Before jetting off for spring break, I had one final shoot to do beforehand. I had the option to wait until after the break, but that would have left me with only two days to plan and execute the most complicated shoot I've been assigned so far.
In my studio photo class, I've learned a lot about planning and executing shoots. I have to choose a day, find a model, consider styling and color, figure out a lighting setup, and then set it up by myself. Professionals usually have interns, stylists, and other members of a team helping them, but right now it's just me for the most part. This makes it a little stressful, but it also feels very rewarding to complete a shoot.
This specific assignment was to recreate a hot white shoot. If you look at any product on a website, it might have a bright white background. You'll see this a lot in e-commerce, and it isn't always done in Photoshop. I learned a specific setup to create this effect, and you can see it doodled out in the center of the image below.
What you're seeing there are lighting diagrams. These help me plan out what lights I'm using and where I'm putting them relative to myself and the model. The hot white shoot involved three lights. My key light was positioned at my right, shining down on my model like natural light would. The two other lights were to light my white background, they were boxed in by what are called V-flats. V-flats are basically huge pieces of poster board that are black on one side and white on the other and taped together to form a V shape. Their purpose was to keep the light that was lighting my background from interfering with my key light, which could look very strange. The V-flats had their black side out to prevent the spilling, and I had two fill lights pointing inside the white side so all that light would bounce back onto the white background.
This setup took me me quite a while to create by myself, because all the lights had to be assembled, placed, plugged in, weighed down, and connected to my camera. I made sure to arrive to the studio before my time slot officially began so I had enough time to set up before my model arrived. I shot with my beautiful friend Ausjulae (@ausjulaemyate on Instagram) and I'm so happy with how they turned out!
After working with the hot white setup, we decided to scale it back and do a few more shots with a simpler set up. I turned off my fill lights pointing at the backdrop, set up a black background, and re-positioned my key light to finish off the shoot!
Overall, I really enjoyed this shoot and while it probably had the most manual labor involved, it was a labor of love. I'm very satisfied with the outcome.
Thanks for reading!
xx, Hannah
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