Behind the Scenes of Mad Max Styled Fantasy Portraits

The latest fantasy shoot from the Slanted Lens instantly brings to mind the incredibly Academy Award winning movie Mad Max. With the help of a local junk yard, some incredible styling, and creative lighting, Jay P was able to execute an eye grabbing shoot. Check out just how he did it.

The basis for the shoot was to create a fantasy portrait that felt like it was from Mad Max. Since the movie is known for its incredible styling and use of cars, the first thing needed was access to a junk yard. Jay P went door to door in a car district in Sun Valley, California until he found an owner willing to work with him. He then staged his scene with a flaming car, two models styled with steampunk outfits and guns, and a smoke machine to give mood to the images. Once the stage was set, lighting was next.

For lighting, Jay P cut the light on the models and the scene with a PhotoFlex LitePanel and a 12x12 foot Silk Panel on a T-bar. To add a consistent "sun" and give the set more of a broad daylight feel, he put up a gelled strobe behind the model. Finally, to light the models he added a Dynalite Baja B6 with an octabox as well as a Photoflex LitePanel with a silver reflector. 

David Strauss's picture

David Strauss is a wedding photographer based in Charleston, SC.

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5 Comments

I love behind the scenes videos. Thanks!

The eye contact with the models on each photograph destroys the scene
I see girls waiting for the click...and then I see all the props put into the scene...

agree

Totally agree...everything appears so staged and the models look bored to death. The dark haired girl has almost the exact same pose (gun in right hand) for all but one image. The lighting feels off too. The key is all soft and even. Something hard and edgy would work better for the scene.

Why is the gel On that backlight so green? That does not look like the sun at all. Guess half cto would have done the job