Bella - June 2022

Added 1656258578 by Steve Butler.

Bella - London, December 2020 🦋

Wanted to try this for some time. The idea, to my mind at least, is to attempt to create abstract sculptural shapes by cocooning a dancer in a full length elasticated body stocking (amazing what you can buy on eBay these days! 🤣). It's a little tricky to get right. Obviously, you don't want the material to look baggy. However, if the sock is too small, then the dancer's movement may be constrained. The one in the image allowed Bella to fully extend one arm, but perhaps not both.

There's also the consideration of how transparent the material is. If you want to go 100% abstract shapes, then you could use an opaque material. We were using a semi transparent sheer which has afforded me an opportunity to create some more portrait inspired work. However, even this presents its own challenges. The model's face must me sufficiently close to the material for the light to penetrate enough to illuminate her properly. Conversely, you don't really want the face touching the material as it very easily compresses the features (nose especially) in a pretty unflattering way (unless of course that's the look you're going for!). There's also a bit of a moire effect happening that I've done my best to reduce in post.

Photography: Steve Butler Photography 📸

Model: Bella Ballerina (@bellaballerina_x) 🦋

Workshop: London Photography Social 🐼