by Bror Fredrik
Las Vegas Luxury Photographer
A behind the scenes look at a recent body painting and yoga themed photo shoot …
Location: In Studio [Las Vegas]
Gear Used:
- Nikon D810
- Nikkor 50mm 1.4G
- Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G
- Nikon SB-910 (x2)
- Profoto B1
- Wescott 48″ x 8″ Softbox (x2)
- Photoflex 8′ Octabank
- GF Snoot
Total Shoot Time: 2 Hours
Total Editing Time: 14 Hours
Making the Images
I was recently commissioned to shoot a yoga themed session that also combined body painting … two elements that aren’t seen together often. Having experience in both, the idea of combining the two seemed both exciting and creative so I was up for the challenge!
Lighting setups for this type of photography tend to be a bit more complicated than most photo shoots. The lights have to be positioned in such a way that the subjects body is separated from the background and the persons physique is “carved out” and muscle definition is enhanced. This is not done to enhance or create something that isn’t natural to the person but to bring back the 3D definition that exists in real life to the 2D world of digital images and print. Add to the mix the intense colors and coverage of this fantastic body paint work that was applied to this client … which took 5 hours in case you were wondering. Normally shadows play a huge role in fitness and yoga photography but in this case all of the color also had to to be accurately displayed. For this shoot I used 2 large size strip boxes to separate the model from the background and define her lines, one left and one right. I then used a huge 8′ deep parabolic octabank “key light” in front of the model to provide controlled fill light and even illumination.
Lighting is so critical when photographing the human body. It’s a balancing act between proper illumination and well placed shadows that give definition.
It took about 45 minutes getting the lights and background perfect. Many of these poses took quite a bit of work on the clients part and timing on my part. We got into sync after a little trial and error and it all came together. I shot about 60 images in total and produced 8 fully edited final images.
I love doing fitness and athletic based photography! I hope you enjoyed this look behind the scenes into my life a Las Vegas photographer. ~ Bror Fredrik
If you’d like to schedule a yoga photography session or themed shoot please use the contact info below or click this link to schedule a call back!
