My Wash & Dry Test Shoot

I wanted to test out the lighting for this shoot before bringing my model in so that my model didn't have to wait around whilst I figured it out. I wasn't worried about the makeup, hair or styling for this test shoot, I just wanted to get the lighting sorted. I am so glad I did a test shoot because I really struggled to achieve the lighting I had in mind! I found it difficult to get the background the colour I wanted because I either found the lights were too bright and bleached the background out, or the background looked too dark and shadowy. Below were the experiments I carried out but I wasn't happy with any of them so need to do a lot more research! 

Image 1

Image 2

In these images I used two lights in the background either side of the model to brighten up the background. I like how this made the background a bright blue colour, however I would need to try and make it look more even, instead of there being a ring of light just in the centre. I will experiment with this thought because it may add more depth to the image if I get the other lights correct. I used a spill kill light on the left side of the model with a blue gel to give that side a blue tint. I then used a soft box with no gel on the right so that the model was light up clearly. I am happy with how the blue gel looks on the model because it isn't too strong; however only using one coloured gel on the model didn't give the colourful look I was after, especially as the coloured gel was the same colour as the background. I think it made the image look very flat and washed the model out. I think I will experiment with adding a different coloured gel on the opposite side of the model to add more colour and give the model dimension. The inflatable ice cream in Image 1 is too over exposed because it is closer to the light than the model, which is the point I used the light meter on. This means that I would have to put the inflatables behind her or at the same distance away from the light as her. In Image 2 the model held the inflatable behind her which meant there was less light on it and it made the exposure look more accurate. I think I will position all the inflatable behind my model or on my model so the exposures should work. 

Image 3

Image 4

For all the images above I kept the light with the blue gel and the soft box in the same positions, but I changed the background to a white roll and tried to use different coloured gels to colour the back drop. I tried to use orange gels in Image 3 on both sides of the background as I thought it would colour the background an orange colour; however I found I had to use lots of orange gels on both lights for there to even be a hint of colour. I tried to make the lights have allowed power but they were on their lowest settings. I may need to use a different light that is able to go to a lower power because I think the power of the light was so bright that the coloured gels were washed out. You can see there is a blue light in the background of Image 3 which I did not want to be there. This is because the blue light used to light up the model was angled so that it went onto the background. I will need to make sure the lights that light up the model do not spill onto the background, meaning I would either need to use poly boards, barns doors on the light or make sure the light is facing side on to the model. In Image 4 I did the exact same set up, but I used blue gels on the background lights, hoping it would create a blue background, but again the I think the lights were too strong because the blue colour seems to have been flashed out. I will keep this in mind when doing my shoot as I don't want the colouring of the background to be effected.

Image 5

In the image above I used a blue background and did not light up the background because I wanted to see how bright the colour would be in the background with just the lights from the model lighting it up. I don't like how it turned out because there were lots of shadows from the model and the prop and it was very dark looking. I want the background of the image to be bright and colourful to reflect the fun, summer theme of the shoot. I experimented with using an orange gel on the light facing the model, instead of the blue gel. I like the outcome; however I still think it would look better if I used two coloured lights on the model to give her more dimension and to make it look more balanced.