What are some tips for Solo Must Have NFBSN?

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What are some tips for Solo Must Have NFBSN?

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ABOVE: Rachel S. An excellent capture of the NFBSN pose. She’s standing neutrally, all of her body is shown, the camera is at the level of her navel, zoomed in. This image has been cropped for this FAQ

NFBSN stands for “Neutral full body standing nude”, a Must Have shot for Solo shoots. Customers enjoy seeing models standing nude with “nothing in the way”, especially being able to compare models.

What NFBSN requires

To meet the requirements of this Must Have;

  • Model standing neutrally
    • Feet shoulder-width apart; shoulders down; relaxed; gentle smile
  • Shot from a neutral perspective
    • Camera at model’s navel-level
    • ~70mm lens for stills
  • All of the model is included
    • Including all her toes, hair, fingers
    • But no more than that

There is a deep-dive SDLP just for the the NFBSN Must Have. An overview each Must Have is in the Must-haves in-brief SDLP.

Capturing NFBSN for Stills

Best-practise for capturing NFBSN for Stills;

  1. Select a contrasting background
    1. That is, a different colour / texture to the model herself
    2. This is not essential, but can be nice
  2. Pose the model
    1. If the room is small, have the model with her back to the wall (ie, shoulders and buttocks touching) – this helps increase the camera-to-model distance
    2. Have the model face in the direction where the camera can be farthest away from her
  3. For stills, zoom the camera in
    1. Up to 200mm zoom is acceptable, but 70mm is all that is necessary – anywhere between 70 and 200mm is fine.
    2. In limited circumstances with no other possible options, 50mm can be used (never preferred)
  4. Get in position
    1. Move backwards until something is in the way
    2. Crouch down, to get the camera at belly-button level of the model
    3. If a wall is in the way, pull the camera to the eye socket, have head against the wall to fully maximise the camera-to-model-distance
  5. Fill the frame with the model
    1. Portrait camera orientation
    2. Adjust zoom as necessary, but no wider than 70mm
  6. Direct the model to relax
  7. Capture a perfect NFBSN image

Clothing

All clothing should be removed for NFBSN, but there are some exceptions.

If a model has a grooming issue (for example a tattoo) that is required to remain hidden for the shoot, leaving clothing items on such as socks or an open shirt for the NFBSN Must Have is acceptable.

Leave a note in the PPCMS for editors, describing the reason why clothing has been left on.  The NFBSN Must Have will be marked as meeting requirements (assuming everything else is to spec).

ABOVE: Model Bianca B has tattoos on her arms and shoulder that need to remain hidden during all of her shoots. That means that leaving a shirt on for the NFBSN Must Have is acceptable. By tying up the bottom of the shirt, the SP has minimised the impact of the shirt on this pose. If the bottom of the top was left loose, the sides of the model’s hips and the tops of her thighs would be needlessly hidden, so customers would miss out on appealing details. Clothing that a model has to leave on should be positioned to cause as little an impact as possible.

If clothing items remain on a model’s body when the NFBSN shot is captured and there is no reason for them not to come off, that is a problem. In those instances, the Must Have would not be counted as being shot correctly.

Example

There’s no reason for model Elza to have her feet covered for NFBSN: she does not have any grooming issues or tattoos on her feet, and is barefoot within her Solo shoot. But for the NFBSN Must have for video, the model wore socks! This does not meet the requirements for the NFBSN Must Have – customers who find feet appealing (of whom we have many) find this frustrating.

ABOVE: Model Elza is wearing socks in this video NFBSN snippet – not cool! (Otherwise, this is a good NFBSN shot for video!)
ABOVE: Here, model Elza has her feet uncovered for Stills (and Video), we see there’s no reason to cover her feet for NFBSN.

Common problem: Model’s feet hidden

Historically, the most prevalent framing issue for the NFBSN Must Have is models standing on soft surfaces (beds, sofas etc), and the model’s feet sinking in to that surface and partly disappearing from view (bad).

