A Few Pointers on Beauty Photography
Ed. Note: For obvious reasons, do not try this at home without using extreme care. I'll say it again: do not try this at home without using extreme care. Seriously, kid. You'll put your eye out. -DH
By Sara Lando -- Paris-based photographer Ludovic Taillandier (NSFW-ish) specializes in advertising, fashion and beauty. (And occasionally, apparently, novelty electronics.) Today, a look at the making of his futuristic Tronized Beauty series.
__________
Diagram notes:
• A Profoto D4 4800 generator and 3 heads were used to light the scene.
• Key light is the soft box above the model's head. Fill light is coming from a big soft box behind the photographer. Background light is a snoot on a neutral grey background, with a red gel.
• The novelty laser pointer is a the type with interchangeable heads which break the beam into different patterns:
(The lighting varied slightly throughout the series. Shown is the setup for the image directly above the diagram.)
__________
As Ludovic explains, the whole shooting was basically an excuse to play with shiny toys. (Ah, photographers and their lust for gadgets!)
Says Ludovic:
Working with a team of very talented and experienced people is a keystone with this kind of imagery. Both the "red glamourous makeup" (courtesy Julie Camus) and the voluminous brushed hair (by Jean Baptiste Santens) helped in building an image which is both sophisticated and effortless.
But the special touch was the laser. And getting it perfect took a little experimentation.
"The main problem was to make the laser be on the right light level," Taillandier says, "and in the first test shoots, it was either too dark or too bright. But eventually I found the right balance. I wanted my aperture to be f16 to get everything sharp and I wanted to work at ISO 100, so I lowered the strobes' power and shot at 1/4th of a second".
It's a bit of an unusual shutter speed for beauty shots in a studio environment. But Ludovic was using a monopod, holding his breath and working with models who have the uncanny ability to sit really still. (The latter was also important to prevent the laser from hitting her eyes.) And though he has an extensive background in retouching, Ludovic's goal was to get getting everything in-camera.
__________
Ed. Note 2 (DH): For those of you who are wondering: yes, I did get really pissed off when I saw this technique and realized how awesome it would have been for this assignment. D'oh.
Photos ©Ludovic Taillandier
By Sara Lando -- Paris-based photographer Ludovic Taillandier (NSFW-ish) specializes in advertising, fashion and beauty. (And occasionally, apparently, novelty electronics.) Today, a look at the making of his futuristic Tronized Beauty series. __________
Diagram notes:
• A Profoto D4 4800 generator and 3 heads were used to light the scene.
• Key light is the soft box above the model's head. Fill light is coming from a big soft box behind the photographer. Background light is a snoot on a neutral grey background, with a red gel.
• The novelty laser pointer is a the type with interchangeable heads which break the beam into different patterns:
(The lighting varied slightly throughout the series. Shown is the setup for the image directly above the diagram.)
__________
As Ludovic explains, the whole shooting was basically an excuse to play with shiny toys. (Ah, photographers and their lust for gadgets!)
Says Ludovic:
I'm always searching for little tricks to go beyond my knowledge limits. So each time I see something that could create light or interact with it, I'm always ready to try it. This time, I was browsing eBay for little 'toys' I could play with, and I ended up looking at small laser pens, and it hit me: I had to use those for a personal shooting.
When I met Julie, the model, I was fond of her hair. And thought it would play perfectly with a laser beauty series. I knew my talented team would create great hair and makeup to go along with it all.
Afterward, I thought to myself that I had seen Tron not that long before the shooting. Maybe that's where the inspiration came from (hence the title of the series). I just had to play with a laser and see what I could do with it. I always push myself towards directions that defy me.
Working with a team of very talented and experienced people is a keystone with this kind of imagery. Both the "red glamourous makeup" (courtesy Julie Camus) and the voluminous brushed hair (by Jean Baptiste Santens) helped in building an image which is both sophisticated and effortless.
But the special touch was the laser. And getting it perfect took a little experimentation.
"The main problem was to make the laser be on the right light level," Taillandier says, "and in the first test shoots, it was either too dark or too bright. But eventually I found the right balance. I wanted my aperture to be f16 to get everything sharp and I wanted to work at ISO 100, so I lowered the strobes' power and shot at 1/4th of a second".
It's a bit of an unusual shutter speed for beauty shots in a studio environment. But Ludovic was using a monopod, holding his breath and working with models who have the uncanny ability to sit really still. (The latter was also important to prevent the laser from hitting her eyes.) And though he has an extensive background in retouching, Ludovic's goal was to get getting everything in-camera.
__________
Ed. Note 2 (DH): For those of you who are wondering: yes, I did get really pissed off when I saw this technique and realized how awesome it would have been for this assignment. D'oh.
__________
Brand new to Strobist, or lighting? Start here.
Or, jump right into our free Lighting 101 course.
Connect: Discussion Threads | Reader Photos | Twitter
Posted at 9:00 AM.
26 Comments:
Great post and idea.
I love your honest David but I'm not sure you would have gotten the CEO to
1. Sit around for a long time whilst you tested out shining a laser pointer in her face. (granted you could have done some prep but you'd still need to test it on the models face to get the right result)
2. Sit still long enough so as not to create blur (if you went with the long exposure as in this post)
3. Be comfortable having lasers pointed close to her eyes repeatedly, regardless of the cool results she'd have gotten.
Creative but I don't find these very 'attractive'.
Do not stare into laser with remaining eye...
I too feel I have cheated myself. I have looked at celebs on TV with sparkling jewllery reflecting on their necks and wondered how I could use it for an interesting image. Now I know...
This is so amazing. I'd never thought of this. Soooo my cat's laser toy does have a good use- he prefers string. : ) I love it.
have you tried using UV light? I have done the shoot on that http://www.lukaszpiech.pl/2011/12/uv-stories-zajawka/ . Very interesting way of lighting in my opinion.
