Levitating Photographers

A while ago, I came across photographer named Natsumi Hayashi who took interesting photos where a person (her or one of her friends) would appear to be levitating. Her photos can be viewed on her blog here http://yowayowacamera.com/ . I decided to give it a shot and here are the results. I didn't have anyone around to press the shutter button for me so I used my Gorillapod and self-timer to get these shots.

F5.6, 1/1000s, Iso200.
Ok. No levitating here, I was just setting up the camera. I looked at the file later
and  thought that this silhouette was quite striking.

F5.6, 1/1000s, Iso200
I think this was my first attempt. Flying out the door.

F5.6, 1/1000s, Iso200
Now I'm just hovering...

F/5.6, 1/1000s, Iso1600
I was trying to imagine what I would look like floating in space. I tried this shot many times
to fix minor details I found after reviewing each shot. I still think there is a better way to compose this shot.

There were some difficulties when I was taking these shots:

• Getting the right pose - there were many aspects to think about like how to look like I was naturally floating there effortlessly. Minor details such as not looking in the right direction could weaken the illusion. The last photo's pose was hard to get into such a position and a little tiring attempting them.
• Doing it alone - as I mentioned, I did these alone and used myself as the subject. This meant focusing to where I was going to be and timing the pose as the photo was taken. I had to turn on the sounds for my camera which I don't usually do (This is for when I try to get candid shots).
• Clothes - I had to try and stop my clothes from fluttering too much as this can also weaken the illusion. Luckily I had a slightly tight shirt but I tucked it in on the non-viewable side to reduce flutter.

I gotta say though, that these photos were cool to do. My attempts were not as good as Hayashi-san's as she takes it to another level and heaps more creative. She has brought to the world her own unique style of photography which is quite striking to all viewers.