Using one light + reflector to create a rich red stylized portrait
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- Опубліковано 5 січ 2025
- If you follow my work you know I love shooting red, it’s truly my favorite color. I like doing a lot of monochromatic red and red shoots where every aspect contains a bit of color.
For this shoot I used a single soft light source, v-flat and Savage primary red background. I experimented with using a harder light source at first, but preferred the softer look.
I brought the light closer to soften her skin and at a high angle to carve out her cheekbones and jawline.
I added the v-flat because there wound up being a dark shadow on the side of her face which this corrected. If you don’t have a v-flat any white surface, or even a reflector will do the trick.
Using one light, you have to be really deliberate about how you position it. In my case, I needed enough light to bounce into the v-flat and fill in the shadows on her face as well as spill on to the background so it wasn’t too dark.
5:09 - Straight out of camera
Now it was time to analyze the photo. My eye was drawn to a few areas that I found distracting and knew I’d have to correct in post - such as the highlight on the flower and darkening down the red of the table she is leaning on.
7:35 - Color grade
8:25 - Retouched / final
There wasn’t a ton of retouching done here, just some color grading and some skin correction, contrast etc. All very simple to do to get the final result.
I wound up with the selected shot because of how my eye was drawn to it. My eye first would land on the flower headpiece, then travel down her arm, back up and to her face with how it was lit. This provided a bit of a circular pathway back to her face that I found appealing and helped balance the photo visually.
10:26 - These were other images I were considering.
👇 Drop a comment below or any questions!
📸 Camera Settings:
👉 1/200th
👉 F/8
👉 ISO 200
💡 Gear Used:
✅ Canon EOS R5: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Canon 24-105mm: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Profoto D2: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Profoto Deep White Umbrella XL: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Profoto Deep White Umbrella Diffuser: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ V-flat world reflector: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Profoto air remote: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Savage Seamless Primary Red background: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Avenger D600 boom arm: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Savage c-stand: adorama.rfvk.n...
✅ Tethertools tether cable: adorama.rfvk.n...
🔥 For more one light inspiration check out my class One Light Artistry: lindsayadler.p...
✋ Be sure to check out my posing hands guide as well for a ton of posing inspiration! lindsayadler.p...
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👉 Portfolio: lindsayadlerpho...
👉 Instagram: / lindsayadler_photo
👉 Facebook: / lindsayadlerphotography
👉 Twitter: / lindsayadler
👉 Education: learn.lindsayad...
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@12:48 is the frame for me. Sultry and glamorous! Gorgeous work!
Thanks!
Appreciate your teachings so much!
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Some people merely boast they are professionals; others just prove they are with genuinely instructive and inspirational videos like this.
blushing
Love it
I really like this type of video, it lets you understand that even professionals might be taking 100 photos trying to get it right rather than on the first shot. Hearing the thought process that went into getting the shot is very inspiring. I hope they do more like these.
Glad to hear it!
Absolutely love the shot
Thanks so much!
Love watching your videos and I learn so much. Hopefully, I can update profile pictures in two weeks with a legacy camera.
Beautiful image & model!
Lindsay-Not only are you an outstanding photographer-you’re a superb teacher. It’s enormously helpful to hear what your initial plan was for a shoot…then why and how it changed. It’s also great to hear about the paths not taken (i.e. why you didn’t use a fixed prime), and to see the comparison of rejected shots, and the specifics of why they didn’t make your final cut. More than any other instructor I know, you make the viewer feel as if she/he is inside the mind of the photographer throughout and after a session. Thank you.
Thanks so much for the kind words Steven. It's my goal to help and enlighten and I'm so happy to hear that was achieved! :)
I agree! I wish she was at SVA when I went back in 2003. Lol. I wouldn’t have wasted my money.
that was super cool explanation about your thought process and how u ended up with that final photo.
Thank you!
Lindsay, I am so grateful for you. Thank you for all these wonderful videos.
Thank you for the kind words!
thanks. most helpful knowing your creative thought process and thr slight adjustmnt you make with posing.
Thank you for watching!
Very nice and generous of you to share a little of your thought process throughout the shoot till the final result. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
How do you not ❤️ Lindsay. And UA-cam “finally” posted your video on my sub page 😎.
Thanks so much for the kind words. I apparently had some settings that needed to be tweaked for it to show up, ugh! So much lost opportunity for people to get notified of videos, my bad! ;\
@@lindsayadlerphoto don’t say I didn’t give you a heads up a few weeks back about not receiving the notification! 😄 glad it’s fixed! 🛠
😀
Thanks for the inspiration
You're very welcome!
For the two trolls that did the thumbs down seriously
Lindsay thank you for this love your work.
Have an amazing day.
