#i was a little self indulgent with some of the pb drawings

[starrylothcat]

Bestie!!! Idk if you're still taking these but if you are, may I please request "you taste like heaven" or "let me stay like this in you for a little bit. " with our beloved Captain Rex?

Heaven

Pairing: Captain Rex x Fem!Reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+. Smut. Female receiving cunnilingus. A lil teasing/edging. Need I say more? ;)

WC: 490

A/N: I bestow this self indulgent work upon thee 🙇🏻‍♀️. I’m having fun with these naughty prompts, ya’ll are serving up some juicy thots. Enjoy my friend 🥰

When Rex finally lowered his mouth to your desperately wet cunt, you couldn’t hold back the deprived sound that left your lips.

Rex had been teasing you for what felt like hours, kissing and lavishing your inner thighs, barely brushing his lips and fingers over your needy pussy, never giving you what you truly wanted.

You were a quivering, sweaty mess, your words barely coherent as you begged him for more.

Rex let out a pleasured grunt, not able to keep up his Captain charade much longer as he tasted what you were offering him.

Rex languidly circled his skilled tongue around your entrance, still teasing as he gently sucked on your clit.

You writhed, crying out, needing him to give you more.

“Rex…” You panted, not caring how desperate you sounded. “Please…”

Rex hummed into your folds, wanting to draw this out a little longer.

“The longer I take, the more you’ll cum on my tongue.” He locked eyes with you, taking his mouth off your sex momentarily to huskily whisper his desire, before licking a long, slow stripe up your cunt. “It will be worth it, I promise, mesh’la.”

You were white-knuckling the sheets now, sounds you weren’t sure you’d ever made before ripped from your throat, unsure how much longer you could take his teasing.

“R-Rex…” You were so close, teetering on the edge of implosion, almost delirious with want.

Rex must have decided you’ve finally had enough, latching on to your clit, sucking and swirling his tongue in the most delicious, mind-shattering rhythm that hurled you over the edge.

You didn’t care that you were sobbing, your body tensing and toes curling, pleasure so extreme and white-hot you thought you may never come back down from this heaven.

Rex held down your spasming body, working you through the endless waves of ecstasy as you thrashed under his hold.

Rex was right, his face was soaked from your release, feeling it drip down your thighs as he tried to lap up every drop.

You finally settled, gasping for air, voice hoarse and boneless on the bed as Rex gently kissed your folds. Satiated, he climbed up on top of you, gazing down, proud of his work.

“You taste like heaven, mesh’la.” He dropped his mouth to yours, giving you a taste of the nectar he pulled from you. “Told you it would be worth it.”

You could barely speak, your body still thrumming from your intense climax, grasping at his short buzz, needing him close.

You were finally able to string together a coherent sentence, your desire re-igniting as you felt his rock-hard cock press against your soaked thigh.

You brought your lips to his ear, his ragged breath hot on your cheek.

“Now it’s my turn to get a taste of heaven, Captain.”

Taglist: @crosshairlovebot @sev-on-kamino @kimiheartblade @wizardofrozz @clonemedickix @sunshinesdaydream @kashasenpai @freesia-writes @multi-fan-dom-madness @aconstructofamind @dreamie411 @dystopicjumpsuit @wings-and-beskar @starqueensthings @idontgetanysleep @secretthegriffin @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @secondaryrealm @littlemissmanga @maybethatfanfictionwriter @pb-jellybeans @wanderer-six @king-chaos-world @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @523rdrebel @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @sleepingsun501 @cw80831 @dangraccoon @din-miller @mythical-illustrator @eternal-transcience

Dividers by @dystopicjumpsuit

[partyinthemysterymachine]

I notice how you draw Harry and James is pretty different from how they look in game. I was curious how you decided their looks. It's interesting to hear about that sort of thing if you don't mind answering. Thanks

hi anon!! :3 thanks for the ask!! i will do my best to explain myself LOL but no promises it'll make any sense >:3c!

so let's go on a fun lil' art journey, anon. grab a granola bar and some gatorade, and c'mon!!!

well first and foremost: i am a NOTORIOUS "i do what i want"-er. going off the beaten path to the beat of my own drum is my favorite thing to do!

.. that said!! as i've mentioned before, actor Josh Charles was my first PB/"cast" for Harry Mason.

and my very first piece of silent hill fanart (march 10, 2018) really reflects that, LOL

incredibly, and almost a full year later to the date, i drew and posted this on march 4, 2019. now THIS is actually the closest canon-Harry i've ever drawn. (this was also around the start of the SH RP i was doing with a friend, which then spawned GOOMT lol.)

april 25, 2019. first color piece for any SH art and my first "real" time drawing james. this is also the last time you'll see him with his bangs on the "correct" side LOL.

april 30, 2019. the SH RP is still going on, and this is where i'm starting to get a better handle on what i want them to look like. Harry also gets a maroon sweater. he's also notably thinner here, and still has a lot of Josh Charles vibes.

sept 22, 2019. james sunderland thinnest browns edition. the bangs will be drawn on the right from now on.

(the only reason why they're on the right is because i forgot which way his hair actually parted. oops.)

the RP has ended. the first chapter of GOOMT is written a tumblr post and subsequently posted to tumblr october 3, 2019. i write/pst chapters 1 - 4 in the following days, then draw them again:

james's jacket is still short (but at least he has eyebrows!!); harry is still thin(ner). he's also got more of a canon-harry super low cut sweatervest.

ch 5, 6 is written/posted to tumblr. i draw and post this on october 27, 2019. please clap for my art journey LMAO

you'll also notice hte presence of A Knife. this is actually Angela's knife. shhh. ;)

still figuring out what they look like in goomt here tbh.

stuff from the following week. more figuring out! DRASTICALLY different Harry, too! still very Josh Charles-y, but starting to take on his own look as well. (note his greys!!)

i like DILFs. i like dad bods. he was intended to be a little soft around the middle.

it's not until January 2020 that i draw these idiots again:

very different nose for james lmao.

this is actually my first full body for both in awhile.

(i'm redoing this :3)

also more "accurate" debut of Harry's jacket!! this jacket was ALWAYS intended to look/be bigger on him. i can't really explain why because i don't know, other than it felt right.

at this point i've figured out how i want Harry to look. his design elements are very simple, because i'm EXTREMELY self-indulgent and i really. REALLY like:

widow's peaks

big thick eyebrows

noses. big beak noses

old men

grey hair

(you can actually find this sort of pattern across my various OCs that you'll never find evidence of on my blog anymore haha except for Zach good luck tho. >:3c)

January then gets very busy in the art department for these guys.

