digital age. The transfers take photography to a different realm entirely and make each image a limited-edition and very personalized. It makes the image more valuable. The shot was made on an 8x10 printer with Polaroid Type 809 Film. The system is amazing, and the 8x10 image size allows for even more painting and playing. For those of you who are interested in knowing my Polaroid transfer technique, write me care of www.photo.net.

Now about the black and white photographs below.These images were originally made as part of an advertising shoot for Hasselblad (http://www.hasselbladusa.com) cameras. Below is the image and the advertisement. The setup shot was later used as an advertisement for Bogen (www.bogenimaging.com)

I used a different shot from the same session for the cover of my book, The Glamorous World of People Photography ( www.marathonpress.com).

Let's talk about Kay's name change. Kay modeled (and acted) for years under the Kay Sutton York name, but when she started teaching acting at her own acting workshop in Beverly Hills (after winning the DramaLogue Critics Award) she took a family name, "Lena Harris" (because of the stigma often associated with models going into acting at the time). Now the Lena Harris Studio is on the lot at 20th Century Fox in Beverly Hills, her name is lauded, and her new book, Twenty-Five 5 Minute Power Scenes, just came out ( www.amazon.com).

For the cover, the publisher opted for a real tight cropped version of the same shot used in the Hasselblad and Bogen advertisements (along with some sepia toning). The shot was made with Lena sitting on a director's chair in a rented studio against a gray canvas backdrop. I used a Hasselblad camera on Plus-X and a 150mm Zeiss Sonnar Lens, 2-1200 watt-second electronic flash units, one light behind Lena on a boom (in a softbox) delivering the hair light and edgelight, and the other in a 20" pan reflector delivering the main facial lighting. The image proves a number of things: A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Images have lasting appeal. Images may be cropped a number of different ways each creating graphic impact. By all means, never ever sell your copyright to an image! Perhaps there are other things I can't think of at the moment. But most importantly, how darn smart was I in marrying this lady? And to finish with a blatant plug: for a good read, regardless of whether you're an actor or not, check out Lena's 25 short scenes in her new book ( www.amazon.com). They are great! They will make you laugh. They will make you cry!

Next column, we'll finish up Casey's shoot (from my last column), and just to keep things equal, we'll look at a session I did this week with an upcoming Hollywood hunk and leading man.