The first pole dancer (Patreon)

I sometimes wonder whether pole dance was something invented by the fair maidens in the middle ages when the knights were out and about crusading.

Again shot in all-natural light ranging from ISO 320-640 ƒ2.8-3.5 1/80 sec (I try not to go slower as I tend to get a slight shake in the images when I do.)

Critical thought about gorgeous locations like this: As opposed to many other images with models, the background here is the centerpiece, and the model is “just” an accessory for scale.

Normally I would consider the model the centerpiece and the background a less relevant story-adding element.

Not so here.

I find it helpful to consider what you want to say when creating images before you shoot them. You can make many choices while shooting that would be counterproductive to the image: Imagine, for example, that I had used a 35mm ƒ1.2, which would leave the background very blurry?

Not the right choice when the background is essential, right?

But it could be the right choice if I wanted to reduce the importance of a busy background.

If you are in the vault or photography tiers check out the BTS movies.