Candace Nirvana is more of a photographer than a model these days; she runs a studio, is a small-business owner, and one of those one-person hubs of the Bay Area’s art scene. (Her presence on the Web is accordingly varied – one site is here: Candace Smith Photography on SmugMug).
This post is about Candace the model.
The first thing that comes to mind is her training and skill as a dancer, and how it influences her modeling. Below are visual examples.
(Diana was shot at her studio, The Lighthouse, when she had had a lyra hoop installed there.)
The next thing about Candace is her patience, often another word for professionalism. This is most relevant when we shoot one of my ‘conceptual’ themes. She can make those adjustments that advance a great pose to a clinching pose for the story. She can strike the same pose – and poise – numerous times. Her eyes never show tiredness. All this means that I can take time to get everything else right, without losing out on the freshness.
Gaia’s Burden was shot with the purpose of being submitted for an exhibition affiliated with climate change action. A number of things had to come together here – a tree’s shadow on her, a light on the background with the right amount of yellow gel and intentional spill on to her back, and so on. She settled on a statuesque pose that hid the face and anticipated the tree-shadow nicely… and struck it again and again…
Gaia’s Burden
It must come easily to Candace Nirvana.