Soft Light, Hard Shadows: A Two-Model Test Shoot
From reference photographers and lighting diagrams to five setups on a painted Oliphant backdrop, here's how one studio test shoot came together.
The pre-work
We all love to believe that photography just happens, that art is spontaneous and moved by whatever is in front of you. It doesn't work that way. It takes a lot of time, work, forethought and initiative before the camera is ever picked up. I've touched on this before, but I believe understanding the work done before you set foot in the studio is key for every photographer.
This test shoot focused on soft portraits of models and featured my beautiful new painted backdrop from Oliphant Studios, which was the driving force behind the series. Its muted tones and subtleties set the standard for the shoot, and from there it was a matter of thinking through what I wanted to create. I wanted a mix of warm shots and muted, cool shots, so we needed a different motivation for each set of poses, a way to move efficiently from one set to the next without losing time and flow, and test models with the right look to convey what we had in our heads.
At this point, I like to look at those who came before me. I don't think of it as stealing or being uncreative, because so much of art is looking at what others have done and building on it with your own eye, intuition and experience. For this shoot I referenced Dan Winters and Dean Bradshaw. Both have made wonderful work, and I love their tones and the way they use soft light and simple setups and draw out great expressions to bring a shot to life.
Next, I built the lighting setups on my iPad in the Photo Studio Light Setup app, making visual diagrams of where I thought the lights would go. I created five setups, knowing we could modify and move them as needed to get the final effects in camera.
Then I spent a few hours on Model Mayhem looking through countless male and female models for the right look. I found two great models, reached out, and worked out a date that suited everybody. Then we booked time at our favorite place to shoot in Houston, The Houston Studio. In the final week, we coordinated wardrobe, arrival times and example shots of what we were trying to create, and the stage was set for a productive evening.
Set the tone
Once all the equipment is upstairs, the first thing I like to do is set the tone with music. Pick the right music and people have fun and can almost see the image with you. It gets really fun when a group of creative minds help you take your imagery somewhere you didn't see during hours of planning. That's what keeps portrait photography fresh, inspiring and addictive. For this shoot I went with one of my all-time favorites and the definition of suave, Frank Sinatra.
Start with a sure thing
Our assistant for the evening, Caroline, and I built the first setup for the harsh-light shot and kept the other modifiers ready in the wings so we could switch quickly. We started with Paul on a harsh-light look we'd done before and knew would look cool. Getting a good look right off the bat helps your models trust you and know you'll create great images of them. The one big change: I left the center of the face darker than usual and brought the side lights around more, for a different take on a three-light look we've used before. I loved the results, and I could feel my confidence rise for the setups that would stretch us more, technically and creatively.
Soft light on the backdrop
After that, we moved to simple soft-light images of Alexa in front of the backdrop on an old stool we'd borrowed from friends. Her warm tones and the tones in the backdrop brought each other out, and we were all standing around the laptop (always shoot tethered when you can!) smiling at what we saw.
Without changing much, we created a more masculine, completely different image by moving Paul to the floor and shooting off the side of the backdrop for a more nonchalant feel. I kept these slightly cooler and more muted. It was dark under Paul's eyes, so I brought in a little pop from the silver beauty dish to fill those shadows and add a catchlight that brought out the green in his eyes.
Motivated light
With the simple one-light setups done, we moved on to the shot I was most excited about. I wanted an intense portrait that didn't look overly lit. A few days before, Sam and I bought an exposed-bulb lamp and fitted it with an Edison bulb. Knowing the strobes would overpower the bulb, I planned a beauty dish with a CTO gel to throw warm orange light onto the background and the side of Paul's face. That motivated light is what made the images so strong. Once Paul saw how sinister they looked, he stepped up and gave us some intense looks that took the portraits beyond what I'd planned.
We kept that setup and tried adding Alexa, but with her warm skin tones the orange light looked like overkill, so we dropped it and focused on her. I switched to the 85mm, realized I wanted even more compression, and stepped up to the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS. Knowing we were shooting tight crops, Alexa brought the images to life by using her hands and hair to frame some lovely compositions. We added a yellow rose at the end for a bit of color with her dress, but the simple shots of Alexa were my favorites of the night.
Moonlight on the stairs
With time running out and the light outside fading fast, I had one more shot I wanted to try, inspired by Dean Bradshaw's series 1917, with our own Texas twist: Paul on the staircase outside with a rifle as a prop. We blasted the beauty dish through the window to create moonlight spilling in on him as the main light, and added a gridded softbox as a backlight that could be coming from the rest of the house. Before we started, I showed everyone that the chamber was open and empty, with no ammunition on set. We gave Paul some general direction, added a hint of atmosphere with our fog machine, and let him bring the character to life. It was a great way to end the night, and everybody was ready to crash when it was all said and done.
A huge thank-you to Paul and Alexa for being great models and a pleasure to work with, and to Caroline for working so hard to help us make the most of the evening. It's amazing how much fun you can have when you surround yourself with talented, driven people.
The behind-the-scenes video is below.
The film
Watch the behind-the-scenes film
Originally published on the Ruddock Visuals blog, June 2015. Lightly edited in 2026.