Studio shoots take a lot of work. There's setting up, testing, and a lot of tweaking involved. Working in the studio is extra hard for someone like me who is used to being responsive and work things out while pressing the shutter. Nevertheless, the control I get from working in the studio makes it all worth it. Not only it's exciting and fun to re-create light, but studio shoots make it simpler to turn photography into a team effort.

Not having had the chance to do studio shoots in a while, I was aiming for something straightforward like pure white, seamless backgrounds and sharp shadows. So, my goal with this photoshoot was to create high contrast images, but as it's the case with just about anything creative, what appears to be simple, it's not.

The lighting setup for this shoot started with a 300watt strobe pointing to the background, and a 200watt strobe light directly above Danielle’s head, which I mounted on a boom stand. As the shoot progressed, I began alternating between a standard reflector and a beauty dish. I also used an octagon and reflective umbrella with and without a background light. Lens wise, for the most part, I shot with an 85mm and some frames with a 100mm Macro. Both lenses set with large apertures ranging from F14 to F22 to get the sharpest images possible. I did no use a light meter.

Though I think I started this photo shoot in the right direction, switching lights made it more difficult than necessary. I suppose that pushing my luck with different techniques and not having a good foundation of what I'm doing is one way to keep me engaged in the process. However, at this stage, I much prefer to focus on consistency, so, in my next studio shoot, I'm determined not to change lights so that I can maintain a level of control.

As I look back on how things went with this photoshoot and reflect on the things I need to work on in my next opportunity, I can’t help to feel relieved to finally being able to work in a studio. Which in this case, happened to take place in Black Sheep Atelier, in Norwalk CT. To follow BSA, find them on Instagram as @blacksheepatelier