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Lingerie photo session in the studio – Lighting, light & textures

February 5, 2015 Neil vN 7 Comments

Lingerie photo session in the studio – lighting, light & textures

This photograph of Melanie, one of my favorite models, is one of a sequence where we played with different lights and lighting styles in the studio. I wanted lighting that was both soft and dramatic. Both feminine and bold. The lighting is the same idea – using a big gridded strip-box / soft-box – as I used in a previous photo session with another model, Anita DeBauch.

The final image above, is the result of adding texture layers in Photoshop. I wanted to retain her shadow and other detail in the wall, while enhancing the appeal of the image with a texture layer in PS. I felt that the unadorned photo needed an additional element to elevate it.

 

The first thing you’ll notice with the ‘before’ image, is that the wall behind her is actually a bland white. While the lighting pattern is perhaps interesting – there is that “staggered” blocky effect from the gridded stripbox – but it is still a plain white wall. To make it infinitely more interesting, I added a textured layer in Photoshop.

There are always a number of ways to go about things in Photoshop.
Here is how I do it: Adding texture layers to photos.

 

Camera gear (& equivalents), and lighting gear used

The pull-back shot shows the lighting, and the position of the light. It is a single Profoto D1 Air 500Ws studio flash (affiliate), with a Profoto 1’x6′ gridded strip-box (affiliate). I really like the way it throws the light when used close to the wall.  The grid helps contain the light intensity close to the wall, so it doesn’t completely over-expose. The long shape of the softbox, as well as the grid on the softbox, create a unique light fall-off – giving soft, but dramatic light.

  • 1/200  @  f/8  @ 200 ISO
  • Nikon D810
  • Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G  /  Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II
  • Profoto D1 Air 500Ws Monolight
  • Profoto 1’×6’ RFi softbox  with a Profoto 50 degree soft-grid

 

Related articles

  • Studio photography – using a big gridded strip-box / soft-box  (model: Anita DeBauch)
  • Lingerie photo session in the studio  (model: Olena)
  • Lingerie photo shoot in the studio  (model: Carly Erin)
  • Photoshop: Adding texture layers to photos  (model: Claudia)
  • NJ photography studio rental
  • Model Mayhem portfolio – Melanie S 

 

Studio lighting workshops

If you are interested in learning more about studio lighting, including lighting for headshots, I offer workshops on studio lighting. The workshops will be held at my studio space in NJ, and it has a wide range of studio lighting gear to play with!

 

Filed Under: lighting, Melanie S, Photoshop, studio photography Tagged With: lingerie photo shoot, studio lighting


 

Help support this website

If you find these articles of value, please help support this website by using these B&H and Amazon affiliate links to order your photo gear.

I also offer photography workshops and tutoring sessions, whether in person, or via online video tutoring sessions.

Please follow me on Instagram for more.

You can also join our thriving photo community in the Tangents group on Facebook, where we show our photos and discuss all things photography.

Thank you,

Neil vN

Books by Neil van Niekerk


 




7 Comments, Add Your Own

  1. 1Gregory Mink says

    February 2, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    Thank Neil for taking our photographs to the next level. Great post.

    Reply
  2. 2Baart1980 says

    February 3, 2015 at 8:49 am

    ehh, I fall in love. Both – in Profoto and your model ;-)

    Great light !

    Reply
  3. 3Tilo says

    February 3, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    perfect! I really thought, that texture was on the wall … Looks just great!!

    Reply
  4. 4Elly says

    February 4, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    Neil great stuff … The spread is amazing!!!!

    Reply
  5. 5udi says

    February 4, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    once again, Neil, you are the master of poses….. I vote for a poses book

    Reply
    • 5.1S'blad says

      February 13, 2017 at 1:37 am

      I agree, a book or better still video, on poses would be great!

      Reply
  6. 6Valent Lau says

    February 4, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Great technique.

    Reply

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