People gotta hate. You can see some of the know-it-alls commenting here that probably are the ones who did it lol.
Creativity at work, clear, understandable and simply beautiful, thanks Lindsay
Thanks so much!
Lindsay provides more than a photographic education this is truly a photographic experience at a different level, thank you.
Aw thanks so much for the kind words Gregory!
I always learn a lot from your videos, Lindsay!
Such kind of breakdown videos and about the thought process behind the image is really helpful. And no doubt the final image was just fantastic.
I love this kind of videos when going though the process and what she thought between shot and processing. Love it!
Thanks so much for watching!
love the way you develop and reach to the get the final image, keep it up
Thank you!
Love this shot you are amazing.Thank you for this video.
Thanks so much!
Love the process
Thanks so much! :)
@@lindsayadlerphoto you're an excellent teacher as well
Thank you so much for the kind words! :)
As always, thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial
You're very welcome, thanks for watching! :)
These tutorials literally could not be more perfect. Almost feels like you're actually explaining a shoot that I attended because you took the time to show BTS with narration. They really are like bite sized bits of a seminar. This knowledge will really be a boon to me in the studio. Thank you!
From an old tv lighting pro: that laptop is expertly lit. It’s the little things that sets one apart. Well done.
hahaha amazing. :P
very nice tuto.
Do you have tutos or courses about clamshell portrait with a beauty dish (or a 90cm parabolic) on top and something else on bottom ?
On bottom, Scott kelby is using a square softbox, many people use westcott eyelighter 2 (could be tedious to assemble on site), other people use an umbrella oriented to the top, other a parabolic 65cm softbox and, recently, i was surprised Manny Ortiz is using a 30x120cm westcott stripbox which looks very nice idea too.
You can check out my beauty class at learnwithlindsay.com -- both a guide and a class. I have those as well as the headshot lighting guide if that suits you more.
inspiring as always !
Thanks so much! :)
Thank you for these photo deconstructions. I learn so much!
Glad to hear it! :)
Always love a good lighting breakdown, but my favorite part of this video is when you walk through your thought process while you’re shooting. I find that if my light is looking good but I’m not getting the shot I want, that I start to panic instead of think creatively! This is a good reminder to experiment with the other elements in a photo and not just the light.
Thanks so much!
Great video. I really appreciate showing the thought process on how you culled the photo.
Sure thing! :)
Love the behind the scenes, thought process and problem solving insights, especially about the colors matching the mood, and shapes adding interest. I mostly shoot outdoors but I learn a lot from your videos that makes my images better. Thanks! 😃
Thanks so much for watching Emily! :)
I love your work
You’re very kind thank you!
Always love the photo deconstructs. Also love the learn+, only half way through this months episode but can t wait to continue
Thanks Kim! Happy to hear that you're enjoying it! :)
Masterpiece, sometimes less is better. Sometimes one light source speaks more volume in an image with well defined highlights and shadows.
Totally!
Absolutely adore the red on red on red on red! 😍 Also loved the behind the scenes is well 🥂
Thanks so much! :)
Stunning image
Thanks so much!
Thank you - so well explained. Leading lines in a portrait was quite something
That often how I think about posing!
Love it. Would love to see more videos form you.
I've got plenty on the channel! :)
Love it, you really are The best photography teacher out there! Thank you for another amazing tut video!!!
Thanks so much!
A very nice, concise breakdown of what you did and why you did it. Thank you.
Also interesting is that you were wearing red as well. That image came out awesome. Definitely digging your work 💪🏽
red is my fav... clearly. lol
Love this type of video! Hearing you break down your thought process as imagery goes by is insanely helpful to a new photographer -- thank you!
Great video. The analysis of the images at the end and how you thought about them is very helpful and inspiring. It will encourage me to take more time with posing and experimenting rather than presuming I should be able to just get a great image within a few minutes. And hooray, the notifications are working now!
Thanks so much!
Really great to see your workflow picking the right photos... and that’s makes us feel that we do something similar till you find the right one
Love it♥️. Thank you for sharing !!🙏🏻
You're welcome! :)
Thanks, love your very well organized, well readoned and well produced way of teaching :-)
Thanks so much!
Again amazing. Thank you :)
Thanks for watching!
Love this so much. And I was just thinking of getting that red backdrop!
It is excellllente
from Colorado! Hey Lindsay! Great lesson. And as others have pointed out, the explanation of the thought process gives me food for thought for my next shoot. I never considered "leading lines" for a portrait using hands and arms to lead to the face or as you called it a circular path giving the image motion or leading the eye through the portrait. Something I thought was interesting is how people will see differently. When you talked about what you see first, for me it was the spot on the glove. I instantly picked that up. Then my eyes were drawn to the scar then skin imperfections on the face, the headpiece was last actually... maybe I need to rethink a few things. Something I didn't pick up on until you showed before and after was the liquify adjustment to the arm and your hair "fix" wasn't that I thought you would do. All in all very educational especially the culling process while you talked your way through that. Makes me feel a bit better knowing it's normal to have several frames before you find the one.
