Model Shoot - Tasha

As promised here are some photos from a shoot I did a few weeks ago with Tasha. Hair and makeup were done by Cerise. For this shoot I used the ring light extensively. One thing I found was that it worked great in really tight spaces. For the one picture below of Tasha sitting on the old school cash register, that was done in a space that was literally no bigger than what you see in the frame. There is probably only half a foot on either side until it meets the walls. So where you might not be able to fit a soft box or even a small shoot through umbrella without blocking your shooting angles you can use a ring light quite effectively. For the shot above I purposely left an edge of the ring light visible so you can see what shooting with a 10mm wide angle lens does and how much light coverage you can actually get from just one ring flash. The ring light look is very popular these days in magazines and it has its place. I still enjoy being creative with lighting though and the challenge of blending shadows and light to create a certain mood and ambiance in a shot is going to be around long after the fad of the ring light fades away.

Model Shoot - Jillian

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with agency model Jillian on this shoot. The hair and makeup was by Cerise. I have been wanting to try some different lighting techniques and one that I've been very curious about was using a ring light. A ring light offers a very unique look. It casts a very even illumination and the shadows it creates are like an even halo around the subject. There is also the characteristic catch light in the eyes. You see this look a lot in print ad and magazines like Maxim. I purchased an Orbis Ring Flash a few weeks ago and this shoot was my first chance to try it out. It's not a true ring flash in the sense that it doesn't have a flash bulb in it but instead you insert your off camera flashes into it and then trigger it either with an attached cord or wireless trigger. I actually attached my flash to a tripod for these shots and then put the Orbis Ring Flash on over top of it and shot through the center of ring flash. Overall I am very pleased with the results. Sure it's not going to give me the same quality of light that a professional Profoto ring light would but it's portable and costs way less. You'll notice in the photos below the catch lights in her eyes are ring shaped. For the photos against the wall she is standing about six inches away from it and notice the perfectly silhouetted shadow and how it outlines her body.

The next post will be with model Tasha and her shoot that was also done with the ring light. Stay tuned!