MAC Cosmetics Catalog Image

Where do pose ideas come from?

Lots of places. One great source is images I tear out of magazines and catalogs. I’ll also ask a client to look for pictures he or she likes as well. In addition, I find images online and either print them or save them to one of my boards on Pinterest.

Last week, I did a studio shoot with my friend, Diana, an experienced model and also a post-graduate student (and college level instructor) in English. Diana and I each brought a lot of ideas to the shoot – too many to do in one day – but we’re already planning another shoot!

The image here is from MAC cosmetics. We liked the high contrast and the dramatic lips and nails. But we wanted to create our own unique images from this general idea – and, for example, try to avoid getting lipstick on Diana’s teeth.

The lighting in our first image is fairly dramatic – one light in a “beauty dish” above the camera aiming down at about 45 degrees, plus one light behind Diana to put a bit of light on her hair.

This second photograph is darker overall and more contrasty – as Diana’s head is lower and turned slightly away from the main light.

One last image below, another variation on the theme, cropped differently from the first two. In a later post, I’ll show other pictures from our shoot, created from very different pose concepts. Diana is a real pro and it’s always a pleasure to shoot with her.  Thanks, Diana, for a terrific shoot!

Keep an eye out for any images you might like to use as inspiration for a photo shoot. Then, give me a call – I’m ready!

Working both in the studio and on location, photographer Blake Robinson serves the Connecticut communities of Darien, New Canaan, Stamford, Norwalk, Westport and Greenwich.