Marcus Isaac
- Feb 14, 2018
- 3 min read

Valentine's Day Photoshoot

Updated: Jul 27, 2018

Concept:

The theme and focus for this photoshoot was Valentines Day. My team and I wanted to create a look focusing on the color red, as well as involve creative lighting. The background was a red felt fabric that we pinned heart ornaments to. The fabric was purchased in a nearby shop, and the ornaments were purchased at Michaels Stores. Working with Versailles Boutique, we were able to use this beautifully designed, one of a kind, embroidered gown. The makeup was kept simple and elegant for this shoot. The model, Avadora, kept her poses sharp and refined. This enabled me to capture great images with defined lighting. As you’ll see in the final images below, the lighting played a key role in making our vision come to life, as it created the drama and depth we had envisioned.

Setup:

Key Light:

photo showing the main strobe light on the model, sitting on the chair

Main Light, Profoto D2, and a 27" Impact Lighting Beauty Dish

This here was a 4 strobe lighting setup. One key light and three background lights. The main light was positioned to the front right of the model, about 36" off center. Roughly 5' away from her and 10" above eye level. This was the only light used on her, so I needed just enough spread to be able spill onto her lower torso. I placed a grid on it to prevent the light from hitting too widespread onto the backdrop.

1st Background Light:

photo demonstrating the position of the 2nd light, which is adjacent to the model, but lighting up the red backdrop

1st Background Light, Profoto D2, and a 20" Impact Lighting Beauty Dish

This strobe was placed adjacent to the model. The center of the dish was pointing onto the backdrop, lighting up the ornaments directly behind her. The light also separates her from the backdrop. I had a grid on the dish so I could narrow the beam of light. I could have removed the grid and moved the dish closer to the backdrop to narrow the beam, but then the strobe and lightstand would have been in my camera view. Another option could have been to use a 7" reflector.

2nd Background Light:

this 2nd strobe is lighting more of the ornaments on the red backdrop, behind the model

2nd Background Light, Profoto B1, and Black Cinefoil

With this 2nd background light, I placed a piece of black Rosco Cinefoil to direct a very narrow beam of light onto the red heart ornament at the top of the backdrop. You can actually see how narrow the light was on the heart, in the top photo.

3rd Background Light:

3rd Background Light, Profoto B1, and Black Cinefoil

The 4th and final strobe, which also had a piece of black Rosco Cinefoil attached to it to narrow the beam of light onto another heart ornament on the backdrop. The cinefoil allows to not only narrow the light but also helps to create a more moody feeling to the final photo.

Final Looks

Camera Settings: 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 100

Equipment:

Nikon D850

Nikon-designed back-side illuminated (BSI) full-frame image sensor with no optical low-pass filter.
45.7 megapixels of extraordinary resolution, outstanding dynamic range & virtually no risk of moire.
Up to 9 fps continuous shooting at full resolution with full AF performance. See more.....

Profoto D2 1000Ws AirTTL Monolight

Adjustable in 1/10 f-stop increments over a 10 f-stop power range
Bursts up to 20 flashes per second with flash durations up to 1/63,000 of a second.
High Speed Sync upto 1/8,000s.
Shoot in TTL or manual mode. See more....