1. A simple picture taken with a single Lupo 1200 Fresnel spotlight. Hard light is fabulous light.
It was a cold, dark and gloomy day on the 1st March but my delegate was chirpy. Having flown over from Holland the day before he had ample time to check out the room he was staying in. We were due to shoot there throughout the next day venturing out only to get lunch and to give my Broncolor Mobil a blast. The room was small, less than 4m x 4m and on first glance void of much opportunity for pictures.
I met Stina our model, and my delegate in a nearby Costa coffee and we went on to the shoot location together. My delegate had just purchased a Lupo 1200 spotlight from me and because of this I decided to put the Lupo to great use in our bijoux room. Undeterred by the seeming lack of opportunity I began to unravel the pictures locked in my mind. A challenge like this reveals all my techniques and ideas with far more clarity so this was going to be a great learning experience. We had exchanged mood boards earlier in the week and we were all aware of the task ahead.
Here are 30 of my pictures from the session:
2. There were a couple of mirrors for us to use.
3. We used the Lupo bounced into a silver reflector to slightly dapple the light for the first few images.
4. Shooting into the light gave clean bright images.
5. The room door made a great backdrop. I love Stina's skin tone in these pictures.
6. Keeping the session light and fun was an important part of capturing images with the right overtones.
7. Still working just with the Lupo we placed it beyond the bed but still in the room. Shooting into the light gave us a four stop exposure opportunity where each shot looked right. We had to choose the look we wanted.
8. The same lighting as above but opened up another stop gave us this clean sunny look even though it was a dull grey day.
9. I shot this frame through the mirror on the opposite wall and increased the exposure yet another stop.
10. Stina is bright, fun and full of life. A perfect model for a training session like this.
11. The Lupo created that beautiful kick light and rimmed Stina's body perfectly.
12. While we were still shooting day makeup I decided to capture this close up with my 100mm macro lens for an art project I'm currently working on.
13. We moved the Lupo to the other side of the room and shot alongside it for a few frames.
14. The mirror is like a magnet for me. I directed Stina so her pose fitted the mirror shape.
15. Keeping the pictures bright made the shoot work so well. I've been working for some time now on the exposures and techniques needed to create these saleable shots in all lights and spaces.
16. I love the spontenaity of this shot. When shooting using continuous light we could both capture the moments from different angles without stealing each others flash. The Lupo put sun into the room too. When we switched it off to re-rig, the room was plunged into a merky gloom and the lightness of the moment was lost. No amount of flash or modeling light could replace the lift that the Lupo gave us all.
17. Next it was time to put the Lupo on the balcony and shine it back through the French doors. This really did make the room feel sunny.
18. Bright, white and beautiful.
19.
20. It's hard to imagine the blast of icy air that came through those doors. Stina was so up for it and didn't complain once. The Lupo is still working hard on the balcony to convince us it is sunny.
21. It was time for some evening wear shots and out came the red lipstick.
22. Another close up for my art project.
23. While we were waiting for the lift we grabbed some natural light shots.
24. Then I just had to fire up the Lupo. I love stainless steel, beautiful shapes and shadows.
25. The Lupo gave us advertising grade images ready for publication right from camera.
26. I panned the Lupo round and we shot a couple of frames against a Bristol backdrop.
27. The background here is the sky through the window. The crisp clean shadows provide the magic that makes this shot.
28. We shot with a beauty dish on my Bron Mobil kit out on the balcony to finish the session.
29. This corporate look was on our mood boards so we shot a few frames.
30. The session finished with brave Stina posing in the freezing air. The Bron kit was on 1/4 power, the day was that dark.
My thanks go to Stina Sanders for being such a sport and to my delegate for the fun and friendship we shared on this day of learning. If you would like to join me on a 1:1 shoot session please contact Blaise in the first instance 01275 853204. The weather is warmer now and most things are possible. We can shoot flash or continuous light, high key and low key boudoir (male or female), fashion, or environmental portrait. We can shoot in posh hotels or on the street, in private houses or woodland, or indeed a combination of locations. The choice is yours. You can bring a friend or colleague and share the cost of the day too.
From time to time my ‘Feminine Beauty’ workshops become available here. They book up quickly as demand usually outstrips supply. It’s a new genre for a new season.
You can also browse our range of upcoming photography training courses here.
Please feel free to comment below.
Hi Damien,
What exactly do you mean by a “four stop exposure opportunity”?
Regards,
Scott
Hi Scott,
I mean you could expose at f2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6 or f/8 and each shot would be different but correct. It comes about by a lighting strategy that I use to create high key and low key images from the same scene.
Kind regards, Damien.
This is a great set, too bad you’re not it Montreal. Would love to participate.
Hi Nick,
Montreal is on my Radar. Help me find shoot locations and that will secure your workshop place ;) Thanks for your kind words,
Damien.
brilliant model looked like she could achieve any look any time and as for going out into chilly air good on the girl.
the photos from this session are quite stunning, hard to believe its a one light shot, well done Damien as usual.
Thanks David.
Stina is as professional as models get. Totally committed to the image. Daylight balanced continuous light is the way forward and the Lupo 1200 is the best value for money lamp out there.
Kindest regards, Damien.
Damien, reaaly like your set of images too, especially 12 and 22. Nice!
For sure, this was a great training day for me with plenty of pace and variety of shooting with fun. When I arrived from The Netherlands, I was curious as to what we could really achieve the next day in this nice small room. I thought I being Punk’d by Damien;) Not at all, believe me it was more than perfect for a single Lupo light, giving us many advantages and most of all speed to create the mood we wanted to have for Stina’s look. From the 1:1 shoot with Damien, I can already see my own learning benefits as a result of that full day.
Thank you Damien and Stina!
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your kind words. If you can master the making of pictures with the minimum of kit in the least favourable conditions you can truly call yourself a photographer. You are now well on the way to having all the tools and skills you need to make it happen.
I really enjoy your company and I know your clients will too.
Kindest regards,
Damien.
Lovely set of images Damien, great to see more images using the Lupo, so pleased with that light, it goes to every shoot now :)
Wow – great shots as ever – fantastic use of space and the light as ever.
Top Job Damien!
Thanks Nick and Tony,
Your compliments mean a lot. The Lupo 1200 is my best lighting friend right now.
Kind regards, Damien.