Red Roses (18th Century Fashion)

On January 24^th, I did a double session with Natalie inspired by her red 18^th century gown, Venice Carnival, and red roses.   Second dress was also an 18^th century gown, but in white with little red flowers.  I used the same set for both but created two different moods.

For this session, I used:

Photography Equipment	Props/Miscellaneous
Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 3 c-stands 1 Backdrop stand 1 blue wall backdrop Sandbags 2 rectangular soft boxes Mini-boom arm 6x6 silver reflector Clamps Spyder color checker Laptop Teather cable Snoot	4 Gold flower stands 3-tier flower stand Table Black and white cloth 2 gold flower holders red flowers (lots of roses) fake candles chair candle holders

The set up

I wanted the set to remind me of room you would find in the historic villas and manors in Venice.  So I started with a the backdrop, which was a vinal backdrop Baocicco 10x8ft Vintage Living Room Wall Backdrop from Amazon.  While the description called it black it photographed more of a dark blue. Then I added in a bunch of flower arrangements made from red roses. To bring depth and interest to the scene I used height and depth. I had flowers in the background on stands and on tables, and then opposite those flowers I added mor flowers to the foreground to make it look like the model is surrounded by flowers.  I then added some electric candles to add some ambience to the scene. This added to the feeling of a room in an old villa.

For lighting I placed a 6x6 silver reflector held up by a mini-boom arm connected to a C-stand against the wall to my right.  This was to gently fill in the shadows.  I then placed a strobe with a rectangular soft box against the wall opposite the reflector, which I used to imitate some window light.  I then placed a second strobe with rectangular soft box slightly off center to my left.  During the course of the shoot, I did change one of the soft boxes out for a snoot, for more dramatic lighting.

Note when I rest the scene for the white dress, I changed out the black fabric covering the table and three tiered plant holder to white and added a leather chair to mix it up a bit. 

Camera Settings

For this session, I used ISO 100, with an aperture of F6.3 and a shutter speed of 1/160s or 1/250s. My focal length ranged from 30mm to 105mm, with my most common focal length being 35mm.  I went with an aperture of F6.3 to help make the backdrop feel as real as possible and make it harder to tell if it was just a print.  My shutter speeds changed based on which modifier I was using and whether I was trying to get the candle glow to show up on camera.

The Photos

I love doing studio sessions, because it is easier to control the environment, and I can have more consistent lighting across the set.  This results in easier editing during post processing, because I can basically edit one image and copy those setting across all the images from the session, which significantly speeds up the editing process.   For this session I first adjusted the exposure, then ran it through the Spyder Color checker to get a color profile. I then adjusted the color profile slightly to ensure the reds looked correct. I then bumped up clarity slightly, while also bringing up the saturation and vibrancy.  I then sharpened the image slightly and did a little noise reduction, though it didn’t really need it.  The noise reduction is mostly to help ensure a smooth skin tone across the image and smooth out any minor blemishes. Finally, I added an orange (highlight) / blue (shadow) color grade to the image to give a little extra oomph.

My favorite image from the session is the one below.  It is simple, elegant and tells a story of romance. I could easily see this being a described scene in a romance novel.

I knew these dresses were for carnival in Venice, so Natalie had masks with her. So, I had to incorporate the masks into the images.  One look is a little demurer while the other a bit more confident.

When I do studio sessions in my home studio, I tend to test the lighting using a foam skull on a light stand.  While I put the light stand away, I forgot to return “Bob” (the name of the skull) to his perch in the library.  So, we used “Bob” as a prop, to make a perfect gothic Valentine.

The image below is a lovely full length image of the red gown, which photographed wonderfully.  I love the richness of color. While the image seems like it captures a brief moment in time.

This final image is of the white gown with red flowers. I used the snoot for this image for a more concentrated beam of light.  This also gives it the feeling of an evening scene and gives the image more emotion.

 

The Wrap Up

It was pleasure as always to work with Natalie, and a great first studio session of the year. I find her sewing impeccable and the dresses are always gorgeous. I can say when I saw the progress photos of the red dress, I knew I wanted to photograph it, but it had to be in a setting that matched the dress. That is how I came up with the concept of red roses in a villa. 

I want to comment on the backdrop. Yes, I bought the backdrop from Amazon, after reading a ton of reviews.  The backdrop is 10x8 feet and the perfect size for my studio set up. I would say for costing about $46.00 it was a good investment, and after I took a steamer to it the creases where it was folded came right out. I think how the set was styled and the aperture I used helped make the backdrop appear like a real wall. I plan on using again for future sessions.

You can see all the images from this session here: Red Roses.

 

Credits:

Cosplay: 18^th Century Gowns

Model/Designer: Natalie Hanrion (of Archaic Costumes & Designs) (IG: @nataliehanrion)

Earrings from @revivalofadornment

Shoes from @americanduchess

Hat from Dragon Wings

Red Silk Taffeta from @silkbaron