ABOVE: No wonder model Myra looks so unhappy! While her pose is good for NFBSN, her feet have “sunk” into her bed meaning customers cannot see her toes. Foot fetishts keep us in business, let’s not piss them off! This attempt at Must Have NFBSN does not meet the requirements for this reason. The model should be happier, and the shot should be in portrait orientation (the dull walls and window-blind add no value to the image).
ABOVE: Model Karine’s SP had the same issue as Myra’s NFBSN: the soft mattress and bedding sinks down under the weight of the model’s feet, hiding them from view. This attempt at Must Have NFBSN does not meet the requirements for this reason. Her movements are excellent for NFBSN, however.

There are several workaround open to SPs.

Solution: Get the model to stand on a hard surface

Standing on the floor is always preferred for NFBSN, but sometimes the space in a shooting location does not allow for this. While it’s possible to use a wide-angle lens, this distorts the model (never acceptable). An absolute minimum for NFBSN for stills is a 50mm lens length, 70mm or greater is preferred.

ABOVE: Model Sadiya is standing on the floor. This is always preferred where possible.

Standing on a bed or sofa often helps get the addition distance from the camera needed to shoot at a longer lens length.

 

ABOVE: Some beds have a solid frame that the soft mattress and bedding sits on. Getting the model to stand on this for NFBSN image will avoid the issue of the model sinking into the covers and loosing her feet.
ABOVE: Why haven’t model Meagan K’s feet sunk into the bed – is she a ghost? 👻 No, the SP has hidden a large hardcover book just under the sheet! This evenly distributes the weight of the model and preventing “sinking” into the bedclothes and mattress. Kitchen chopping boards (wood) also work well for this. Such items should be hidden under the bedding, they would look out of place if visible.
ABOVE: The simplest solution is to position models to stand on the floor for the NFBSN Must Have, like Rachel S’s SP did.

Problem: Fitting all of the model in the frame

It can be difficult to get a full-body shot, if the setting of the shoot is in a small room. There are a few solutions to this (and one “anti-solution).

Anti-solution: Zoom out (not acceptable!)

It’s tempting to just zoom out to get full-body shots of the model – it’s just a flick of the wrist! While that works “technically” – all of the model is in the frame now – the model’s body is distorted. This does not give the customer a clear representation of the model, which is what they are seeking.

Solution: Move model to different part of location

There is no rule that the whole shoot needs to be in the one setting (in fact, it’s better if it’s not). If the main shoot setting does not offer suitable conditions to capture the NFBSN Must Have, move the model to a different room, hallway (or even private garden) to capture it there.

The assessment area Sexiness not continuity states that a Solo shoot should be a collection of loosely coupled moments, so there’s no need to justify why the model is suddenly in a new setting. So long as the new setting is on-paradigm, it’s fine.

Solution: SP stands in hallway / cupboard / other room

The SP should also consider what appropriate personal discomfort is suitable to get the Must Have correctly captured for example, sitting on top of a desk at the back of the room.

Positioning the camera outside the room can work well. For example, in the hallway, shooting through the open door, or even in a room opposite the room the model is in. Showing a door frame on the edges of the image is acceptable, if the NFBSN shot meets the other requirements.

ABOVE: If there isn’t enough room for the SP and model to stand in the same room and capture the Must Have NFBSN correctly, the SP should step into the hallway or even an adjacent room and capture the image through the doorway.

Problem: Incorrect camera height

For the NFBSN Must Have, the camera lens must be level with the model’s belly button. This ensures the most accurate and neutral depiction of the model’s physical form. If the camera is lower or higher, it distorts the perspective of the model’s body parts. That can be ok (in small amounts) in shoots in general, but does not meet the requirements for NFBSN.

ABOVE: The Shoot Producer has the camera positioned incorrectly for capturing NFBSN –  it’s at the model’s neck-level. Also, the SP has her back against the wall (good), but there’s room for the model to move further away from the Shoot Producer, so the SP can use a longer lens (resulting in less distortion). The activity might be good for video, but for stills, the model is not standing neutrally enough. This NFBSN shot would not meet the requirements.

 

ABOVE:  This is a great image for showing the fullness of model Elza’s breasts, and shooting up at models from the floor empowers the model in a good way. Images like this should be captured 💯 but in addition to the NFBSN Must Have, never instead of  – the image above does not meet the requirements for NFBSN.

Solution: get the camera at the correct height

The Shoot Producer kneeling is typically the best pose for this.

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See how well you know NFBSN!

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