Jason Tag Photography

I know what you’re going to say… and yes I have a fire extingusher just in case my head explodes….

Ok seriously.  When I started photographing nudes I thought that I would try something that I’ve always wanted to do but was too afraid to do.  Ever since that time, I’ve been writing about the experience and sharing what I’ve learned along the way.  All the while continuing to do it because it’s fun, interesting, and by golly I like photographing beautiful things.

But since reading the article on Univers d’ Artistes, I’m starting to see that the images I’m shooting and the words I’m using to talk about the art are powerful.  I never thought in a million years that my work could be considered powerful.  There is so much in our world that is ugly. so much hate and violence.  And there are so many people who are trying to control others.  there is so much that is negative in our world that I find going into the woods or onto a gorgeous beach and creating art is my way of coping.  It’s my way of reminding myself that this place is still beautiful and hopefully reminding others of that beauty as well.  but more than that, reminding us all that we are better than the petty arguments, better than the wars we wage, or the power we seek.  To be human is to be alive and to understand that our place in this world is not to control it, but to enjoy it.

This is why I shoot nudes and this is why I’ll keep shooting nudes.  I just hope that you’ll continue to enjoy the work

"Outdoor Nudes" by Jason Tag

I just finished editing my latest book and it’s now available on Lulu.com. It took me a few months of going back and forth before I was finally happy with the selection of images. There are also prints and calendars as well.

Jillian - Nov. 17 2008

On Monday, I had the privilege of shooting with a very talented and beautiful model named Jillian who was visiting Oahu.  When we initially talked about the shoot and locations she had mentioned shooting at a waterfall.  I was hesitant because I have spent a great deal of time hiking in the woods of Oahu trying to find a suitable waterfall and each time I try to find one, it never works out.  So we agreed on a stream location that she knew about.  So we set off on our adventure and it was an adventure.  we got turned around a few times and had to double back in order to find this super secret and extremely beautiful stream.

Jillian - Nov. 17 2008

Once we found it I knew it was going to be an amazing shoot.  we started off with some very basic shots on the stream bank.  playing in and around the trees and rocks.  It was raining and luckily JIllian brought an umbrella.  So I borrowed it to keep the camera dry while we shot which was an interesting way to shoot. I only wish I had a picture of myself holding the umbrella as we shot so I could see how silly I looked.

At one point during the shoot we found ourselves in the stream.  Jillian was posing on various rocks and I found myself knee deep in water just hoping that I could keep the camera from getting wet.  It was a real challenge because through out the shoot I felt that my mobility was stifled.  Normally I’m all over the place getting different angles of poses.  but because of the water I felt that I had to stay still.  Jillian did a lot to help me remember that I needed to get to different perspectives of each pose.

Jillian - Nov. 17 2008

All in all we both had a great time creating art under what can only be decribed as challenging conditions.

A few days ago I got a note from Chris St. James who is the european editor for Carrie Leigh’s NUDE magazine and is also in charge of the fine nude art collective blog, called “Univers d’Artistes”.  He was asking if He could write an article about me and the art that I’ve been creating.   I of course said “Sure, no problem”.  Besides it would be my first write-up and why would I have a problem with that.

Well, when I got to my desk this morning, I opened up my computer.  I checked my email and then logged in to Deviant Art to check messages and to catch up on what other artists have been up to over the weekend.   this is a fairly typical start to my day.  Well when I checked my messages I received another note from Chris St. James.  in his note he said that he had written the article and gave me a link to it.

I started to read the article and was floored by it.  I started to cry as I read it.  Not out of sadness but because I was overwhelmed by the power that the words had when they were next to the images.  So I have to give a big thank you to Chris St. James for making what helping to make today an amazing day.

Read the full article here

Ok so it’s not really “gear” per say but it is new.  Today I picked up a second battery for my camera.  It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time now.  The battery that came with the camera is very effecient and I never really thought twice about it before.  Except on one of my recent shoots the battery started to dwindle a little because I had already done two shots on the one charge.  About 2/3rds of the way through a third shoot the battery meter started warning me.  I got concerned but then I just turned off a few features and kept going.  the battery held up for the remainder of the shoot.  However I knew that I shouldn’t really push my luck like that since batteries are so cheap these days.

The new battery will really lighten the worries for me this weekend.  I have two photo shoots planned on the same day.  One is a standard two hour artistic shoot followed by a second shoot which promises to go for five or more hours.  So I felt it was time to take the plunge and get a second battery.

THe shoot I had planned for today got canceled for health reasons. I’m bummed but ultimately it’s ok because I’d rather have the model healthy than have her sick during the shoot and potentially get her even sicker. In the end it’s just a photo shoot, her health is more important. We’re rescheduling the shoot and hopefully she’ll be well enough to shoot next weekend.

In the meantime I have two shoots scheduled for next weekend so I’m now gearing up for those shoots.

Sarah E. Sept. 10 2008

Tomorrow’s shoot promises to be very cool!  It’s with Sarah,  a model I love working with.  She has such a laid back approach that makes quite fun to just play and see what we get.  On this particular shoot I’m looking at trying to get a few more shots that give us the bigger picture.  I also want to play with some ideas I’ve had using the body as landscape.  It should be a lot of fun.

I just updated the members area of the site with a shoot I did during the summer.  I had wanted to re-edit it first before posting it onto the site.  I finished it a few days ago and finally got the time to post it.  I hope you will enjoy the series as much as I did shooting it.

Enjoy!

As I’ve been going through the images from the shoot with Ella, one thing occurred to me.  I wished I’d got more wide shots.  More shots that give us more of a sense of the location and how the nude body fits into the grand scheme. Don’t get me wrong.  I love the close-up work that I did with Ella and I especially love the intimacy that she allowed me to have with her.  I guess what I’m talking about is the bigger picture.

So on my next shoot I want to play with that idea.  to see the nude body as a part of this amazing and beautiful world.  Which is why I started doing this in the first place.

During my shoot with Ella on Kauai, I still had some focusing trouble.  A problem I was hoping to fix.  I thought that the problem was that the shutter priority on my camera was turned on, allowing me to take a picture before the auto-focus had completed it job.  Well, during the shoot I figured out that the problem is not the shutter priority but the method I use to determine correct exposure settings!

Strange right!  Well here’s how it works.  On most digital cameras, when you push the shutter button halfway, the camera measures the light being recorded at the center of the lens as well as focusing on whatever happens to be in the center of the lens.  So my method of determining correct exposure is to point the center of the lens at the brightest part of the image and get my readings, then set the aperture and shutter speed to the desired exposure settings for those readings.  I then shift the lens in order to focus the lens.  All of this is done without releasing the shutter button.  So when I meter off of the sky, for instance, The camera focuses on the horizon line and sets the focus at infinity.  now when I shift the lens towards the subject of the photo, it comes out blurred! So I either need to change this practice of metering or amend my methods when I setup for a shot.

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1.) Press the shutter button halfway.
2.) Aim the center of the lens at the brightest part of the image.
3.) Set exposure settings and release the shutter button.
4.) Press the shutter button halfway again.
5.) Aim the center of the lens at my focal point without releasing the button
6.) Press the button fully to take the shot.

Step 4 and 5 are added steps to my original process but I’m hoping that this will work.  It wil take some practice to build this into my shooting but I’m sure that it will be fine once I feel comfortable with it