This image of Sinopa Rin was a test shot taken during a photography club night I organised.
I’ve long had an interest in the methods of the Hollywood Glamour portraitists of the 1930s, 40s and 50s and I’ve recently started sharing my techniques with others.
The lighting for this one was fairly simple – but really quite precise. Small changes to head position make a vast difference to the image with such hard-edged shadows. It takes a really skilled model like Rin to nail a shot like this in one take.
1) 7” gridded dish for key, camera left
2) 7” gridded dish for hair light, aimed directly at the parting and allowed to spill on to the shoulders
3) 7” dish bouncing off a reflector on the floor below the key for a little clamshell-style fill to open up they eye sockets
4) Snooted strobe pointing at the fan in the background to create the shadow and add interest.
(Hair by vintage specialist Thairapy Freelance, make up & styling by the model).
Nikon D750, 85mm 1.8, Tiffen Black Mist Pro 1/4 diffusion filter