Is this that creative and great though? I mean for one there's a health risk both for you, the model and not to forget the camera. Shining a laser into a sensor can destroy it completly (don't quote me on that though). And secondly why even use lasers in the first place? If you want to project things why not do it like Brad Trent did in his digital man image you posted a couple of weeks ago.
And to be honest I pretty much think you nailed the laser effect in your shot!
I agree with Craig M. Kind of looks like she has a disease.
Why a monopod, and holding of breath...no tripods in the studio ?
I had that idea since the day I read an article in master McNally's book - the one about using soft light for female portrait and laser for the diamond necklace. I bought myself some colour lasers(got the diffusion unit like the one used above)and then just few days after I found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0TgaGePhJA
and some similar videos. Sadly lasers are not getting used and mark II stays in a bag..
@ Craig M-
One thing I have learned in 46 years is that "attractive" is in the eye of the beholder. But yeah, the creative part is not in question.
One of my main ongoing goals for this site at this point is to work hard on ferreting out unique, original content that takes Strobist beyond being yet another wall in the Photosphere echo chamber.
To that end, I am very grateful to have people in other parts of the world specifically looking for creativity we would have otherwise not been exposed to. Sara, who is normally based in Italy, is just crazy enough to find this stuff on a regular basis. And don't even get me started on Irwin's environment in Japan...
@Tompano & Patryk -
The danger for sensors is when the laser is shined directly into the sensor. I actually nixed a background-in laser on my previous assignment for that reason. But that is not the case in this setup. The laser light is being both reflected and significantly diffused by the subject's skin, not being fired at the camera.
@Glenn-
I have been around long enough to realize that there is a pretty broad range of what different people find attractive. FWIW, this did not immediately recall Tron to me so much as it did Avatar...
@Wayne and k4kafka-
re: The sitting still, monopods, holding breath, etc., I found myself thinking about this, too. The laser is continuous, and potentially moving. But for a 1/4 sec, a monopod would suffice. I woulda used a tripod, tho.
Dunno if he did it this way, but I also would have locked the laser down (Justin clamp, gaff tape on a stand, whatever) to keep it still. Then if there were any minor movement in the model, the dots themselves would have been moving far less (dots are still, but topography of her face would change slightly.)
I remember doing some shots in the studio back in the late 90's when I was in school where we used an industrial laser a friend had from work. Shot it on 4X5 film so no worries about the sensor issues some have mentioned :) My model that day now works with me, 15 years later. I should remind him to give me the transparencies back that I loaned him back in '96 from that shoot.
Interesting seeing the different looks this photographer applied to the subject with the laser.
40 years ago (jeeze, I'm getting old) I poured paint into a buck of paint, making a lot of interesting designs. I copied the designs and in a dark room, projected the images onto a model. Somewhere in the process she passed out.
I thought I had killed her. Being at that time, trained in first aid, I was able to help her. Turns out it was the light from the slide projector that caused the problems.
Haven't seen that model since. I wonder why.
Regular show lasers are not dangerous to the human eye, the wouldn't be allowed if they were. Unfortunately they are very dangerous to image sensors. I suffered three dead pixels from LED lasers during a show. Yes, LED.
"Seriously, kid. You'll put your eye out. -DH"
Ah, I didn't think anyone else saw that film. What a cracker!
Mat
Hey there, am the guy behind these pictures.
thanks for your comments guyz, always very interesting to have feedback on your own work! Oh and i agree that it doesn't express alot, it was merely an attempt to try something new and explore some technics :)
just wanted to step in to say that i did use a tripod, not sure where monopod came from, maybe i made a typo when i answered sara's interview :x
so to have the most control on the effect, i used tripod + still model, then i could have the laser in my hand and change it's position precisely and try different placement options easily, and also i wanted these hair shapes to help both for less movements and for futuristic feeling.
Cheers, Ludo
Thanks for sharing David. I think this is a great example of originality. Contrary to the opinions of others, this IS creative and it is unique... and its this type of original thinking that often times catches the attention of a creative director. Reading this post gave me an idea for a new project that I may not have even thought of before. Thanks again!
I gave that a try like two years ago with crappy cheap lasers but no flash at the time. It was fun but sure no match to these fantastic shots. One nice setup to shoot lasers is to be outside at night in a foggy place. That way you get the reflected light *and* the beams.
Ughhh. When I logged on to check for a new post I was immediately pissed (jealous). To me and my eyes these are just the cat's pajamas. So simple yet so striking. Still kicking myself.
Hey David, I'm currently in college studying photography and I am to photograph a portrait in the style of George Hurrell's portraits of early hollywood movie stars. I was just wondering if you had any tips or tricks to modify the light to look the way Hurrell made it.
@Chel
I was a student of photography myself and I recall an assignment to emulate a certain photographer, either assigned or anyone we chose to pick, and our teacher was not looking for a straight replication but more over the essence. So while the light might be important also take not of approach, use of composition as well as the choice of subject matter. Maybe even check to see if a straight copy is what is ordered for the assignment and if not study a great deal of his work to get a good sense of what made his images stand out.
the awkward moment when she looks like avatar with red light. LOL
This is dead cool. Also, you've given me an idea for a light setup. Thanks!
I like the core shot (without the laser).. However the laser ruins it for me. I don't see this as futuristic just because there is red laser light in her face. Sorry, this doesn't work for me.
This is good, even if it doesn't make sense and makes her look like she has a space disease. Trying new things is just about all you can ask for. I think they look awesome.
The first picture caught my eyes, I really like it. I know nothing about photography, but this is the place to learn it, isn't?
Post a Comment
<< Home