Nier Duo 2Bx2P new update and some Before/After examples from the past!

Hello my Sweethearts!

It’s Wednesday, my Friends! Sweet-sweet midweek. How are you doing? How are you feeling?
I hope you already have awesome plans for the weekend and will spend it with joy.

Since we’re  working on Nier Duo photoshoot, I thought it would be great to reminisce about previous iterations of our 2B and 2P. I wanted to share before/after look of certain shots, to be precise to go a bit deeper in how they were made.

Let’s start with our 2B. The toughest part of this photoshoot was actually to get it done. In short the shoot was almost canceled the night before and I spent the whole night negotiating and trying to prevent it from happening. Since you’ve seen the project, I eventually managed to succeed. )
But it was a very close call.
The fun thing that I talked about back then was the fact that the model's lack of cooperation eventually led to a good character portrail. 2B is famously known for showing little emotions, because of her duty and android nature. At the time it very upset me, because we planned a lot for the photoshoot. That’s why it was called Nier Automata RE. It’s only later that I decided to let go of my depressed state and try to find something good. In the end everything worked out and I’m happy about it now. It also gave a good lesson on how to choose models and how to negotiate better in the future.

As you can see from “Base” and “Body” photos, the final image is a fusion of two similar shots. I loved the composition in the wider shot, because it gave much needed dynamic to the pose. But the only thing lacking was the positioning of the upper body part. It feels like 2B is just standing there waiting for something. Good thing we had several shots and one in particular had what was missing. The emotion and dynamic.
The tougher part was to get rid of all unnecessary elements in the shot, like white ceiling, softbox, Tao’s hands and restore part of the background “mosaic”.
This particular shot became the part of the final project only last year, because back than I didn’t have time to work on it. All I did was replace the upper body, erased hands from the dress and redraw body parts where they were blocked. Tao later cleaned everything up and finished the retouch. Technically it took 3,5 years to be finally ready. )


Second, but not least - 2P.
It was fun shoot and a pleasant experience. After all, we managed to find a huge chandelier and managed to use it as much as possible. And it’s great to work with the model, who is always curious to try new things.
The main problem of the project was our lack of experience with a new wide lens we managed to get our hands on. RF 16-35 f 2.8, for my friends who are curious. Basically we missed the focus a lot. )
Camera wanted to focus on the chandelier more rather than focusing on the model. Maybe the other reason was the weight of the camera. After a 3 hour shoot, 2,5 kg feels like a ton. And we have twig like hands. ) You’re just getting tired while trying to find the proper angle.
Also, chandeliers tend to move from the slightest touch, making it hard for the model to stay in balance.
2P photoshoot has two images, which got to the final roster, which were created by merging two shots together. In both shots, the upper body was not in focus. but since both of them are great shots, Tao needed to find and reattach the missing parts.
I’ll show you one of them, but I have a feeling I might shown it. COrrect me, if I’m wrong. But for my new friends here, it might be an interesting insight.


But, this post is not only about old photoshoots, I also wanted to share the new update of our current Nier Duo pt.2 project. In my previous post I shared the image, where 2B is looking at her counterpart 2P with joyful eyes. But what was on 2P’s face at that moment. Where she was looking at? What was she doing?
Here’s the other perspective. 2P was caught at the moment, when she was thinking about something close to her heart, but she was not ready to share. Cold light on her works like an instrument to show her absence in the scene.
I decided it would be fun to step down a bit from fashion magazine style and add a small plot. They are not fully rivals. but two being that understand each other and want to be closer to each other. Not just colleagues.
That’s why it was shot in dialogue manner. )

I hope you like another Nier Duo update and it was fun before/after read.

It was tough to write this post. I spent too much time than I planned. You know what I noticed? Whenever I have something that frustrates me or starts to frustrate, if I write it on paper all my bad feelings disappear. 2B reminded me of upsetting things, and I needed to write off all negative emotions and let go of them. Than erase everything and write proper post, which you’re reading. )

So, if you have thoughts that make you upset or mad, write them off. Of course, if they are things you can’t fix or it just can’t be fixed. It works only for a moment, but helps to move on. )
Have a great day! Please stay healthy and happy!