Photographing nudes: Is Superia Reala okay?

[tbm]

I will be attending a workshop in June at which I and others will be photographing people of both sexes without clothing outdoors. Since it is in Northern California near the ocean, there is a chance that one or more of the days will be slightly foggy in the morning. Regardless of the lighting (foggy or sunny), I have only Fuji Superia Reala, my favorite color print film, in my freezer at this time. Based on your experience, will it be okay with flesh tones in various types of natural lighting?

 

[rbarker]

My guess is that you already know that you like the color rendiditon of Reala, so I'd say go ahead and shoot it. There are, of course, those who would argue that nudes should only be done in B&W.

 

[modafoto]

It is a great film with great tones.

My wedding picture is shot using Reala....although we weren't nude it was a great film.

 

[BradS]

The superiority of it's rendition of flesh tones is IMO, Reala's major reason for being. That is it's major strong point.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I'd go so far as to say that Reala and Portra NC are the only color films I'd want to use for studio sessions, nude or not. I've used Reala once, Portra 160 NC a couple times, and Portra 400 a lot, and I've been very, very happy with them.

Fog won't hurt, it just softens the shadows and lets the color gain more dominance over the intensity of the light. For nudes, in fact, I think I'd prefer fog over direct sun (though a heavy fog might make you wish for faster film than Reala -- perhaps you could pick up a Pro-Pack of Portra 400 NC as a backup).

 

[Claire Senft]

No reason Reala should not work nicely. I think that when you do something involving subject matter that can not be repeated to stick with what you know.

I would also recommend taking a couple rolls of B&W..again stick with what you know.

 

[tbm]

I will be bringing to the shoot two Leica M6's and various lenses with Delta 100 loaded in one and Superia Reala in the other.

 

[Grunthos]

I will be bringing to the shoot two Leica M6's and various lenses with Delta 100 loaded in one and Superia Reala in the other.

Great Googly Moogly!! Bragging about yer Leicas again eh? From what I've seen of yer photos, methinks you ought to give it up. If the picture of yer mutt takin' a dump and the horrible baby pix are indicative of yer work, you need to worry less about yer gear, and more about how to use any camera. Perhaps fingerpainting is more your speed?

Grunthos The Flatulent

 

[Claire Senft]

So, do you think YOU can take a better pic of dog poop? Go ahead and try/

 

[Grunthos]

So, do you think YOU can take a better pic of dog poop? Go ahead and try/

If I was into photographing dog poop, I'm sure I could do much better.

Grunthos the Flatulent