Harry finally gets more of a pudge and starts to "look" like himself. James also starts to "look" like himself.

a note on james's bangs: i uhhhhhhh. Stylistically, i have a thing for drawing Big Hair and Tall Bangs. this is seen in my version of Jonathan Crane. but also my hair used to do the exact same bangs so are you really surprised.

(bonus pieces of abandoned James GOOMT character sheet from 2001. i might have the files somewhere if you guys want to see What Almost Was LMAO)

more from January 2020. rubs chin.

it isn't until the end of Janurary/beginning of February that Harry finally Gets Fatter.

i'd been very unused to drawing fat people until Harry, and had been struggling up until here with actually drawing a more accurate representation of his body type to the one i saw in my head!

the reason why i made him fat is because it made sense to me that he was. people change, and being a single father changed him a lot. (and also i recognize that the only reason why the Dead Harry model was lean in sh3 was because it was a recycled Dead James model and they were Legit not going to actually put too much thought into it otherwise lmfao)

march 2020. still getting used to drawing Harry's body type!! also: even tho James's jacket is Longer in my head, i'm still trying to draw it the game-canon length.

idk why.

August 2020, James long jacket hours!!! and Harry really getting his look.

and FINALLY, one of my FAVORITES i've ever done of these two!!:

james's jacket is short here (only bc i was a Dumbass and forgot to make it longer i think?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who's to say), but this is also the color debut for the backpack!!

(bonus Sept 16 2020 YOUNG HARRY CONCEPT from when he pierced his ears in the 90s thinking Jodi was going to find him soooo handsome. he sure is he cute huh)

BONUS MATERIAL:

attempted to re-do their character sheets back in 2021. this did not go as planned, and i was having a very hard year doing ANY personal art, so. gestures.

(sorry i had to put them up here like this it's just a screenshot of the two files in preview bc i'm Totally Incompetent when it comes to computers lmfao)

this is where we are now!! now as these are just sketches for their Newest character sheets, Harry is a liiittle different in the actual file and is is literally just a screenshot of what i've already posted like mentioned above lmao.

what it comes down to is this:

FOR JAMES

i actually just forgor what he looked like and didn't ref my art to what he looked like in-game. simple as that! LOL

in the initial RP, James was played by my friend, while i grabbed the reins to Harry, so i naturally preserved some of the base features of what my friend decided for James (lean, Super Sad And Wet, pale af). i slapped on the caterpillar brows (this is also a thing i'm historically known for in character design), did some tweaks, and also let James evolve himself as i became a better artist.

longer coat because Aesthetics that's why LOL. i don't like the short jacket he wears in game-canon and i needed GOOMT james to put his hands in his pockets like how i drew him above. Reasons.

he's also so pale because [REDACTED] and much thinner than his in-game model because he did Not take care of himself very well in those three years during Mary's illness. (it's also in his genetics: Frank is lean, too (however much taller than James, rip dude 😔))

FOR HARRY

switch from blue to maroon: i like maroon/burgundy. (i realize later that the color he wears is more on the side of burgundy but y'all i hate the color spectrum and it can definitely also be called maroon so it's maroon LOL) i also just thought it looked better on him. the only other reason i can think of as to why i changed it was because.. people change. this is a new era in his life. i kept it a (more modest, sh1 harry you whore <3) v-neck sweater as a nod to his game-canon but just.. changed it to maroon. probably just a designator.

he's fat because of reasons detailed above (fatherhood, life on the road, settling down, etc). and also because he's hot and he deserves that. self-indulgent.

hair, nose, elf ears: self-indulgent.

for Harry especially there are a lot of aspects about him that "almost were" but got cut out of his development for one reason or another an really he's better off that way. i really really don't like to force development or force a "look".

the main reason i guess above all else is that Harry looks so different than his game canon is because he's not that Harry anymore. and in sh3, you never see the guy's face: him dead. i can't even recall if i'd seen the dead Harry model in full before trying to hammer out what GOOMT Harry looked like. young GOOMT Harry would look a lot closer to what his game model looks like, tho. i can tell you that much :3 (one day i'll draw a Younger Harry but don't expect it anytime soon unless the inspiration REALLY strikes lmfao)

a lot of their changes are just not that deep, honestly. my vision for them comes from forgetting which way the bangs go (looks James), developign them in my head over time, The Vibes™️, and The Indulgences™️. i'm a creature of habit for sure in the character design department LOL but my world my puddle we play in it.

i should go to bed now!! but if you have any questions about something else or anything about their designs in particular PLS let me know!! i realy REALLY love this question and wanted to answer it RIGHT NOW IMMEDIATELY (even tho it's been two hours since and I NEED TO GO TO BEEED DGLDFDFGDGFSKGDFDKGSDFGKH O O O P S ) SO i hope you enjoyed that little trip down memory lane (and my art tag archive LOL) and you have a good safe healthy and cool day :3c!!

[c10v3r]

some messy doobles with my pixel bruuuush they are the obj3cts ever

EDIT: FOUND THE POST THE TOP RIGHT WAS INSPIRED BY

[evilblot]

Hello friend! I need your opinion on a very serious matter: best Phantom Blot outfit? (or at least a top list in case you can't chose, which I deem likely)

Me, staring at the list I made a week ago still unsure it’s good enough:

Jokes and internal crisis aside, I had to basically plunge into my archives looking for any piece of clothing that tickled my interest and lemme tell you: it wasn’t an easy job, esp when it’s your pussy doing the thinking ashsajfjagjg. Anyway.

Full list under the cut, since it’s long af for I got no self control uwu

Leaving aside his iconic look because it feels like cheating and the times he's been shown half naked because,.,, well.., ya know skahkfah, here's my very own ᴍʏ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ꜱɴᴀᴄᴄ ᴄᴏᴍᴘɪʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ - clothing edition and I don't accept any criticism, only cash <3

Number 10. O‘ Macchianera’s costume, an early 1800s historical South Italian outfit from “Topolin Murat e i Misteri di Pompei”. Simple, clean and def flattering. What’s not to love?

Number 9. His super villain outfit from the “Ultraheroes saga”. I know I said I’d not include his usual costume but I do enjoy the little extras on this one. The cape is just *chef’s kiss* despite being a bit unpractical.

Number 8. Black Tunic’s actual clothes in “Topo Maltese - Una ballata del topo salato”. Not the cloak thing ofc, what’s underneath that since he really looks surprisingly good in pastel blues, not to mention I get to see some ankle there aksnfafga.

Number 7. That nice nautical attire he got in “Macchia Nera e la vacanza a scacchi”. Love it, esp the checkered pants.

