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Rangefinder Magazine
August 2003

Swimwear Photography by Stephen A. Dantzig, PSY. D.
It’s More Challenging Than You Think!

Figure 1. Johanna Sicat captured at the height of “magic hour.” There was enough light to use a relatively fast shutter speed and small aperture to record this stop-action image. Johanna’s hair and make-up was done by Sabina Bonvillan.

Swimsuits have long been a staple of a model’s portfolio. For years the swimsuit component of a model’s portfolio shoot consisted of a trek to the beach or a clean, commercial “catalog” studio photograph. There was a time when the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue was big news because of its provocative photographs. The proliferation and popularity of magazines like Maxim, Stuff, and FHM has changed all of that. Swimsuit photography has regained its position at the top of the chain of “non-nude” glamour photography and has a stronghold on the world of editorial fashion. Not since the advent off the bikini has the swimsuit and its photography garnered such attention—and at times controversy—as has been created by the “new men’s magazines.” The two styles of photographing swimsuits are as different as night and day and the photographer who wishes to remain competitive in this popular specialty must become an expert in the divergent subdomains. The demands on a swimsuit photographer have, therefore, increased dramatically. There are few areas of fashion photography where the interplay of light and pose is as critical as it is in a swimsuit shoot.

Swimwear photography can take place in any number of locations as well as the studio and may be used for commercial, glamour and/or editorial purposes. Commercial swimwear photography is all about showing the garment in its best form. Glamour photography is all about the model and editorial fashion involves a combination of both. The photographer must rely on a multitude of lighting techniques to get the job done.

Figure 2. Pearl Young was photographed with the last rays of sunlight with a wide open aperture and slow shutter speed. Nikki Asistin helped with Pearl’s hair and make-up

Location
Shooting swimwear on location is incredibly simple—for about 30 minutes a day if the sun is setting behind the photographer. We have all heard of the “magic hour” of shooting on location. This phrase is accurate because you have about 30 minutes after sunrise and 30 minutes before sunset to capture beautifully lit warm-toned images. The lighting benefits of magic hour are well documented. The sun is at a level that makes the shadows manageable, the increased atmospheric interference softens the light and the fragmentation of the shorter light waves results in a cooler color temperature, leaving us with the nice amber tone to the images (when shooting “daylight” film or in daylight “white balance” mode). Figure 1 shows an added benefit of this short period of time.

There is a time during this brief span when you will have the benefits mentioned above and ample light to play with. Figure 1 was shot at about at 1/125 or 1/250 at f/11, allowing a great deal of freedom to experiment with stop-action and maintaining enough depth of field for Johanna Sicat to jump around. This type of image could have many commercial uses.

Figure 3. A pier provided a natural gobo while a 77X77-in. gold Photoflex Litepanel bounced the sunlight back to create the mainlight for this image of Georgia Cobb. Georgia did her own hair and make-up.

Unfortunately, this light does not last long. Fortunately, there are still opportunities to create saleable images after the magic hour has past. Shooting as the sun sets often involves an almost comic scene of moving your gear, models, and crew down the beach in a game of “chase the light.” The image of Pearl Young (Figure 2) was the last shot of the day. We were shooting for her portfolio on a beach on the north shore of Kauai and we spent the last few minutes tracking the fading beams of light as the sun tucked behind the mountains to the south. The open shade lighting is soft and beautiful, adding emphasis to Pearl’s face and figure, and the remaining sun on the water adds sparkle and interest to the image, but it does come at a cost. The image was captured at 1/30 of a second at around f/3. In direct contrast to Figure 1, there is no room for subject or camera movement in this situation. The unfortunate reality of shooting at this f-stop is a very shallow depth of field. Use a tripod and shoot as many images as you can because you will face some heartbreaking edits: If you subject moves her head slightly you’ll have an image where her eyes are just a hint soft. It is also absolutely critical to keep metering the amount of light because it is not unusual to lose up to two stops in a few minutes.

