Photographing a Fashion Model With Just a Room Lamp
September 24th, 2009Recently I photographed a beautiful fashion model for an editorial. As you all know I like to keep my fashion lighting very simple and raw concentrating more on the emotion and feeling of a photograph. I decided to shoot in a hotel room on a bed with white sheets. The only photo gear I brought was of course my camera, lenses and my Canon 580 EX II.
For this particular shot though I used the night stand lamp and that’s it. I took off the lamp shade which revealed two very bright energy efficient bulbs. Then I put the lamp on an upside down trash can set just out of frame. I wanted a really grainy look so I set my 5D Mark 2 ISO to 1000, put it on sticks and set my exposure to 1/25th @f/5. If any of you “pros” out there think I am giving away a secret well you’re wrong. You wanna know why you’re wrong ? I learned this technique from Helmut Newton. Now go take your secrets and ………
Ok I got that off my chest lol. So now this is where the real seasoned photographer needs to come out. I have a half naked 19 year old young girl on a hotel bed. You think she feels really confident and secure ? No, she doesn’t. So it is my job to earn her trust, let me dig deep into her soul and capture her soul on film, well a CF card lol. I shot this in color and in post changed it to black and white. If anyone has ANY questions please ask !
lingerie model photographed on bed
September 24th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
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September 24th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
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September 24th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Great
Would be nice an article with many lighting diagrams and the pictures 
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Hi Francesco ! The article is coming
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September 25th, 2009 at 2:16 am
Hi!
Just one fast question….how you did to transmit the security feel to the model? I assume that you didin’t know her before…
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Hi Victor, good question. When shooting female fashion models especially in lingerie, it’s important to speak softly and not aggressive. As they are in make up you should talk to them and get to know them. Even if it’s small talk. Smile alot when you are talking to them. As you are shooting reinforce to them how beautiful they look, how natural and pretty. If they do something you like tell them that was a great pose or expression. After the first 10 minutes the shoot will flow very smoothly. This is a subject I teach in my workshop. It’s very very important to master.
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September 25th, 2009 at 8:11 am
beautiful result Jason. Thanks for be willing to share you knowledge and experience. You are such a beautiful person.
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Thank you so much Rhobin. That is very kind of you.
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September 25th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Simplicity at its finest. Great job Jason!
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Thank you Ricky !
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September 25th, 2009 at 8:59 am
great shot… it’s so easy to fall into the habit of pulling out all of the lights and making everything as complicated as possible. sometimes the best light is the one that’s already there.
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Thank you Antonio. You make a great point. Photographers are observers. We must observe everything around us and even study lighting as we sit in a booth in a restaurant or in a book store or where ever we are. Trust me it will help your shooting.
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September 28th, 2009 at 9:40 am
those photos of the model you photographed with just a lamp are amazing brotha, that talent my friend!
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hey Art ! Thank you very much brotha !
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September 29th, 2009 at 6:05 am
Does the 1/25 setting add to the grainy feel you wanted or is the ISO the only thing that affected the graininess?
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Jason Christopher Reply:
September 29th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Hi Tuffer,
It’s the high ISO that affects the grain. If you were shooting film and wanted alot of grain you would choose film with a high ISO. What’s funny though is today’s digital cameras are made with such advanced sensors that even at 1000 ISO I actually had to ADD grain in post.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Hi Jason,
As an aspiring photographer, I really appreciate your willingness to give tips and explanations on how you shoot. It helps out so many of us with questions, but better yet, it is nice to know that some professionals also take minimalist approaches, and don’t frown upon the use of random practical’s for lighting. I admire your work and look forward to future additions to the blog.
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Jason Christopher Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:47 am
Hi Seth ! Thank you very much. That means alot to me. Please use this blog to learn and keep learning
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November 30th, 2009 at 2:03 am
hey jason. this picture is beautiful. i am currently doing a hptography formative assignment at university and i have to chose a photographer to picture there style. and i have chosen your pictures as my stimulus. i was wondering if you had any tips for a photography beginner when shooting female subjects on a low budget, because these pictures are beautiful
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Jason Christopher Reply:
December 1st, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Hi Jade,
Thank you for the compliments. What kind of advice would you like ? Are you shooting for a paid job ? Is it a test ?
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December 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
its just for an assignment so not for paid. mostly about lighting positions and camera settings really. i want a sort of harsh lighting for a quite moody picture.
thanks jason
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Jason Christopher Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Well if you are shooting women, you really should use soft light UNLESS the model has perfect skin and you want a more editorial look. So using soft light requires using a soft box placed about 2 feet away from the model. The larger the soft box the softer the light will be. You want to use a low f stop meaning a wide aperture not lower than f4. If you want it moody just use grids on your soft box or feather the light away from the model. There are many ways to approach this but start from what I told you and go from there.
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December 3rd, 2009 at 3:06 am
thanks so much for your help its very kind of you. take care. jade
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Jason Christopher Reply:
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
You’re very welcome Jade.
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December 8th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Man you rock my socks off! i’m a beginer photographer and i really look up to you man
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Jason Christopher Reply:
December 12th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Thank you Demetre ! Please spread the word. There is a wealth of helpful information on my blog that I love to share. If you would like to know anything specific please comment and I will answer !
Take a look at my photography workshop page as well. http://jasonchristopher.com/workshop.htm
Cheers,
Jason
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April 14th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I randomly stumbled on your blog, then checked out your website, so so good, i love it! The different lighting that you use in all your photos is amazing. Hey, what’s so special about shooting 1/25th @ f5?
Cheers
Bruce
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Jason Christopher Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Hi Bruce,
Thank you for the compliments. To answer your question, there isn’t anything special about that exposure combination. That is just the exposure that made the photo look exposed correctly
Thank you for your comment Bruce !
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June 10th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Hey Jason,
I’m a student photographer who has been disappointed with how much one can learn from school. So I set out to practice and learn on my own and that includes a lot of research and looking at work of other photographers! In my practice, being on a student budget, I am limited to only natural light and one flash that I can take up to 3 feet off camera (via TTL extension cord), once in a while I am able to borrow another flash from a friend. My point is my equipment is limited so I am very grateful that you are sharing your knowledge and experience. It is helping me and many others learn and brings a sigh of relief knowing that great results are possible even when we are limited. Thank you, Jason.
Stay well.
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Jason Christopher Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Well thank you so much Kateryna ! Keep up the great work with what you have for gear and slowly add to your collection of tools. Remember, carpenters don’t just run out and buy every tool out there when they are just starting out.
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