Part 1: Capturing the Perfect Shot, with the Right Lighting with Lenworth Johnson
Words and Photos by Lenworth Johnson - A Platypod Pro
Edited by Eryka Bagwell
"Mastering the Art of Beauty Portraits: A Studio Session (part 1)
Beauty portraits are a timeless art form, capturing the essence and elegance of the human form. In a recent studio session with Mimi Deska, we delved into the world of beauty photography, exploring the art of controlling light, shadow, and expression to create stunning and captivating portraits."
"The Studio Setup:
The studio served as our blank canvas, providing the perfect backdrop for our beauty portraits. A simple grey background allowed us to focus on our subject, with little to no distractions. Soft, diffused lighting helped to enhance the model's features, creating a gentle glow that added to the overall feel of the portraits."
"The Importance of Lighting: Sculpting Beauty
Lighting played a crucial role in creating this set of images, allowing us to sculpt and shape the model's features, with a combination of Parabolix 25" (indirect lighting), V-Flat and reflector. The positioning of the lights was used to create depth and dimension, ultimately adding a three-dimensional quality to our images."
"Capturing Expression: The Key to Beauty
While lighting and composition are important, capturing genuine expression is what truly brings a beauty portrait to life. Our model's eyes, often referred to as the windows to the soul, conveyed a range of emotions, from joy to contemplation. These subtle expressions added depth and personality to our portraits, creating images that were not just beautiful but also emotive."
"Post-Processing: Enhancing Beauty
Post-processing plays a crucial role in enhancing the beauty of the images. Minimal retouching was applied to our images using Capture One, Photoshop and Retouch4me Plugins, focusing on enhancing the model's natural features rather than altering them. Subtle adjustments to color and contrast helped to create a cohesive look, adding to the overall aesthetic of the portraits."
"Lighting and gear used:
Camera: Canon EOS R6M2
F/9, 1/200, 24-105 @92mm
Lighting: Key Light 25" Parabolix. For the fill Reflector and a V-Flat on the black side to subtract light on camera left. Background light 7" reflector for separation
Fan: A fan was also used to get some movement in the hair."
To view more of Lenworth's incredible work, visit his website here.
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