Number 6. Whatever steampunk Victorian combo he's wearing in the “Il giro dei mondi in 80 giorni (siderali)”. Not to mention he looks grittier than the usual with that 5 o’clock shadow beard he got and I’m *lip-biting emoji*.

Number 5. The u hM,.., the hh h.,. tH A t! Hawaiian pink shirt from “Topolino e il vortice di luce”. It’s not about the shirt itself but rather because Pastrovicchio, sir, this is both a crime against fashion and my already flawed self-control, help girl afhfafkaj.

Number 4.  The smart casual look from “Macchia Nera e il buon vicinato”.  Also, I'd like to publicly thank Mr. Cavazzano for each and every time he has shown PB with his sleeves rolled up because it makes me go AWOOGA without fail sksksk.

Number 2. Those grey and purple gessati from “Pippo Reporter”. Classy stylish bad bitch makes me yearning to do unspeakable things to him on and behind his nice office desk <3.

Number 3. The tucked-in white rugby shirt with black joggers from “Topolino e il Doppio Segreto di Macchia Nera”. Basically every time he wears any piece of white clothing it just sends me, also this story has a special place in my cold shriveled heart uwu.

Number 1. The iconic black submarine jumper from “Darkenblot”. Such flattering minimalism. Flawless. Amazing Thottilicious. Not a casualty it's the outfit I always draw him with for it awakens something in me I can't yet describe but god it makes me go GONGAGA every damn time asmdahsjkfgag.

Also, have an extra list because I’m weak to men in armor and I'm even weaker when it's Macchia 🙈😩💦

Number 5. The Gran-Khan-Gnar costume from “Star Top”. I like the uhh,,. cloak’s color, that uh.. sort of sci-fi anatomical cuirass and the furry neck warmer..? I don’t know guys, it doesn’t really spark with joy but I didn’t want to ignore it either so it’s here I guess 🤷‍♀️

Number 4. The Meteor Master suit of armor from “Donald Quest”. It’s tacky and over the top, but gold suits him and the spike game going on is too strong to ignore. Also it got that fantasy Viking vibes that I simply cannot resist to <3c.

Number 3. The black Roman centurion lorica from “Topolinix”. HE’S SHOWING SOME SKIN AND I’M LOOKING DIRECTLY AT IT 👀👀👀

Number 2. The exoskeleton he wears in the “Darkenblot saga”. If you thought he just got buff like that, then sorry but you have to face the truth and suffer with me :’).

Number 1. His living shadow form in the “Wizards of Mickey” saga. Technically it isn't really an armor, but have you seen the absolute edge? These abs? Pure monsterfucker bait and I'm here for it uwu.

BTW as y’all may have noticed, I didn’t translate the titles because today I woke up and chose violence against americentrism, but I still put the INDUCKS link so y’all can check the stories out for I am not a complete bastard ✌

Anyways, I hope my little self-indulgent gush about my man’s fashion choices (or lack of lmao) has quenched your curiosity and again tènkius so much for your ask! 🖤🖤

[hellospunkiebrewster]

Duel and Rest of Book Theories - Desire and Decorum

No one really asked for this but now that I’ve had some time to calm down and think on it, here’s my thoughts. Perhaps it’s a little self indulgent, but I’ll try to defend my points with things we already know. The theory is after the cut.

There was sabotage, I just don’t think (or hope) it was our LIs gun. PB wouldn’t draw attention to the possibility of sabotage without it meaning something but I also don’t think they’d be so obvious. Perhaps the sabotage didn’t even occur on the dueling grounds, but before when Gideon was loading the Duke’s pistol.

He tells the Duke to cause a distraction, implying that he’d sabotage our LI so that the Duke would win. This would explain the Duke’s surprised expression both when Gideon broke up the argument and when our LI asked if we could expect an honorable fight. He’s surprised initially because sabotaging a pistol by removing the charge or other means would take some time back in those days. They still used powder and pellets. He’s surprised again when our LI asked because he does think there’s sabotage going on, and is thrown that our LI might expect it because he personally did nothing outside of his normal behavior and he didn’t even notice Gideon doing anything shady.

I do not think the guns were swapped. I think that was artistic liberty/perspective. Sinclaire has touched the pistol in every playthrough after it is “inspected” and would notice if the gun was different than the one that was a family heirloom, hanging on his sitting room, that he probably saw everyday he was home and maintained himself for years. He gets it back from Gideon if he’s your LI’s second and holds it when he’s getting ready for the duel, he would notice.

One shot echoes over the field. One. Unless their timing was perfect, the shots would not overlap enough to sound like one.

There’s smoke that we’re waiting to clear. I imagine our eyes are trained on our LI so we know if they are ok and 20 paces/10 yards is far enough that we can’t properly see both of them. The Duke is probably in our periphery. We are waiting for the smoke from our LIs shot to clear. A pistol would have a generous plume of smoke in these days, but not enough to obscure the entire length of the dueling ground.

I think our LI is probably victorious. They at least injure the Duke.

Now on to the whys. Why would Gideon sabotage his friend?

He’s grown tired of the Duke and Tristan Richards has outlived his importance to his plan to incite discord and feed flames of revolution in England.

He needed the Duke to sponsor his return to England, so he could get into the nobility for his plots.

Associating with him can’t be good for amassing supporters as Richards stands for the very thing revolutionary rhetoric would wish to get rid of.

Drawing unnecessary attention to the Duke and his side of the duel is simply not favorable to being able to remain in England. Sabotaging our LI’s pistol would do that. Remember, Gideon Payne was living in exile in France before he joined up with the Duke because he had incited riot and rebellion at the Bristol Bridge. He fled prosecution before his sentence could be enforced. With the Duke gone he would need the attention off of him. Sabotaging the Duke would do just that and call our LI and specifically Mr. Sinclaire’s honor into question as he’s involved in the duel in all playthroughs either as the Second or the Principle.

This leaves Gideon Payne free of his “master” to disappear and do as he pleases from the shadows. He couldn’t do that before because the Duke is insufferable with probably no friends and relished having someone who seemed loyal so he kept him close. I don’t think PB gave us that “dog on a leash” and other such imagery without wanting to draw attention to it.

Gideon Payne is a master manipulator who wants to sew discord in the country. He’s allowed the Duke to think he would benefit from his return when in reality he’s had no intention on delivering on his promises to him and the duel presents the perfect opportunity to be able to fly solo.

So what does this mean?

Plus side: we’re free from the engagement! Even if the Duke isn’t killed, although I hope he is, our LI has the ability to stop the challenge when they think the disagreement has been satisfied. If they draw first blood, they could say they won.

