My name is Katherine Calnan and I am a Fashion and Portrait photographer from Calgary, Alberta. Today I am doing a fashion shoot with top model Tessa Greiner.
I am using a four light setup today with my main light overhead which is a Profoto Pro-10 pack utilizing a Profoto ProHead with a Silver XL Deep Umbrella which has one layer of diffusion. As the ProHead is so light inside the umbrella it makes physically positioning the light over the top of the model easier.
My main light was quite far overhead of the model and out of reach for me so having the Profoto Pro-10 pack on the floor makes altering the power a breeze.
At the times when I don’t have an assistant with me, being able to use the equipment quickly and easily on my own is important especially when I have clients viewing the shoots as this adds professionalism that can be tarnished if I am constantly struggling to get my gear working as I want.
I was using the Profoto Air Remote as the trigger. Controlling all of the lights on set can be done simply from the remote that's at my fingertips. On fast-paced shoots, this really can be helpful for me to keep things flowing.
The second light is a Profoto D2 with a Profoto Softbox 2×3 RFI with a single layer of diffusion and this was directed at the lower body of the model so to make sure that all of the clothing was illuminated in the photos.
The third light is a Profoto B1 with a Profoto Softbox 1×4 RFI and for this, I mostly used it with no diffusion for this particular shoot.
This light was a background light that I used to alter the color of the background and make it more of a light heather grey as opposed to a darker shade of grey that I would have had most of the time if it wasn’t lit. I altered the position and power on this light during the shoot to alter the look of the background in the shots.
My forth light is the new Profoto A1 which was used in a few different ways during the shoot. Mostly it was utilized as a rim light for the models face giving just a kiss of light along the side of the face and jawline. For a few shots, It was also used as a spotlight on the background behind the model to create some depth to the images. Due to its small size, it was easily placed behind Tessa without it entering the shot so saving editing time in post. Profoto A1 is so versatile working easily as a studio strobe in such a small package that it is incredibly easy to move around and use in unique ways. My appreciation of the A1 really multiplied after this shoot. I was moving it around a lot by myself with very little effort, it was fast and produced the light I wanted.
On this editorial, you can see that I used a variety of different Profoto studio lighting with the Pro-10 Pack and ProHead, a D2, B1, A1 and a variety of different light shaping tools and all of the lights were consistent and balanced on every shot. This really is huge from a personal and commercial standpoint.
For one I am confident that I can get the shots that I want to capture which makes shooting more relaxed and fun and then for my client's side they get to see high-quality shots straight out of the camera, shots aren’t getting missed due to technical issues.
The time needed to get “the shot” is usually reduced which can save time and money for the client.
This, in turn, can foster more confidence in you the professional photographer by your client which from my own experience has created more jobs and more clients.
Another really big plus of using high-quality studio lighting for my shoots is the time it saves me in post when editing. Having consistent high-quality light for my shoots is so important to me and over the space of a work year saves so much time. Not having to spend extra hours fixing lighting issues in photo editing software allows for the flexibility of more free time to myself away from my computer and or the ability to shoot with more clients each month.
I really had fun sharing this shoot with you and I help that you enjoyed it too. See you in the next video!
Presented by Kallos Studio & YourProfoto (https://www.yourprofoto.com)
Photo Credit: Katherine Calnan (https://katherinecalnan.com/)
Agency: Elite Model (http://www.elitemodel.com/)
Model: Tessa Greiner (http://www.elitemodel.com/losangeles/women/tessa-greiner/portfolio/)
Profoto Rentals: Kallos Studio (https://www.kallosstudio.com/rental/product-category/profoto/)
