The Devil is in the Details

I'm sure most of you have heard the phrase, "the Devil is in the details." It's a variation of words attributed to the French novelist, Gustave Flaubert, best known for penning the novel, Madame Bovary, about a French-woman's adulterous love affairs. (Back in Flaubert's day, they still "penned" novels. Wow! That must have been a lot of work!)

Flaubert is attributed with saying, "God is in the details-- Whatever one does should be done thoroughly; details are important." The replacement of "God" with the "Devil" is a more modern variation and refers to any "catch" in the details.

Much like modern-day glamour and nude photography, Flaubert and his work were attacked for being obscene by social and religious conservatives of his day. The more things change the more they remain the same, I suppose.

When it comes to photography as a whole, and certainly glamour and other forms of people photography that idealize beauty, details are very important. Perhaps infinitely important. It seems both God and the Devil are working overtime in the details. Whoever is winning the tug-of-war between them is readily seen in an image's positive or negative results.

Here's some practical advice: Before snapping your first exposure, take a good, long, look at the model. Eyeball her with a horse-trader's intent. Examine her closely. No, I'm not saying "leer" at her or, like an expert on "horse-flesh," pull open her lips to check her teeth. I am saying to pay special attention to details like the jewelry that adorns her and/or the clothing or accessories she's wearing. Thoroughly examine her makeup and hair. Look for blemishes that might be concealed by makeup, lighting, or posing. (Sometimes it's easier to deal with these things in production than in post-production. Sometimes not.) Few things can kill an otherwise terrific pretty girl image then something she's wearing or some aspect of her appearance that seems out of place or is distracting.

I've seen--what would have been or could have been--really cool nude images of models wearing nothing but a wristwatch. If you're selling wristwatches, I suppose, this might work out nicely. But if you're selling the model's beauty and allure, that wristwatch is going to be distracting if not an out-and-out eyesore. Be on the lookout for both the obvious as well as the subtle distractions. Sometimes they're right there in front of you, screaming out to be noticed! I don't know about you, but I hate having to smack myself in the head, later on, wondering, "How the hell did I not see that?"

While shooting, your eye should be scanning the viewfinder for details that are destroying the positive aesthetic values of the image. I've touched on this before. My recent article on "The Chia Pet Syndrome" is one example.

One habit I've trained myself to do is this: I scan the viewfinder in a very mechanical way--almost in a robotic, Terminator-like way--while framing the shots. I'll admit, it's easy to have your attention drawn to the beauty of the model. Sometimes this becomes a bigger problem when she's wearing little or nothing at all. Unlike Terminators we're only human, right? That's exactly why, first, I force my eye into purposefully and methodically examining the periphery of the viewfinder, moving my eye around its perimeter, hoping to notice things that detract from the image. Then, after doing so, I move my eye to the model and examine her, up-and-down and from side-to-side, watching how the lighting is working on her, looking for things like folds and wrinkles in her skin caused by the angles of her pose, looking for anything distracting or unatractive, all the while giving direction to her pose and expression and attitude and voicing positive reinforcement while she's giving what she's giving to the camera. I know that sounds time-consuming but it's not: It's all accomplished in seconds. Who said this shit was easy? Focus and concentration and attention to God AND the devil (in the details) are incredibly important to effective pretty girl shooting.

When I'm not shooting or chimping, my eyes rarely look anywhere but at the model. Even when, maybe especially when, she's paying no attention to me whatsoever. It's amazing how, during those short little breaks and lulls in shooting, the model might sometimes exhibit an expression or the beginnings of a pose or she'll sweep a hand into her hair or she'll turn one way or another in the light and, suddenly, you see something magical that's worth exploring with the shutter clicking. I think some of my best shots have happened that way: Spontaneously and almost accidentally. Maybe some of you have experienced the same?

The pretty girl pics that accompany today's babble is Roxy-- A cockney-accented Brit whose English father and Thai mother produced some beautiful and sexy results.