The sabotage of the Duke’s pistol draws suspicion of foul play to the LI or the second. Mr. Sinclaire has a vested interest in the Duke going down and he’s involved in everyone’s playthrough. He could be accused of tampering, if he’s the second, or telling Mr. Harper to tamper, if he’s the principle.

We’ll need to unveil not just dirt on the Duke but Gideon Payne’s plot to clear our LI/Mr. Sinclaire’s name. Discovering Gideon Payne’s plans will show that he’s wanted to get rid of the Duke from the beginning of their alliance. The writers talked about a betrayal, this could be it, but I have other theories too.

Here’s where I get real crazy. Kind of outlandish but still possible theory if PB really want to blow our minds:

Harry. Our brother is alive. He detested the vitriol that was laced in his childhood, due to animosity between Henrietta and Vincent, and the pressure he felt to take over Edgewater. As a result, nobility and peerage leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

In the first clue we find, MC says the seal at the bottom looks familiar but she can’t place it. This obviously is meant to draw us to the Duke since MC would’ve seen his crest but might not remember it off hand because she wasn’t educated on peerage like a child born into nobility would have been.

Edgewater has a complimentary title. Viscount Fordale. We learn this from our father’s letters and MC specifically points it out. “Oh this is what my father went by before he became Earl.”

Harry would have gone by this title and would have used its seal. This is the seal on the bulletin/notice that the MC finds after the fight with the highwaymen. And is the one clue I believe we all have. I think this indicates that the vaguely familiar seal is very important to who is behind this. MC could’ve seen this seal on her father’s letters to her mother or just around Edgewater at some point.

Harry being alive and being a revolutionary is the betrayal the writers are talking about and not Gideon Payne. I believe they imply it’s a betrayal against us and our friends. He faked his own death and took up with these people a year ago. He made his family think he was dead, had everyone who cared about him bury and empty casket, and allowed Annabelle to mourn him.

Long story short, we’ve got clues to collect, but we’ll probably be (mostly) done with Puke Trashcan Bitchards.

[cosmicaldeity]

so my current active universes of OCs would be

my fursonas in their furry world. literally just that. my opossum (PB), my tiger (TK) and my bee (BZ) + a friend's fursona and all their shenanigans

mythological polycule. modern times setting. some mythology-based characters (medusa, a harpy, a faun and a minotaur) that are soooo in love with each other. super self-indulgent in that it's basically all fluff.

Ocean Curse. fantasy, gay pirates, a lot sad shit, a lot of cool shit, death and being brought back to life, my little oceanic self-indulgent treat. there's like a shit ton of characters here and most are still being developed so when i make a proper introduction i'll talk more about them

Lynx's universe. sci-fi, basically my trauma porn story which i will probably never draw not talk anything about

[jamesginortonblog]

Americans might not recognize James Norton without his vicar’s collar. The British actor rose to prominence stateside for his portrayal of Sidney Chambers, a vicar turned amateur detective in 1950s Cambridgeshire on Grantchester on PBS (originally on ITV in the U.K.). Now on AMC’s new mini-series McMafia, Norton is trading in his cleric’s robes for designer business suits and a place on the wrong side of the law as Alex Godman, the son of a Russian crime family who finds himself dragged back into the family business when tragedy strikes. If you think it sounds an awful lot like The Godfather, only set in the present day and with Russian mobsters, you’d be right. Norton says he drew upon Michael Corleone and that epic series for inspiration throughout filming. But McMafia is also a lot more prescient for modern-day audiences, telling the tale of shadowy, corrupt global organizations that trade in blood money and influence driven by avarice and a lust for power. Produced by AMC and BBC, the series is based on Misha Glenny’s nonfiction book of the same name and created by Hossein Amini (Drive) and James Watkins (The Woman in Black). It also stars David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum, Good Night, and Good Luck), Juliet Rylance (The Knick, Frances Ha),  and a wide-reaching international cast that includes Aleksey Serebryakov (The Method, Leviathan), and Mariya Shukshina (Yolki 3, Terrorist Ivanona).

Ahead of its Feb. 26 premiere on AMC (10 p.m.), EW called up Norton to get the rundown on playing the reluctant heir to a mafia family, why he’s fascinated by stories of the criminal underworld, and what it was like making a series that felt almost prophetic in light of recent world events.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You’ve done several lengthier mini-series, including War and Peace and Death Comes to Pemberley – what is it about mini-series that keep you coming back for more? JAMES NORTON: The U.K., in recent times, has really nailed that mini-series format. It wasn’t an active choice. There are quite a lot of those in this country, and there are some fantastic writers and directors of the mini-series. We’ve kind of nailed the medium. From the point of a view of an actor and a storyteller, it is wonderful to have six hours to really settle into that headspace and flex the muscles…[Co-creator] James [Watkins] was always saying we’re going to make an 8-hour movie. It’s wonderful to have six or eight hours because you’re so much more in control, and you have time to really indulge in those moments, which in the movies would probably end up on the cutting room floor…As an actor, I’ve never felt so confident. That’s a really empowering feeling when you feel you know someone so well you can put them in any situation you like and you know ostensibly how they would react.

What was it specifically about McMafia that drew you in? The world of the mafia is really compelling. We’re all into it and series like The Sopranos and The Godfather and things. There’s something about the modern-day mafia, which Misha Glenny’s book so clearly portrays as something very different, but it kind of maintains whatever it is — that compelling, anarchic nature. There’s a certain romance attached to the mafia in the past. What differentiated our story is that that romance is gone and it’s a very brutal, financial money-driven world, which lacks the honor and the sort of family which those previous portrayals have focused in on. I’ve never felt like a show has been so much on the zeitgeist. We were virtually on set and the [rumored] collusion between the White House and the Kremlin was breaking – we felt like we were on a show which was, in some ways, prophetic. So, that was a huge draw. As far as the character, he’s a gift — because he has this wonderful complex mix of conflict and contradiction. You never quite know where he stands. I don’t think he quite knows where he stands. He’s constantly explaining to himself that his motivation is honorable and worthy, and it’s all about family and protecting his family and his girlfriend who he loves. Of course, like the most interesting characters, like Michael Corleone in The Godfather or Walter White in Breaking Bad, there is a whole myriad of motivations, whilst the audience perhaps are more aware. Alex is kind of the last to realize he’s being seduced and he’s in it for other reasons — less worthy reasons of avarice, greed, [and] out for power, revenge. To have all those to play with and never quite land on an answer is the kind of role I love. It’s true to life. People never really fundamentally know themselves – they try and that’s what life is about, trying to know and understand yourself, but never quite getting there. Hossein and James wrote a beautiful, textured character in that regard. We never ever lost interest in his journey and his motivation. We would constantly spend lots of time on set mining where he is in the story, why he’s choosing this, how much he’s aware of his true motivation. When you are able to mine a character to that extent, it’s really a testament to how wonderfully written they are, and how much of a joy it is to play for sure.