	Figure 4. An example of a commercial catalog swimsuit image. Rebecca Newell was lit with a 40x60-in. Photoflex LiteDome and a fill light on camera axis. She also styled her own hair and make-up.

Photographing people in open midday sunlight rarely leads to useable images. Shooting until the last rays of sunlight disappear does extend the amount of time available to capture images but there are not many photographers who can stay in business shooting 60 minutes a night. The other option we have is to shoot all day and modify the existing light to create the lighting conditions we need. One method of controlling open harsh sunlight is to use a translucent fabric as a scrim. A scrim will indeed create a soft, beautiful light while maintaining some direction to the light. However, depending on the fabric used, you will also lose at least one and one-half stops of light. Therefore, the natural light hitting the scene behind your model will be getting at least one and one-half stops more light than your subject will. The background will be greatly overexposed and the purpose of shooting on location will be lost. Figure 3 shows one possible solution.

Figure 3 shows an image of Georgia Cobb that was created in the early afternoon on a beach in Southern California. The sun sets behind the model in California, further decreasing the usefulness of waiting for “magic hour.” Georgia was positioned camera left of a pier. The sun was behind her, but still very high in the sky. The pier blocked some of the direct sun, but allowed enough light through to act as a hair light and left side rim light. The “main” light for this shot was the sun bounced back off a 77x 77-in. gold reflector. The bright light from the reflector helped balance the main exposure with the background exposure and the gold fabric simulates the color of light captured during magic hour. Georgia’s image also shows how we can simulate studio lighting on location. The bright highlights and split lighting techniques are popular among the newer style of glamour magazines.

Figure 5. A studio swimsuit shot with a little more edge. Photoflex Stripdomes were used for lighting the image of Stephanie Reibel. Stephanie’s hair and make-up was done by Laila Sardo.

Studio
The studio has been a haven for commercial swimsuit photographers. As noted above, the critical emphasis for the commercial swimsuit shooter is the garment: clean, soft lighting and a neutral backdrop that will compliment the many colors and styles of swimwear to be photographed in one day is often what is needed (Figure 4). In this case, a 40x60-in. softbox acts as the main light with a fill light set to 1 stop less than the main light. The fill light is on camera axis and the white backdrop is overexposed by one stop.

Figure 6 shows swimsuit photography from more of an editorial viewpoint. Stephanie Reibel is lit with two Photoflex Stripdomes—the main light is a large Stripdome and the hair light is a medium Stripdome. As noted above, editorial photography is a cross between showing the model and showing the clothing. Stephanie’s pose and expression is as important to this shot as is the choice of harsher light sources. The hair and make-up is also distinctly different in an editorial shoot.

	Figure 6. Swimsuit glamour photography. Sanna was photographed using a variety of light sources to create the image. Delia’s hair and make-up complete the “glamour-look.”

Finally, a combination of lighting techniques and tricks are used to create the editorial/glamour shot of Sanna (Figure 7). She is lit with a large Photoflex softbox to create the overall lighting. A small stripdome and several spotlights are used to add the accents that highlight her body. The extra sheen was created by asking the make-up artist/stylist to apply baby oil to Sanna’s arms, stomach and legs.

As always, I had a tremendous amount of support and assistance in the creation of these images. Many thanks go out to Johanna, Pearl, Georgia, Stephanie and Sanna. Thanks also go out to the following talented hair/make-up stylists: Sabina Bonvillan (Figure 1); Pearl Young and Nikki Asistin (Figure 2); Georgia Cobb (Figure 3); Rebecca Newell (Figures 4 and 5); Laila Sardo (Figure 6) and Delia (Figure 7).

Dr. Stephen Dantzig owns and operates a small commercial photography studio near Studio City [LA area], California. His photography runs the gamut from commercial fashions to executive portraits and products/interiors. He is an award winning photographer and author of several articles on photographic lighting and ethics. Dr. Dantzig also conducts photography seminars from his studio.

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