It is great to be in the studio during the Winter season, escaping the poor and unpredictable weather. The studio allows you space and time to build a careful lighting setup that will meet your vision of the photoshoot.
Below are 3 examples from a recent photoshoot with an up and coming model to help build her portfolio to take to agencies. We did a handful of lighting setup changes throughout the shoot, along with outfit changes, to get a nice selection of images for the portfolio. A mix of Octabox, strip box, gridded beauty dish and reflectors helped create strong images showing the model’s potential.
I think I have probably completed my last urban shoot of the year now the weather is decidely more Autumnal. Cold, rain and wind are not a pleasant mix for a photoshoot. This was the first time I hve worked with Danielle, and we managed to find a small backstreet in Leicester which I had never used before. A quick bit of research on Google’s Street View helped me pick the location, as it appeared to have a few areas for possible backdrops within very short walking distance.
As it happens we were spoilt for choice and ran out of time before we ran out of street.
The image above is one of a set made during a model photoshoot in the Leicester studio. Gridded beauty dish and telephoto lens, plus another gridded light for 3/4 backlight. I have worked with Sara before, so we were able to hit the ground running and captured some lovely images from the session.
I did my second shoot with model Grace this week, trying out a few new lighting setups in the Leicester studio. Image above was shot against a bright red brick background which looked much better in black and white for this particular shot. Lit with a single Bowens head through a gridded beauty dish, my favourite lighting accessory.
I love the one-on-one focus and interraction with an individual photoshoot. It allows me time to get to know the client a bit more than I would with a small group family photoshoot.
I had the pleasure of recently photographing the same client in two different environments – the first in a lovely local park for an environmental photoshoot, and then again a couple of weeks later in the studio to create more dramatic imagery, which can only really be created in the studio where full control of lighting is possible.
1st image is from the studio photoshoot, lit with a single Bowens head through a gridded beauty dish.
2nd image is from the environmental photoshoot, lit with a single Bowens head through a brolly, powered by a TravelPak.
I did a test shoot recently in the studio with Grace, a new local model with a great look and who is very easy to work with. I used the opportunity to try out some different lighting setups with Octaboxes and gridded beauty dishes, whilst Grace was able to start building up her modelling portfolio.
We had a very successful couple of hours in the studio trying out a mixture of low and high key lighting with a variety of poses in a relaxed environment. I am looking forward to working with Grace again in the near future.
I spent a few hours last weekend testing out some new lighting setups with the wonderful model Nicole who I have worked with previously.
We had a great big room to use so we could really spread out and go to town on the lighting. The image above was one of my favourite from the session, and was a simple one light setup with a gridded beauty dish to control the light spill. This particular setup can be created in a very small room, including a living room in a home.
Second image is the same location and same background, but lit with multiple lights to give a completely different look. this lighting really makes Nicole’s skin glow.
This last image had a subtle change to the lighting to create a completely different look to the previous image.
A great session completed, and I am really looking forward to trying these lighting setups in photoshoots over the coming weeks.
Professional portrait photography is constantly changing and adapting to new trends. This means test shoots are vital to try out new lighting setups and ideas without the limitations that a client photo shoot brings.
Charlotte is an experienced model who responded to my casting call on a model website at the last minute, and we managed a very successful three hour studio shoot in Leicester creating a set of new and dynamic images which can be translated into exciting client shoots.
Many more test shoots in the pipeline this year.