Blue Fairy

On April 26^th, I did a long-delayed session with the lovely Gabby in her original character blue fairy gown. 

For this session, I used:

Photography Equipment	Props/Miscellaneous
Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 1 Phottix Strobe 2 FJ400 Westcott Strobes 90mm round soft box 2 strip boxes 3 C-stands Sandbags Backdrop stand Savage Focus Grey Seamless Grey backdrop Spyder Color Checker Card A-clamps Light blue Gel Bell Reflector Star Filter	Flowers Mylar sheets Tiny stool Wire flower planters Styrofoam Wood blocks

The set up

The guiding theme for this shoot was a fairy princess in a moonlit garden.  I also wanted to stay with an analogous color theme centered around blue of the dress.  I also chose flowers in the purple range with just pops of pink and white to break the colors up to complement the dress.   I then chose to use light blue gels to give the impression of moonlight.

The base for the set is a piece of Savage Focus Grey Seamless.  I then laid down the mylar sheets.  I then layered a darker grey cloth backdrop over both, whose purpose was to cover the foam and wood risers and create a transition to the mylar.  I then placed the flowers, which in some cases I placed right at the transition points of the cloth backdrop and mylar to help with the illusion of a pond or lake. 

For the lighting, I used three lights.   The first light was placed in the right-hand corner next to the backdrop.  This light was covered with a light blue gel and had a strip box placed on it, set in a horizontal position.  This provided light to the backdrop and acted a bit like a hair light.  The second light was placed opposite the first light, in the upper left-hand corner.  This light also had a light blue gel and soft box on it, rotated in a horizontal position.  This light acted as the fill light.  The final, and main light, was on the center line of the set with a 90mm round soft box attached to it.  When shooting, I was in front of this light, as the light was well above my head, pointed down towards the model.

The base set up

Camera Settings

For the camera setting, I used ISO 125, with an aperture of F8 and a shutter speed of 1/125s.  My focal length varied from 24mm to 50mm, with the most common focal lengths being 35mm, 33mm, and 31mm.   No, I don’t know why I used F125; all I can think is that I accidentally switched the ISO when I meant to change the aperture.

The Photos

The base edits to the photos were exactly the same.  I started with adjusting white balance and contrast, then ran the Spyder Color Checker program to adjust colors.  I then increased the exposure slightly and adjusted the sharpness and luminance.  And in this case, I brought the clarity down just slightly to make the images a touch softer to add general softness and dreaminess to the image.  I also decreased the vibrance and saturation to add to the fantasy glow.  I also added a blue/blue color grade to the images to add a moonlit feel to the images.

This first image is one of my favorites, because it looks like she is searching for something or gazing at something in the “water”.  The image gives off a very soft and delicate vibe. This image has three gradients on it, the first is around the light in the lantern to make it glow.  The second is on the model’s face and upper body to brighten it up just a bit more.  The third is on the lower part of the image to even it out with the top part of the image. I also removed the seam in the mylar.

The next image gives the air of fey royalty.  I gave the model one of my swords to us as a prop while “lounging” on a small stool and a wooden crate.  You may notice some extra softness in the image as well as flairs/streaks coming off the wings and crown; this is due to the star filter I added.  The filter just adds a little bit of pop when the light reflects just right.  It can also add the illusion of a soft glow.   In the post, I added a circular gradient to the model’s face and upper body to brighten it up just a touch.

For this final image, we channeled the Lady of the Lake.  To get this image, I removed the grey cloth backdrop, moved the flowers to the edges, and had the model kneel in the center of the mylar, then arranged the dress to pool around her.  I then removed the soft box from the main light and replaced it with a bell reflector, aiming it directly at the mylar.  By directing it at the mylar, I was able to get wavy reflections on the background.

Wrap Up

I love how the images from this shoot turned out, but if I did it again, I would change a couple of things.   The first thing I would do is add a fourth light that stayed pointed at the mylar to really add to the feeling of water and provide that wavy reflection.  Next, instead of using a star filter, I would use a black pro mist filter that adds more of a bloom or glow to the light reflections.  This would make the wings and the crown glow as well as make the image softer to give it a more otherworldly or ethereal feel.   The other thing is I have to watch the mylar, so it doesn’t get too lumpy or wrinkly when shooting.  I didn’t catch a large lump until after I shot several images, while ok, just not the best aesthetic.   Overall, I’m happy with the images and can’t wait to do some more images like this.  You can see all the images from the session here: Blue Fairy.

Credits:

Models: Gabby (IG: @gabby_kun13)