This series has strong Godfather vibes with its tale of the son of a crime family trying to go straight and getting pulled back in because of family tragedy – was that something you actively discussed on set or that played a hand in your research? For sure. We definitely had our main resources. The John Williams book, Augustus, was also a resource which we talked about. James recommended it because it’s about a young man who very slyly and quietly and innocuously manipulates his way to the top of the pile. Michael Corleone was definitely a source, just because it has a similar-ish structure to The Godfather story and a bit like what I was alluding to before about motivation. What is it that’s driving Michael’s demise into the underworld of corruption? He’s constantly saying it’s “family, family, family,” but early on, somewhere in Part Two when he kills his brother, you realize it’s gone way beyond just protecting family because it’s come down to killing family. We definitely drew on him. And we had other resources — we had Gomorrah, the Italian [film], as far as the authenticity and grittiness of the mafia we wanted to portray. We wanted to show the cost of these incredibly lavish lifestyles, what it is which facilitates that type of lifestyle…Michael Corleone was definitely the most useful for tracking the conflict of the worthy, honorable motivations and the self-interested greed and avarice and power motivation. There’s no one else who does that journey better I don’t think. Perhaps Walter White is the next one, but both of them were certainly kind of the focus for us.

What do you make of the timing of this series, given the heightened presence of Russians and Russian crime in the news of late?   It’s been very, very exciting…What’s wonderful about a show like McMafia is it really has an incredibly real and intact social conscience. It really felt like it mattered. Since the conception of the show and then the making of it, the amount of conversation around corruption and transparency has exploded. The further we move into a populist, right world, which seems to be afflicting many, many countries right now, the power is taken away from the people and the government and put in the hands of the corporations. If you don’t have legislation in place to control those corporations, McMafia happens. Not only is it a sort of warning sign to people, saying “This is what corruption at this level will look like if we don’t make a real stand against it and lobby government, particularly in America and the U.K., to stand up against it,” it also gives them a chance to see what at this point in time that state-level corruption looks like. It’s really hard if you’re not in the world of finance to understand a lot of jargon. Yet, you want to, because you know how important it is. So sitting down and reading all the speculation about the collusion between Trump and Putin, you read articles about these types of things, and it’s quite hard to really engage and follow. What we’ve hopefully done is made a drama which is accessible. It allows people to have a little look behind the curtain to see what this kind of corruption looks like. A show like this, it couldn’t be more timely. It feels great to be part of the conversation. The more we can be a catalyst for that very, very important conversation about transparency and corruption the better.

Did you learn Russian for the role?   I didn’t learn Russian, per se. I only learned it phonetically…It’s quite challenging learning a language like that, which has very little crossover with the Western romantic languages. The sound is so different, so I had to spend a long time learning it by rote, phonetically, endless repetition. Lots of walking around London streets mumbling to myself. It was a wonderful part of the preparation to be able to express yourself in Russian and other languages. It really tapped into something important in Alex. His relationship with Russia is two-fold and very polarized. On the one hand, he’s compelled by it and that’s why he goes to Systema classes, which I did. I went and learned this very bizarre, Russian martial art, which is fascinating to get into the sort of inner psyche and what it is to be Russian. We decided he reads Dostoyevsky and he’s always compelled by his Russianness. But he’s also afraid of it because he feels like a lot of the world has this misconception that being Russian you have a predisposition towards corruption, which is absurd, but because of the world, currently, the word Russian and corruption are often used in the same sentence. Alex is afraid of his Russianness, and whether or not it’s that which is his vulnerability. Is it that which makes him more disposed to being a gangster in the first place? Is it in his Russian genes? So to tap into that was really exciting, and the language was definitely one way in.

How much research or interaction did you have with real members of organized crime? As far as meeting proper gangsters, we had Misha Glenny. He basically knows every gangster under the sun — he wrote the original piece of nonfiction, the book McMafia. He interviews masses of people in organized crime and so he introduced James and Hoss in the writers’ room to some pretty intense, shady characters. I did meet a couple in Zagreb — some interesting characters who I was later told were pretty high up in businesses which perhaps aren’t whiter than white. But I didn’t ask them any questions because my general gangster acumen was pretty shallow. I’m definitely still the actor, not the gangster.

The series is so international, from its exotic locales to its diverse cast. What was that experience like? It was such a joyous job to film, partly because we had so many different, international actors coming on set and they all had different energies and different approaches to the craft. It was a really, truly international gig, more so than anything else I’ve ever done and I’m not sure many other shows can claim to have been shot in 12 different countries, with 150 different actors in massively different countries. It was wonderful to have Merab Ninidze, who was the Georgian actor who played Vadim, and Aleksey Serebryakov, who was Russian, and their energies were so different, yet they were speaking Russian to each other. Then you had the Israelis and the Brits. It was magic in that effect. Most of it was filmed in Croatia, U.K., London, and then Serbia and a bit of Slovenia, but that was wonderful to be able to explore…The Dalmatian coast is just ridiculous. There were a couple of lunches I remember where it was beautiful sun; we were outside standing on a villa; and most of the crew sacked off lunch in order to take off their clothes and swim at the lunch break. A couple of times I was able to join them. It’s rare that you get such extraordinary locations to be able to jump in the water. It was so glamorous because we had yachts and beautiful villas. We filmed in one location in Croatia which was [authoritarian Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz] Tito’s old villa — lavish beyond lavish, quite dark because it was paid for with blood money and dirty money, but it was extraordinarily beautiful and again, how often do you spend shooting days jumping in the water and going for a swim outside this sensational villa in Croatia? It’s pretty special.

Additionally, it seemed like you often were shooting in places like the Victoria and Albert Museum or the British Museum – what was that experience like as a Brit? I’m a Londoner and I love this city, and to show London in all its glory really was wonderful. By definition when you show a tale of gangsters and very wealthy people you get to show their incredibly lavish lifestyle. As I said, we were very keen to show the other end of the spectrum and the cost of what it is to facilitate that kind of lifestyle. For every day in the V&A, we had other scenes that were, on the whole, more shocking scenes, but it was great to show London in all its glory.

