Creating the First Altar Piece: Test Shots 1

To create the first altar piece I have created test shots using my Olympus E3 in the photographic studio with the ISO 400/500, F5 and a slow expose of between 1/20 and 1/30 as I was using a tripod.  I also underexposed by 2 stops to ensure that the black background was pure black.  The focal length was 28mm.  Here are the first test shot contact sheets - I shot in Black and White in RAW and jpg.

As can be seen from these shots I tried various poses as Mary Magdalene and used the idea of the skull and the books to depict memento mori and meditation and reflection on the her transformation.