I when I was just getting started in model photography, I was eager to shoot just about anyone who wanted to shoot with me… One of the first models I shot was the beautiful Malia McKee. At the time, I think that she was working as a hula dancer at Paradise Cove. Needless to say, she was “a natural!” Didn’t have to give her too much direction and she was absolutely stunning - just lounging around! Anyway, after a couple of shoots with her, another photographer was trying to woo her into doing a “mermaid shoot.”
Well, I went to this other photographer’s website and discovered that he had built quite a nice business model around shooting women in fake mermaid tails. It seemed like a fairly lucrative business… Most likely geared toward women touring the island or on vacation… I guess a fake tail is nice… But it’s a fake tail! And you can tell it’s a fake tail!! To me, if not done right, they can be horrible additions to anyone's album or portfolio.
Anyway, I convinced her that I could do a better job using digital art enhancements… And she also like the fact that she didn’t have to put on and take off a tail every time to change a shooting location… Well, we had a great time! Even got a shot in with a monk seal (in the background) sunning itself on the beach! And the final product, while not perfect, was fairly realistic and convincing!
The process that I use is pretty straight-forward… Blend the models legs together, add a fin, adjust the color for the tail, and then add texture to it. All of this, can be done in any version of Abobe Photoshop. I did all of my work in Adobe Photoshop Elements… As do most people, I learned all of the techniques that I used in my process on Youtube.
Talking about Youtube, a few years later, I shared my digital transformation there. It’s called “Birth of a Mermaid.” The video currently has 187,000 views and is running about 33% for likes... I had a lot of disappointed teenie boppers not liking the video because it didn’t show the actual birth of a mermaid… Go figure! :P Right after this post, I sought to improve on my technique, so I enlisted the very alluring Kate Beyer. I had shot her a couple time before and she had a mysterious look about her… She was perfect for a mermaid theme!
Needless to say, the results from this shoot were phenomenal! Her set became my standard for advertising any kind of digital art. With her images, I received hundreds of requests for mermaid sessions… However, very few came to fruition… You see, using this technique can take as much as 4 hours per image… And needless to say, my price tag reflected this! 😊
If you’d like to see how I did this, in greater detail, visit my “Private Vault at https://www.bsquaredimages.com/my-vault . And just a final thought... If you have a fantasy that you’d like to realize, let B-Squared Images help you fulfill your dreams! inquire about our “Voila" package today! #portrait #portraits #hawaii #exotic #exotichawaii #tropical #tropicalhawaii #model #models #modeling #modelinghawaii #hawaiimodeling #808modeling #modeling808 instagood #love #instamood #instagramhub #cute #girl #smile #style #mermaid #tropicalmermaid #hawaiimermaid #hawaiianmermaid #mermaidlove #mermaidsorrow #exoticmermaid #beach #surf
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