[mogagarin]

Interpol (self-titled): 'Success' and 'Memory Serves'

Album: Interpol (self-titled), 2010

(bouncing back to Matador, from Capitol's Our Love to Admire release in 2007)

I'm starting with this album because I think it gets very unfairly overlooked.  As far as I can see, critics (and perhaps many fans?), listened to it way too quick, and didn't let it sink it.  Mea culpa: I was a fan who initially 'didn't get it' in the first few listens.  I think I was expecting OLTA II.  I'm pretty astounded at my past self, because now Interpol ranks up at either second equal (on a good day) or a healthy third favourite out of all their albums, and so therefore I'm out to punt for it, bigtime.

Since I'm starting with this album, there's gonna be a lot of context as I build my methodology, and get my keywords straight.  Other entries are gonna rely upon a bunch o'stuff I say here, but I'll try to cross-reference when it's helpful to illustrate a point.

'Success'

Instrumentation: there's a deceptively gentle, building start to this song.  Mind you, against gentleness is the fact that the kick drum is so subsonic, and I kid myself to think it's mimicking an irregular heartbeat (sort of fits the theme of the lyrics).  Piano notes in the left channel, and guitar notes pick out the peaks and strung-along troughs of this ECG.  Kick drum moves from gorgeously subsonic low tone (on vinyl, SO GOOD) to a more detailed high tone, the slap of the beater hitting the drum skin now defined, matching the high-tone brightness of the guitar (single notes in left channel, strum in right).  Still, there's a lot of space - Sam's in first gear, Daniel's coaxing, taking his time - everything is languid, and Paul's vocals lilt, until "good eye”: these promising words undercut by a slightly sinister confessional-style delivery.

But the song reveals its true self at the 1:09 mark – there's a subtle, urgent and restrained fury to the way the chaps start to play at from this point: a lot of great 'attack' in where the beats land, where the strums shred.  Bass and drums are particularly well locked-in to each other (an Interpol calling card), and for the most part sit on the front of the 'one' beat (first, second and fourth are up-front, but third lags behind, calling you to dance).  The momentum and attitude of the instruments isn't frenzied, but it's no longer languid, and feels on the verge of violence, threat, or despair.  The contrast between the start versus the way the song unfolds has always struck me like the feeling of walking up to the edge of a cliff - view, view, view, vista, vista, vista THREAT!

There are terrifically attractive exceptions to that front of the 'one' beat though – bass (lovely high tone, some tube growl) syncopates in the verse, and the contrast of this dancing against front of the beat draws attention to both aspects.  Same goes for some of the lead guitar – where DK is putting the plucks is nicely counterpointed against the main driving rhythm.  Interpol are so skilled at this – it means you kinda get two or more rhythms for the price of one – you have the main beat, all monumental and driving and inescapable, but underneath you have eddies that pick out a double-beat alongside the main, or syncopate against it.  I think it's my favourite quality of theirs.  Even Paul is going all Sinatra on the vocal phrasing and placement – he croons, and then leans towards a staccato delivery at times, picking up on that shudder-flutter the rest of the band flirt with.  Rhythm guitar and lead guitar interweave, both alternating between the languid note-to-note slide heard in the initial opening guitar, and the staccato that matches that initial kick drum rhythm.  Sam mostly stays on the main driving beat, but adds a gorgeous flutter on high-hats and subtle double and triple hits (almost a shuffle, but with sticks instead of brushes) on the snare.  Where he places them is terrific – contrast his restrained, almost agonized beats in the verse against the straight-ahead release of the chorus.  YUM.  I'm sure I can detect some real subtle hand-claps in the last third (pretty much maelstrom outro) section, but that might just be my imagination :D

Arrangement/structure: Interpol is an album that features a lot of really simple, don't-fuck-with-it ideas – generally the arrangement/structure is one main riff, all the way through, which develops and mutates and evolves, gets more intense, but the band have sagely decided NOT to throw in an arbitrary bridge or startlingly different chorus for the sake of change.  Feels to me as if the songs are leading, or at least the musicians are thinking with their hearts and guts, rather than thinking with their heads and over-intellectualizing it.  The Interpol album songs tend to be organic: the songs feed upon themselves and grow, and the humans stay the fuck out of the way.  Interpol do both modes well, but I prefer the "one riff run into the ground" organic approach that appears in 'Success'.  However, there is a delicate difference between verse and chorus here – just a subtle note change, but nothing as distracting as a key change.  This minor difference between the sections of the song echo the gorgeous counterpoint in beat/momentum, surge and shuffle, monoslab drive and syncopative flutter.  Ah, I love you guys.  There's also a sweet sweet attempt at a late bridge in that gorgeous waterfall guitar transition, around 3 min 5 sec (mostly left channel) - it's gorgeously transcendent, and runs the song out into a sort of negative space for me.

Lyrical content: I love the confessional tone to content/delivery of the vocals.  That initial promise of "good eye" is empty, even if meant with good intentions, and that reneged claim is backed up later with other half-truths, confessions, and appeals for help: "somebody make me say 'no, no, no'".  Paul (in interview, apparently with The Sun on September 10, 2010 - but I've been unable to track this down) talked about basing his lyrics on the topic of people "cracking up and losing the plot”, thanks to a "narcissistic impulse” (ie celebrities, believing their own hype, to the point of destroying themselves as they get more and more disengaged from reality and meaningful connection with others).

Overall context - vinyl version: holy shit the vinyl version of this will blow your speakers, if you have it over a certain volume (and well, it's Interpol, so of course you have it UP LOUD), and I can't think of a better way for speakers to go.  Great full-spectrum sound, from the crystalline trebles, through to lush mids, all the way through to those initial subsonic Sam beats in the opening.  Terrific vinyl transfer (for the whole album).

Overall context, feel/tone: a little risky to put something so dark and doomed right at the front of the album, but then again, it's fricken catchy AF - you want to dance, despite the doom.      I must admit, I almost always listen to albums on shuffle (on my beloved 160GB black iPod, all tracks 320+ bitrate!), when I'm not listening to vinyl, but whenever 'Success' comes along, it does a great job at telling me, "Hey.  I'm the first track.  Take me or leave me."  And I'm like, "OK, then.  BTW, I love you.”       Additionally, the monumental inescapable drive of the song makes me feel as though I'm in the head of someone who's spaced out, who feels stuck on one nihilistic track, a persona feeling divorced from reality.  Of course, I don't refer in any way, shape or form to Mr Paul Banks, which is why I say 'persona' – if you can't tell the difference between vocalist and the words, go read up on the literary device of a narrative persona.

