Light Shower

During my last model photography meetup, I wanted to experiment with hard studio lights in a dark environment. I wanted to work with the theme of the meetup, Goth/boudoir/BDSM, but I also wanted to do my own thing.

I always want to do my own thing, not just when it comes to photography.

Because I was allowed to choose what we did first, I suggested a spotlight with a long snoot, which would cast a harsh beam of directed light from the ceiling, and the model would have to position herself under it. This setup actually proved a challenge for both our model and the other photographers, who found it difficult to pose and capture without creating harsh shadows that would block out parts of our subject.

I also was challenged and only managed to capture three shots that I actually felt were any good. After a couple of minutes, we decided to remove the snoot and create a wider beam, but still stuck to one light source.

This was still a challenge but at least there was more light to work with.

I found that our model, Kelsey, was only illuminated from her head and shoulders, but the rest of her was shielded in shadow. I decided to take advantage of this challenge and suggested that Kelsey treat the light like a shower, that she was being bathed in water, rather than light.

"Look upward and act as though you're embracing warm water, as though you're rinsing yourself."

This is what she did:

Settings: 45mm; f/11; 1/180 sec; 100 ISO.

The original shot was captured in a portrait aspect, where I framed all of Kelsey from the knees, up. But of course her arms cast most of her body in darkness, with only random parts below the shoulders being illuminated.

So in editing, I cropped the image to a horizontal aspect and eliminated everything from her arms, down, save for some strands of her hair that caught the light. I converted the image from colour to black-and-white, softened the focus, and that's pretty much it.

I may share more photos from this meetup in a future Wordless Wednesday post but haven't decided, as many are NSFW. I also haven't finished going through the other photos.

But I love working with this type of light, which is a challenge that can be really rewarding when it turns out right.

Happy Friday!