Double Session: "Underwater" and Strawberries

On July 12, I did a double session with one of my favorite people to work with, Natalie, who had two different dresses for this session.  The first dress was a green fairy dress, and the second was a continuation of her fruit-themed dresses; in this case, the theme was strawberries.

For these sessions, I used:

Photography Equipment	Other Equipment
Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 FJ400 Strobes 1 Photix Strobe 1 Bell reflector 1 Snoot 1 strip box 2 soft boxes 2 C-stands 2 light stands Sandbags 1 Backdrop stands Grey Seamless Spyder Color Checker Card A-clamps Gels Clamps Mylar Boom Arms Platypod	Fan Small step stool Flowers Jug of wine Fake strawberries Cart/table Wooden crate

The setup

For this session, I did two setups, the first for the green fairy dress being the most complicated.  

For the first dress, I wanted to do a dry “underwater” shoot, and to do this, I employed a roll of Mylar.  I started by hanging a grey seamless.  I then placed a light stand on my right, next to the backdrop support stand.  I then attached a strobe with a strip box, oriented horizontally to the stand.  Inside the strip box, I placed a teal gel to get the underwater feel.  Next, I placed a C-stand with a short boom-arm with a roll of mylar over it, parallel to the light stand and backdrop support.  I raised it so it was just above the top of the strip box.  On the left-hand side, I placed another C-stand with a boom arm attached, parallel to the background support on that side.  I then stretched the mylar between the two boom-arms and secured it in place with A-clamps.  I then mounted a strobe with a bell reflector on the platypod, pointed it up at the center of the mylar, and placed it just at the edge of the mylar.  This was the main light for the shoot and created the water-like reflections on the backdrop.  I switched out to a snoot later in the shoot to control the reflections better. (You can check out the video by Gavin Hoey: Underwater Look, which I used to design my setup.)   Later in the session, I quickly tore this setup down and placed the mylar on the ground and the strobe on the platypod with a yellow gel behind the model.  I then used the soft box and an octabox to create a second set of images.

For the second dress and setup I went a bit more traditional.  I started with the same gray seamless from the previous set, then added a wooden cart/table, a wooden crate, a pitcher of wine, and some flowers to stoke the image of an outdoor market.  I placed the strip box to my left and a larger octbox to my right at about a 45 degree angle.  To create different moods, I just varied the power of the strobes.

I was glad I transitioned from the most complicated to the least complicated set up.

Camera Settings

For the camera setting, I used ISO 100.  I used four different apertures F4, F5, and F9.  My shutter stayed consistent at 1/200s.  My focal length varied from 24mm to 70mm, with the most common focal length being 24mm and 35mm.   

The Photos

For both sets of photos, I did the standard edits of white balance, exposure adjustments, clarity, and contrast.  I removed any minor blemishes and dirt on the floor or backdrop.  I also ran the images through the “Retouch4me” software to speed up dodge and burn work.  In the case of all the “underwater” images, I added a cool blue filter layer to all the photos, which helped make the dress pop and add more blue to the background to give them that underwater feel.  Additionally, for all the “underwater” images, I used a combination of the remove tool and Adobe’s AI to remove the softbox in the background and extend the background in some images.  For the strawberry dress images, I used a radial filter to brighten the model’s face because the hat adds a shadow.

My favorite image from the “underwater” set is below.  I like this image because you can see the reflections, and you have the illusion of the model reaching for the surface of the water.  I also like how the bounce of the strobe off the mylar lights the model’s face and looks like a ray of light piercing the surface of the water.  I used Photoshop magic to remove the softbox that was in the background and add a slight vignette to the image.

In this second picture, I purposely did not remove the flyaway because it adds to the illusion of being underwater. I also cropped this so you wouldn’t see the bulk of the dress sitting on the ground, also adding to the underwater illusion. And all this was done with just two lights.

I would be remiss to not include an image from right after breaking down the mylar set.  In this image, I used a heavy blur filter to soften the image and give it that glowy, dreamy look that is very popular right now.  I’m usually not a fan of the glowy dreamy look but it worked for this image.

My favorite image from the strawberry dress portion of the shoot is below.  I like this image because it gives me German barmaid vibes at some outdoor beer or wine hall.  It is very happy and welcoming.

This second image gives me bridal portrait vibes just because of how the model is sitting and holding the strawberry plants.  This image also has a slight red/green color grade to it, which cause the background to go slightly green.

And for the final image, we go back to the barmaid theme.  I was very glad Natalie was willing to hold that pitcher with one hand, as it was a bit heavy.  Yes, just in case you are wondering, there is real wine in the picture, which was watered down to fill the pitcher.

Wrap Up

This was a fun session and I’m grateful to Natalie for trying out a new concept with the fake “underwater” set.  If I do another fake underwater set, I am going to precut the Mylar, so I don’t have to secure the whole roll and reduce the amount of tension on the two boom-arms.  Additionally, I plan to use stronger fans to create some movement in the outfit and hair, which will enhance the underwater illusion.  I’m pleased with how the photos turned out from the first set.  

For the second set there are a few things I would change, I really had a strawberry stand in mind for the dress, and I just don’t feel I accomplished that.   I’m happy with the photos, but they just didn’t fit the vision in my mind.  I feel I shortchanged the second set, but I know I was doing a quick turn between two dramatically different set ups, even if the first set had no props.

Overall, the photos turned out beautifully, and Natalie looked stunning as always.  You can see images from both set here: Green Fairy and   Strawberry Dress.  Finally, if you ever want to own one of Natalie’s creations, look her up on IG, she regularly sells her dresses.

Credits:

Model & Dress Designer: Natalie (@nataliehanrion)