'Memory Serves'

Instrumentation: This is gonna be a long, indulgent, rave of deep love :D  Bear with ...      Gorgeous textured reverb on the opening guitar (mainly right channel), play style leaning towards Dick Dale tremolo picking.  Interestingly enough, this is very slightly heralded in 'Success' - there's tremolo (in play style, not just pedal effect) guitar in the background (see 1 min 25 secs onwards, of mostly left-channel tremolo-played guitar of 'Success').  Back to 'Memory Serves': you might just be able to hear vocals panned over to the left channel - Paul picking out the notes, not pushing his voice beyond talking into singing - nicely spooky (and there are other vocal artefacts throughout this album too, pointing towards quite a "live" recording environment.  I adore how the band often decides to leave these "proofs of life" in the track, especially when it comes to pedal jack noise, or the sound of dirty pots [ie the switches and dials of a beloved pedal, as much a part of the character of sound produced as the main function of a pedal]).

But wow, when the vocals croak in - Paul's deliberately keeping his throat part-closed (vocal fry!), especially on the open vowels at the start of the bars (ie "It ... / I"), giving the impression of weariness, of a character that's given up, despite the content of the pleading that this voice gives in this song.  PB's backing vocal echoes off to the left - what is it with this album, and favouring the left?  The guitar has built up some great tension, and that is released so attractively in the vocals wearily spilling onto the track, the 60± bpm beat which lurches along.  It's hypnotic, and on the verge of tears.  Add pleading content, and you get a sexy AF tune.  I think I'm gonna conclude, after I analyse all the songs, that this album would be shaggable if it was a person :D

Beautifully resonant piano in the verse, picking out the chord notes - oh, how I'd love to hear that piano in that room: makes me wonder if they'd captured a bit of the studio room sound?  First verse has that catchy double-beat bass, almost like a waltz, locked into the double beat of the kick.  The tension is fed by a held bar (about 16 seconds - 4 x 4?), forcing you to anticipate a chorus, but guess what - VERSE.  Subverting expectations.  I've heard this song SO often (I think it's my second or third favourite song on the album, so yeah, I've thrashed it), and love the slow churn apocalyptic beauty of the climax, that I really WANT the chorus at this specific point, after the held bar.  But no, more teasing ....

The bass sheers away in the second verse; it's a little bit more spare, with less fidelity to the double beat of the kick.  It's an unusual choice - usually Interpol amp up the stakes and detail, slowly; but to move away from complexity into something minimal is odd, UNTIL you realise it's done to emphasise what's about to hit - oh yeah baby, it's gonna be a wall of sound, and you know it's coming.  How wonderfully this band build pressure, only to let the listener have release.  (Note also that Sam adds a small amount of further detail in what he's playing, up on the top half of the kit - slightly more snare hits, slightly more hi-hat taps - the converse of what Carlos is taking away with bass notes.  Cool as.)

And, of course, when this third verse comes in, it's more tense than the preceding two, and features a background swathe of a (slightly left-channel) guitar (am guessing Paul on rhythm - I bet you he does this live; must make mental note to check YewToob, and confirm/deny album-based speculation here) which rings out across its strings at the very start of these verse bars.  More is now at stake, and we listeners are told to anticipate incoming ...

Incoming!  Delicious, delicious chorus.  Sam ups the sibilance by cooking the hi-hat beat: it would be jazz, but he opts for a laboured and tortured feel, to suit the lyrics.  The resonant guitar gets more frenetic, choral, and vocal overdubs take the song into wall-of-sound land (my favourite country, I think).  The bass modulates into fifths and octaves, some simultaneously strummed/plucked, and alongside the vocal overdubs and extra guitar, there's just so much lush harmony.  But wait, it's gonna get even BETTER!  Keyboard/organ comes in at the end of the chorus, and carries on through the bridge to the next chorus ... and this is where the song has evolved to.  A good time for me to skip over to structure ...

Arrangement/structure:  There are some conscious decisions in this, such as the held bar, but it does feel to me as if the band lets the song lead them by the nose - we never go back to the verse.  It's done its job.  The song evolves into a new beast, as though the speaker has finished one set of thoughts (compromise, trying to keep a relationship going when it's already over), and finds himself stuck between special memories, and "I'll wait to find / it's over" (gorgeously effective enjambment: notice how one half of that thought is in the chorus, the second half falls in the bridge), to the relationship half-restarting: "why is it so hard to stay / a / way?"  There's a horrifically discordant guitar in the left can here, 2 min 27 secs, through for a few seconds - it's just under the lush harmonies, and Interpol never do anything out of tune.  But here it is, so effectively throwing a spanner in the works.  Doesn't matter if you don't notice it - you know something is wrong.  It's a flicker of pain.

I hate to rush this next part, as the song doesn't, but where we might expect a held bar, or a tease; the song evolves once again, at the transition from chorus to something new at 3 min 5 sec.  What happens isn't verse or chorus; it's stratospheric.  Carlos strums multiple strings, and pulls back to single notes and perhaps the odd fifth or octave, the vocals pile up into a choir of multiple choices and regrets (sorry if I'm getting purple in my prose here), and the whole tune soars again at 3 min 33 sec, the soaring really thickened by immense keyboard chords. 

This is really rather moving if you happen to be listening through headphones in public :D  Two climaxes, two releases, in one song.  Ecstasy, even if at 3 min 47 sec the band tries to corral the song back onto the ground by returning to the verse notes and structure.  4 min 2 sec is another liftoff, and this is where hints of outro start to appear (and I get morose that the song is mortal, and will end): see if you can pick up that slow arpeggio bright guitar - wholly DK in style, with his angular sparkiness - it appears just after this last liftoff, and it signals the last guitar you hear in the song; a sad, solo coda, which fades away, while PB's voice moves from a begging tone, to something resigned and uncaring, and the drum beat goes on.  Life goes on.

Lyrical content: I especially love the lines:

It would be no price to pay I only ever lie to make you smile All kinds of dust are gonna keep me satisfied But only at your place, only at your place ...

It reminds me of compromise, in a relationship, when it's already over.  Tragic and beautiful.

Thanks for bearing with me.  I'll put in more links soon, and a section that does justice to the overall album.  Next up: 'Summer Well' and 'Lights'.

Last week I was in Sydney, seeing a rocking gig, full of feels and musical expertise, and a band giving it full 100%.  Sigh :D (Note: written back in January, 2019 ... just now ported over this content from a blog, into Tumblr. While I'm swamped with wonderful writing jobs at the moment, this abandoned rave was playing on my mind ...)

