Last year, I had the pleasure of photographing a look book for Tabassum Mughal, a Pakistan based fashion designer. The collection was a collaboration with Al Zohaib Textile, and the collection was absolutely stunning. I've written up a breakdown of how I shot some of the collection, with diagrams explaining the lighting set ups for four of the photos. All lights used are by Bowens.
On the first day, we were shooting around the gorgeous Castle Ashby Gardens in Northamptonshire. For this image, I used purely the available light. We were shooting in a glasshouse, providing lots of natural light around the model, with a skylight providing extra light down onto her. The pale coloured floor also offered a slight reflecting effect. The following two images were also shot just using the available light in the glasshouse.
On the second day of the shoot, we shot in the beautiful Holdenby House in Northamptonshire. As we were shooting inside, on a dark day in a room full of dark coloured paintings and instruments, I needed to introduce a couple of lights. I used a white umbrella and a silver lined black umbrella. These modifiers diffuse the light quite well, giving me a soft light. The two lights were positioned towards the front of the model and to their right. They were positioned in a way that the lights weren't pointed directly at them, but so the light would fall in front of them, softening the light further. By using two lights, I've reduced the harsh shadow and given the image a flatter light.
This image was lit with just one light, using a white umbrella modifier. Instead of pointing the light directly at the model, I softened it further by pointing it away from her, minimising shadow and 'wrapping' the light around her. A similar set up was used in the following photo.
In the afternoon of the second day, we moved to shoot outside, taking in the beautiful gardens. The sun was behind some light clouds, providing a great, soft light on the model. The sun was behind me to my right, a flattering angle for the model. (How impressive is my doodle of the sun and clouds, though?)
