Sparkling Beauty Lighting – Part 2
- Portrait Photographer's Handbook
- 500 Poses for Photographing Women
- 500 Poses for Photographing Men
- Posing for Portrait Photography: A Head-to-Toe Guide for Digital Photographers
- Doug Box's Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers
- Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers
- Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image
- 2013 Photographer's Market: The Most Trusted Guide to Selling Your Photography
- Best Business Practices for Photographers
- The Fast Track Photographer Business Plan: Build a Successful Photography Venture from the Ground Up
- Group Portrait Photography Handbook
- The Best of Family Portrait Photography: Professional Techniques and Images
- 500 Poses for Photographing Group Portraits
- Selling Your Photography: How to Make Money in New and Traditional Markets
- Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer
- Photographer's Survival Manual: A Legal Guide for Artists in the Digital Age
- Legal Handbook for Photographers: The Rights and Liabilities of Making Images
- Taking Stock: Make money in microstock creating photos that sell
- Going Pro: How to Make the Leap from Aspiring to Professional Photographer
More Drama
After finishing with the first model, I decided to take my approach a step further by making the whole look more dramatic. With this second model, I wanted the styling to be more edgy and less romantic. So I changed the quality of the lighting to match this change in creative direction.
For the key light, I replaced the OctoDome with the TritonFlash metal reflector to give more contrast to the light and add deeper shadows. When you work with a silver reflector as the main light shaper for your key light, you need to pay extra attention to where your shadows are falling on the model’s face. A deeper shadow calls more attention to itself, so you need to make sure you are happy with exactly where the shadows are falling.
Recommended Cameras:
Nikon D500 | Nikon D3300 | Canon EOS Rebel T5 | Sony A7RII | Canon 7D Mark II
For the backlight on the backdrop, I added a blue gel to turn the silver background into a blue one. You can use any color you wish and I recommend experimenting with mixing colors to get just the right color you want. Since I was going for a winter party look, I chose a cool blue gel.
Adding a Hair Light
I also added a hair light above and behind the model to further separate her from the background, as well as to minimize any color reflection from the background falling on the model’s shoulders. If your backdrop is too close to your model, you may see the color you are using on the background tinting the model's skin. On this hair light, I attached a small LiteDome to make sure the light was soft and not too intense.
Just for Fun
Whenever time allows, I like to throw in a fun shot just to see how it comes out. This time around, I had a feeling a bright red would be a nice compliment to the blue necklace and silver dress the model was wearing. So the makeup artist quickly gave the model a nice red lip color and I changed the gel on the backlight to red.
Sometimes you just never know what you'll end up liking best. It's always good to experiment!
Also Read: 23 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN PHOTOGRAPHY
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Written and photographed by Laura Tillinghast
To see more of Laura's work, visit her Pro Showcase page
For more information on attending one of Laura's upcoming workshops, click HERE.