[joya34blanco]

5 Tips for Creating Romantic Portraits of Couples

When I hear the word romantic, what comes to mind is a dreamy, poetic, passionate image, full of unspoken affection and sometimes, a touch of mystery. However, when it comes to romantic portraits of couples, I don’t want romantic to translate as cheesy or cliche. I think I would want something a little bit more artistic but definitely leaning more on the natural side.

I photograph weddings and often do an engagement shoot with the couple beforehand. For many of my couples, it’s their first time being photographed together in an intimate way where they are expected to be super affectionate and loving towards each other in public. I would feel very awkward if I were in their places. As part of my job, I aim to make the whole experience pain-free for them, hopefully, fun too, and still end up with some super romantic shots without being too corny, cliche or cheesy.

The warm-up

The first 15-20 minutes of the shoot is always a warm-up. I do give them some suggestions which you can find here; Tips for Taking More Natural Engagement Portraits. I then tell the couple I’m just going to start taking photos and that there is no pressure for anything to be perfect. Instead, we will have a warm-up to get used to the camera, to feeling really silly about it all and that they can laugh as much as they like at themselves and how silly they may feel.

They are given permission to feel awkward and laugh at themselves. I encourage them to be themselves and help them throw off any self-conscious feelings. I tell them to just laugh it all off, not to mind passers-by, and to ignore any stares. After all, they will never see those people again.

I take plenty of shots during the warm-up for them to get used to me but I’m always intentional in what I’m looking for – that fleeting glance at each other, the split-second expression, a warm squeeze and cuddle they allow themselves to have. It’s the in-between moments that are crucial to capture. It’s that moment when they start to relax into each other’s arms after the first few seconds of feeling rather tense or self-conscious.

I also talk to them a lot and give them directions as clearly as I possibly can. Reminding them that on the wedding day they will hardly see me at all so for the engagement shoot I ask them to indulge the camera. I thank them for being very amenable having me pretty much in their face during the entire photo session.

Here are my five tips for creating romantic portraits of couples.

#1 – Find or make the perfect light

Romantic light is a poetic light that evokes that cocooning feeling. Early morning and late afternoon light is soft and dream,y so if possible schedule your shoot during those windows. I try and avoid flat light or harsh overhead light which tends to kill any romantic ambience.

By flat light, I mean a light source which is directly in front of them so that it eliminates gradations of shadows and tones of light fall-off on the sides of their faces. Look for directional light, usually coming from the side or at an angle. To achieve this, position your couple in relation to the light, or move around yourself so that you are in the best place to capture the directional light.

If there is no such light, especially if the location is quite dark or the lights are all overhead, I tend to use my flash. Remember to bounce it so that there is directional light coming from the flash.  The important thing is to avoid flatness and create an atmosphere of light and shadow.

Window light is one of the best natural directional light sources available. However, don’t make your couple face the window as that becomes flat light on their faces. Instead, position them at an angle or sideways where there is some light on one side of their face and the other side has shadows.

#2 – Consider the location, background, or scenery

The location or setting has a lot to do with how romantic a picture turns out. Sunsets, although in danger of being cliche, especially sunset silhouettes, produce strong and striking images.

Don’t forget that you can leverage location and all the elements within the setting and not completely rely on light alone. For example, what season of the year is it? If it’s autumn, take advantage of the changing colors of the leaves, use the outfits of the season that make your couple feel warm and cozy – long boots, scarfs, hats.

If it’s winter use the whiteness of the snow or the bleak bare branches of the trees to create a romantic story for your couple. Go to a cafe and take pictures of your couple having a nice hot chocolate with marshmallows by the crackling fire to keep warm. If it’s summer, find the early and late light to avoid the harshness of the midday sun or use props such as parasols, flowers, balloons, kites to celebrate the warmth of the sunshine.

When you are shooting in the city, wait until that light hits the buildings or some iconic landmarks, or in the country, feature the soft rolling hills or vastness of the landscape. If you are shooting in the spring, look for cherry blossoms, maybe the first bud of the season, the first crack of ice or the last of the frost. The goal is to put your couples in context and leverage that to create their romantic story.

#3 – Hide and use layering in your shots

In this article on creative ways to improve your photography, I have written about layering. Layering is a great tool for romantic images. It lets you hide behind something and makes you invisible. The great thing about it is that it puts the viewer of the photo in your place as if they are just passing by and happen to catch a glimpse of the couple.

Layering is one of my favorite tricks and can even be done without you hiding from the couple. You can shoot in a completely open space and still utilize layering. Just grab something, put it in front of your lens and pretend that the camera is peeking through a gap. Layering can be as simple as that. I often pick up a leaf and use it as a layer between the camera and the couple. A bit of fabric, cellophane wrapped around the lens, a prism dangled in front of the lens to create a sun flare all add layers…the possibilities are endless.

#4 – Encourage contact between the couple

To me, the epitome of romantic photographs is when it evokes total privacy – there is no one there other than the couple. In normal portrait situations, I would want a connection between the viewer and the subject. Eye contact with the camera is great for that. It draws the viewer in and invites them to have a conversation with the image. However, for romantic portraits, I prefer no eye contact, except between the couple alone.

There is no one there sharing the moment with them; it is their very own special private time. The goal is to capture the scene as if it were true and real. There must be a strong connection between the couple, whether that be looking directly into each other’s eyes, hands touching, or whispering in each other’s ears, but absolutely no contact with anyone else. This is my personal opinion of course and I’m sure it’s different for other photographers.

#5 – Write a story in pictures

A picture that tells no story has no soul. With practically a limitless number of photos you can take with a digital camera, you can write a novel. Go to a session with a story in mind – a beginning, a middle, and an end. That is the way I approach every engagement shoot and wedding that I photograph.

These don’t have to be very specific pictures, that would depend on where you are. Rather, it’s more of a mindset. What would be your opening scene in a novel? Is your couple walking hand in hand, having a coffee, whispering sweet nothings, or reading a book? What happens in the middle of the story? Are they shopping in a market, admiring some landmarks, doing an activity they both love?

How does the story end? Do they walk away from you into a tunnel or cinema? Or do they sit and relax, put their feet up on a bench after a long day? Do they kiss? Or do they have a dramatic ending like a silhouette or looking out into the horizon with the sun fading or the moon rising?

Each couple has their own unique story. When you meet them you will get a feel of their personalities, their likes, and dislikes. Soon, you will be able to piece that story together and it will be like no other.

I hope you find the above tips helpful. Do share other tips for capturing romantic portraits of couples in the comment section below.

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The post 5 Tips for Creating Romantic Portraits of Couples by Lily Sawyer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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