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Iris Avdic’s Playboy Cover Shot at STC Asia

Posted on: 12-9-2016 Posted in: Photography

A South Florida meteorologist suggested that we have a cold front passing through Miami. We beg to differ and instead are enjoying the heatwave of some scorching hot and breaking news that the STC Asia seminar first results are here!

There is nothing quite as rewarding than seeing our photography results on the printed page. Our Asia seminar’s Playboy pictorial by STC master photographer Aleš Bravničar and STC attendees as a support team just hit the newsstands; we are very proud to share some of the results with you.

You, the Asia seminar attendee, was there to witness the magic as it was happening. The Playboy cover was shot poolside, adding the simple green leaf for some extra mood and making sure that her hair was perfect. STC attendees Michael, Reggie and Hugo took turns holding the Sunbounce Sunswatter; Glenn made certain that we had the backlight for the much-needed rim lighting which emphasized the highlights. In front/camera left, we had a Hensel 120 Octa modifier equipped with a Hensel EF 1200 Mini strobe. The rest of the attendee group followed the action and held their breath.

The Cover

Aleš, who shot the cover with his Canon 5DS R 50.6 MP camera and Keith Milligan’s 70-200mm lens which may now have become a collector’s item and the results were outstanding.

januar-2017 Cover by Ales Bravnicar

Camera settings for the cover: Canon 5DS R. 1/100 Sec: f/2.8. ISO 50. Focal length: 140mm
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM

The bokeh-field was an important factor during this cover shoot. Aleš wanted the background to be slightly off focus which would leave non-cluttered space around the model for the text and masthead. The fading swimming pool and Balinese cabana in the background served beautifully for the cover template. It even ate my cell phone and me, as I learned by falling into the pool during the shoot that I was not waterproof. And now, three weeks after, I still wander around without a phone which supposedly is on its way. I kind of like the quiet.

Let’s dive a little deeper into this cover philosophy. Playboy did not want Aleš to shoot the cover image against specific colors including green, red and yellow. It’s a proven fact that some colors do not grab viewers’ attention as well as some others. It also depends on what time of the year the cover comes out. Yeah, a nice vivid reminder to Santa about how December in the world of Playboy is supposed to look. At least we got something to hang to for the long winter ahead.

Cover in making – Backstage Photo by Nelly Putnam

The Opening Layout

The opening layout is one of my and Aleš’s favorite. The black volcanic sand and Iris Avdic’s fair skin tone could not have been better matched. Some of the attendees did question her pale appearance, “Why did the editors choose a model without a popping suntan?” Here’s your answer: the color separation between her fair skin color and the volcanic ash is as orgasmic as it gets. Watch for those aftershocks!

Opening layout – Click to enlarge

Camera settings for the opening layout: DJI Zenmuze X5R. 1/60 Sec: f/10. ISO 100. Focal length: 30mm.
Lens: Zenmuze X5R 15mm f/1.7.

Alright, we have seen and created plenty of Playboy pictorials before, but how many of them get captured from the air by a drone? It was a pleasure to fly above and capture the ocean colliding with our beautiful model Iris. The white ocean and the jet black sand combination came together wonderfully, emphasizing a beauty that is tough to get in any other place in the world. Ales’ vision and choices of locations could not have been better.

cover-bts-bali Behind the scenes gif image by drone

What does this mean to you, the photographer, and should you run out and buy a drone? No, absolutely not. But, if you think for a second that a nice additional twist and pictorial variety in the editor’s eyes is not welcome, think again. Aleš did order his drone as soon he landed back in his homeland of Slovenia.

drone-bts Behind the scenes image by STC attendee Reggie Blatter

This announcement is just the beginning and the first publishing after our Asia seminar. The editors were so pleased with the results that they chose to push the originally scheduled pictorial to next year and use Aleš’s Asia feature instead. Now, that’s what we call a win/win seminar, and there is more to come. Stay tuned for a full seminar summary coming soon.

~Jarmo Pohjaniemi