This portrait was taken inside a shopping mall, where the geometric LED installation served as a strong visual element, while the main light source was a front-facing LED lamp illuminating the model. I wanted the model to blend naturally into the warm color palette while still standing out with a contrasting upper outfit. Her skirt was intentionally chosen to merge with the vibrant orange background, creating a monochromatic base, while the sheer black top and bold red lipstick added striking contrast and depth.

The main challenge was controlling the strong LED reflections and the intense saturation of the environment. I shot this portrait with the Nikon Z6 II and the NIKKOR 105mm lens at f/2, 1/160s, ISO 200, working fully manually to keep the colors consistent. Since the LEDs had a very specific color temperature, I custom–set the white balance on location.

In post-processing, I focused on refining the warm tones without oversaturating them. I used selective HSL adjustments to balance the skin tones against the strong oranges and gently enhanced contrast using luminosity masks. The goal was to maintain the clean, punchy color palette while preserving natural textures and soft shadows.