Thank you so much for sharing your process.
All the best,
Todd (from CO, LOL)
so glad you enjoyed it. Yea, to be fair not everyone will experience an image int he same way. We generally are drawn to highlights, big things, saturated things and contrast. Thanks for watching!
It was a good learning - thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Lindsay Iam your fan😍
i’m your fan too
Dear ms Adler i'm a big fan of your work i bought all your classes on creativelive and some on your website. Can you please tell what do you use to hang beauty dish and reflectors on the wall behind you. Thank you
going to come out with a class on this soon!
@@lindsayadlerphoto thank you
Great video as always. What the profoto remote on TTL or manual and what was the light setting? It’s important.
Manual. And if you want to see individual light settings, check out all my lighting recipe guides at learnwithlindsay.com
Hope to see another video from you this month if not busy. Great content!!
I do 2 videos a month always!
I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know 🌸
Aw too kind thank you.
You have to watch the video more than once to get the tips. Thanks.
Hi lindsay thank you for the video. I have a question about the soft box. I can afford one atm so which size do you think is the most versatile and most useful? I already have a simple 60×60 square softbox (not umbrella) but I don't know if it's good enough. Thank you.
Do you ever bring in flags for moments like that bright shoulder? Or maybe think that you can just darken that in post?
I do. It depends on the situation. If i feel something needs it after in post I'll just do that, but I try not to rely on the "fix it in post" methodology that much.
What do you typically set your power to on the profoto light?
I mean it doesn't really work like that. You should check out my lindsayadler.photo/msl class to see how modifier, distance, watts, etc all effect it. My 1000 watt my starting place is 6 if at iso 200... but its really not how it works.
Hi Lindsey, another fantastic video, I really appreciate how honest and open you are about how you achieve your results it’s very refreshing.
I noticed you are using the R5 which I have just moved to from my 5D Mark 3. I assume you are using the face/eye tracking mode so I wondered if you’d consider sharing your settings at some point as I am having to do battle with the AF cluster points jumping away from the face/eye after each shot .
Keep up the great work!
ive been having really good experience with the focus. I have face and eye tracking lead the way, but if I need to take control I use the back touch screen to select a specific point
@@lindsayadlerphoto Thanks Lindsey that’s kind of what I just had gravitated to as well, just had a few times when I’ve had to” chase” the AF dots around in a somewhat undignified manner!
Lindsay do you use a MacBook Pro or Air?
Pro
Thank you Lindsay
You're very welcome, thanks for watching! :)
Wow! This is awesome! What rquipment did you use to hold up the background?
What is Black, White & Red ? A newspaper ! Sorry, LOL, Joke ;-) Hope to see you in France (with Nath Sakura ?) , one day to come
Just curious, why shoot at ISO 200? I notice that a lot of photographers do that when shooting with a studio setup. Is it for a quicker refresh time on your lights so you don't have to use them at a higher power level?
Yes! Exactly. ISO 200 or 400 helps people with lower power strobes or to not have to shoot at full power. this is also super important depending on the modifier you use, if you are using gels, etc.
As always your art is out of this world. Quick question: did you consider having a unique shade of red in your final image?
unique shade of red? not sure what you mean. xo
SUPER. SUPER ,
CONGRATULATIONS,***.
நன்றாக இருக்கிறது வாழ்த்துக்கள் R.MANOHAR-CHENNAI
❤
Monochromatic Red - i always relate such pics to my friend Lindsay Adler signature style
haha true!
Thanks a lot, Lindsay. I'm not really happy with this video and I'm going to tell you why. So far I have enjoyed drawing sketches before it shoots or improvising during a shirt basing on my intuition and what I felt a shot woul like
· all right this will look murky
· yeah this one should be cute and flirtatious
· and this should come out gentle feminine and perhaps pensive.
But now... Now I have to think about my aims and what means I'm going to use to achieve them and the whys. And thinking is so much harder than the feeling and intuitioning. So thanks again, teacher/colleague. 👍🙂
lol I'm sorry you're not happy with my video.
@@lindsayadlerphoto Thank you kindly for replying. Happy to make you laugh. Sorry about the unnoticed autocorrect things (before the shoots became "before it shoots", and "shoot" became "shirt"), but I'm sure you got that.
Is anyone else having a hard time loading the video?
don’t think so
People have no idea what you are giving to them 🙂
You're too kind!
@@lindsayadlerphoto 👍