Black swan

The Cause & Concept
This portrait was created as part of a meaningful artistic project in collaboration with the French League Against Cancer (La Ligue Contre le Cancer).

The concept explores the concepts of resilience, strength, and raw vulnerability by seamlessly fusing human grace with organic, natural elements. The core of the image relies on contrast: the warmth and softness of the model’s skin juxtaposed against the deep, dark, and structured design of a custom wearable piece. Combining eucalyptus leaves, ferns, rich black feathers, and delicate skeleton leaves, the styling serves as a metaphor for fragility and enduring inner strength. The model’s expression—simultaneously strong, serene, and vulnerable—anchors the viewer's gaze, giving the overall composition a timeless, fine-art quality.

Lighting Setup
To sculpt the form while preserving the rich, tactile details of the wardrobe, a precise and soft lighting setup was key:

Key Light: A large, diffused modifier (such as an Octabox) was placed slightly overhead and feathered. This technique allowed for a subtle, smooth gradient across the skin and beautifully caught the translucent texture of the skeleton leaves without flattening the shadows.

Background Control: The lighting was controlled to drop off gently, isolating the model against a seamless neutral grey background and ensuring no harsh, distracting shadows were cast.

Post-Processing & Retouching Workflow
The post-processing was executed entirely in Adobe Photoshop, focusing on clean, non-destructive techniques to maintain a natural yet polished look:

Frequency Separation: Used as the foundational step to meticulously clean up the skin texture and even out minor tonal transitions without sacrificing the authentic pores and skin details.

Dodge & Burn: A comprehensive micro and macro dodge and burn workflow was applied to subtly enhance the facial highlights, sculpt the contours of the body, and add depth to the dark foliage, making the textures pop.

Model : https://www.instagram.com/lila.dzr
Foral Art : https://www.instagram.com/karden_botanik/

Technical Specifications
Camera: Sony A7IV
Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8 (shot at 50mm)
Aperture: f/8 (selected to maintain sharp detail from the tip of the foliage to the model's eyes)
Shutter Speed: 1/125s
ISO: 100
Software: Adobe Photoshop (Frequency Separation / Dodge & Burn)