Historical Fashion Shoot in Pink

On March 25th, I did a spring themed session with Natalie of Archaic Costumes & Designs.  This session was built around showing off her robe ala polonaise and lots of pink flowers.

For this session I used:

Photography Equipment	Props/Miscellaneous
Canon 5D Mark III EF24-70mm F2.8 lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix strobes 2 Cannon speed lights 72-inch umbrella with sock 43-inch ocatbox with grid Pink gels 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands 2 White fluffy backdrops Sandbags	2-foot posing cube 1.5 foot posing cube Flower arrangements Cardboard boxes Small table Pink tulle

The set up

The set up for this shoot was relatively simple.  I started with a white fluffy backdrop, then placed my cubes, table, and cardboard boxes to create levels.  I then covered this structure with a second white fluffy backdrop and draped pink tulle over that to create layers and dimension.  I then placed the flower arrangements. 

Once the set was complete, I focused on lighting.  To light the images, I used 4 lights (2 strobes and 2 speedlights).  I placed the first Phottix strobe with a 72-inch socked umbrella on a C-stand to my right. This light’s job is just to fill shadows and give the image a bright airy feel. The second strobe, with a 43-inch ocatbox, on a C-stand to my left.  I did not use a grid with the ocatbox because I was ok with light spread.  Once the main strobes were in place, I added two speed lights with pink gels pointed towards the background to give it a pink hue.

Camera Settings

For this session I used my husband camera, a Canon 5D Mark III with an EF 24-70mm F2.8 Lens. I was using my husband’s camera because I have been having some issues with sharp focus with my camera and wanted to see if it was me or the camera. I also wanted to see if shooting with a full frame would affect my shooting style as I’m thinking of up grading cameras at some point.  

For this shoot I used ISO 100 with an aperture of F6.3, and shutter speed of 1/200s.  My focal length ranged from 25mm to 70mm with most of the images being taken at 35mm.  

The Photos

While I build the sets a head of time, my complete vision for how I plan on shooting the session usually does not get until the model arrives on set.  In this case, the dress itself inspired me to think of Holland’s tulip fields and traditional 18^th century French fashion plates.  

This first image really reminds me of an old fashion plate, especially the pose because of the lean of the model, the point to the foot, and the angle of the arms.  I actually did not do a lot of editing to these images, as they were fairly good straight out of camera.  I did some basic adjustments to make the image pop and enhance the pink in the background.  I also smoothed out the transition between the two backdrops as well as cleaned up a few flyaway hairs. But overall, I did very minimal retouching.

In this second image I love the expression of the model, because it cool and calculating and a look of an aristocratic lady.  I can also see this image being a 18^th century style painting.   As you can see in this image the back speed lights did not fire, creating a grey background. I left the grey color as I felt it worked with the expression and allowed for some variety in the images. I did the same edits as in the previous image.

It is very rate you ever get to see the back of dress, but in this case both the model and I wanted to ensure you could see the back detail. So, we did a simple 3/4 side shot, that allows you to see some of the back of the dress.  The only thing I’m not fond of in this image is that it appears I shortened her arm closest to the camera. I will need to watch for this in the future as it is a simple posing fix. Again, I very simple edits to this image.

 

 

This final image is a bit more of an experimentation to move towards a more painterly image.  To achieve the look, I bumped up the clarity of the image, crushed the blacks in curves, and added an orange (highlights)/teal(shadows) split tone to the image.  I then applied a few radial gradients the first was a small one to the model’s face to highlight it. The second was a larger gradient to help create the illusion of a ray of light coming in from the left-hand side. The third was a reversal of the second gradient to help create vignettes to further add to the illusion of directional light. I did finish the image with my standard medium vignette. 

This was a fun session, and I really enjoyed working with Natalie one-on-one for a full-length session. I usually only get to work with her for short periods during D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoot meet ups or hall shots at conventions.  She does amazing sewing work, and just a fun person to work with.  You can see all the images from the session here: 18^th Century Maid.

Credits:

Model: Natalie (Instagram: @nat_archaic)

Dress:  Archaic Costumes & Designs

Set Design: Heather of Munchkin Photos (Instagram: @munckin_photos_by_heather)