That Class of 2014 look.

Every now and then I get invited to give a seminar on lighting tecnniques  at the excellent Commercial Photography  program SCCC, (Seattle Central Community College).  This is the result of this year effort. The program gives me  access to some seriously Pro level equipment,  a whole class of  excellent assistants and... some seriously talented and hipster looking subjects. Profoto strobe mounted on a Soflighter, high on a  boom high on camera left. On camera ring flash for fill  and screen on the right to block some the light from a very  sunny Spring day. What I like in this shot? The triangular shape created by  the shadows that nicely frames the subjects.

Under the Spotlight.

These images were inspired by a recent portrait of Elizabeth Olsen appeared on W Magazine

I wanted to experiment with two studio set ups but maintaining the same overall atmosphere of the original image.  The top one is taken with a close and up Beauty dish, just off camera right.
The rapid fall off is obtained by adding a grid and  a diffuser. The second one uses a ring flash
as front fill light. The differences (softer light the first, punchier the second) are highlighted in post.
The model: up and coming actress Mariel Neto. Make up and styling Tiffany Parente Connors.