Behind the scenes...simple dramatic lighting on location!

The lighting here was pretty simple...just one speedlight through a white umbrella, with a 1/4 CTO warming gel. The background was underexposed by a stop. Frank held the light overhead and instead of the typical 45-degree angle to the ground, he feathered the light so that the umbrella was more like 20-degrees from parallel to the ground, and only the edge of the beam was used to light the face. The result is more subtle light with some more character...not the typical "expose everything" that happens when you point the umbrella straight at a person!


the setup for the full-body shots: for the actual pictures, he lifted the umbrella up higher and tilted it down more



For the closer shots, Danielle helped out by holding a reflector below the umbrella, effectively creating clamshell lighting on location! Easy as that to get flattering fill and nice shadows and depth all with one speedlight!


here is our makeshift clamshell lighting...you can tell it was cold out when the hoods are up

Thanks to:
Model: Alissa Laderer
MUA: Danielle Klatsky
Assistant: Franklin Abreu