Night Queen

On September 28th, I did a session with May.  This session’s theme was designed around a Halloween headpiece I made a couple of years ago but never got to shoot.  The vibe of the overall shoot was dark queen.

For this session, I used:

Photography Equipment	Props/Miscellaneous
Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix Strobe 2 rectangular soft boxes grids 2 C-stands Sandbags Backdrop stand Fuzzy grey backdrop Spyder Color Checker Card A-clamps	2 trilevel plant stands Fake candles Goblets Fake flowers Black fabric Silver fabric Large Styrofoam block Dowel Rods Skulls Fake moss Dry ice

The set up

I tried to keep this setup simple in nature.  I started with the base of a fuzzy grey backdrop to which I added a “throne” made from a large Styrofoam block, some dowel rods, and a piece of black fabric.  To that I added two flower pot holders, then added candles, flowers, and empty goblets.  I completed the look with two stacks of skulls that I added some fake moss too.  The two empty goblets would eventually be filled with hot water to which I would add dry ice to make fog.  While I do have two small smoke machines using dry ice and hot water, it makes a lot of “smoke” quickly, and I don’t have to worry about hiding a smoke machine.  Also, the dry ice does not set off my smoke alarm like the smoke machine would do with the amount of fog I wanted.

For lighting, I used two 2x3 rectangular soft boxes with grids to control the spill of light. The first light (main light) was a little more than 45 degrees to my left, raised up, and pointed down at the model.  The second light (fill light) was to my right at about 45 degrees, with the light level and parallel to the floor.  As I mentioned, I was keeping this simple; thus, this is only a two-light setup.

Camera Settings

For the camera setting, I used ISO 100, with an aperture of F8 and a shutter speed of 1/125s.  My focal length varied from 24mm to 67mm, with the most common focal length being 24mm. 

The Photos

For all the images I used the same basic process of adjusting the white balance and exposure.  Then, I used the Spyder color checker to create the correct color profile for the image set and apply that profile across all the images.  The color checker helps ensure colors are correct and also helps ensure the skin tone is correct.  From there, I fine-tune the highlights and shadows.  Then I adjust the vibrancy and saturation of the colors.  I then apply a medium contrast tone curve, remove any grain, and finish all my images with a medium to heavy vignette.  In Photoshop, I cleaned up some minor distractions in the backdrop and got rid of any dirt.  I then used the Dodge & Burn plug-in from Retouch4me to smooth and even out the skin.  While I can do this myself, it is very labor intensive, and I’m not fond of doing the work by hand on more than about 10 images.  The plug helps me speed the process along, without quality loss.  I then go in and do minor tweaks to the dodge and burn layer if needed.

This first image is one of my favorites because it maintains the dark queen aesthetic but also has a slightly exotic and sexy feel to it.  The overall pose lends itself to the sexy feel of the image, with the model relaxed and leaning on one of the plant holders while directly looking into the camera.  For this image after applying the basic adjustments I added a few radial gradients to enhance the line of the model and add a little brightness to the model’s face.  I also added a slight blue color grade to the shadows to add a bit of depth to the image.    

This next image captures that “I’m not amused look and will probably have you executed later look.” It is the complete opposite of the “I feel cute look.”  I like this image because you can see some of the fog/smoke coming out of the goblets from the dry ice.  The only trick with dry ice is you have to work quickly if you are working by yourself once you drop the dry ice in the water.  What I should have done is place the camera on a tripod, set up the shot then place the dry ice in the water and trigger the camera via a remote.  Since I was shooting tethered, I could easily see what the resulting images were and easily adjust for the next round.  This image also has some blue added to the shadows to give them a bit of depth.  

I do like this final image because of the look on the model’s face as she offers the goblet that has smoke coming out of it.  I like this natural look using the dry ice over using the smoke machine to create the same effect.  Plus, in this case I did not have to hide a smoke machine.  The only downside was the model had to hold the goblet from its base instead of at the bowl because the boiling water made the bowl part too hot to hold for a long period of time.  

Final Thoughts:

The images from this session came out well and have a nice sexy and exotic edge to them without being overly sexy.  I need to remember when I worked with dry ice to make sure my assistant is available to help me with the water and the dry ice or use a try pod and have the camera pre-set so I’m not rushing back and forth too much.   While the smoke genie is great, and it lingers a bit longer than dry ice, it doesn’t always produce the amount of smoke I need for a shot without setting the smoke alarm off.  You can see all the images from the session here: Night Queen.

Credits:

Model: May (IG: @welcome_to_meryland)
Design & Headpiece: Heather (IG: @munchkin_photos_by_heather)