The Beyoncé B’Day Shoot, Shoot & Edit breakdown. (Patreon)

🎥 THE SHOOT

This was for Bree’s birthday – she wanted a Beyoncé “B’Day” album-inspired look. At first glance, it looks complex, but I promise you, it’s really simple when you break it down.

Lighting setup:

• One light was all I needed. I noticed in Beyoncé’s original, you can tell from her eyes—one main light and probably a straw bounce at the bottom.

• I used my Godox DP600 (I think that’s the name) and a silver reflector with the black side behind her to kill bounce from the white backdrop.

• Added a small white reflector dish below to lift shadows under her chin.

• No rim lights or extra flare. Wanted shadows for a more dramatic effect.

Camera Settings:

• Lens: 105mm

• ISO: 100

• Shutter: 1/200

• Aperture: f/11

• Strobe power: 1/4 or 1/2 to get that pop

Key tip: Don’t overthink lighting. Just analyze the reference photo—see where the light hits, then replicate that. Bree’s face shape made the one-light setup work even better.

✂️ THE EDIT

I won’t lie—Generative AI did 99% of the heavy lifting here.

Process:

1. Cut out Beyoncé from the reference using the lasso tool → hit generative fill (no prompt) → selected the cleanest background variation.

2. Removed the "B'Day" text the same way—lasso → generative fill → pick best result.

3. Dropped Bree’s photo into the new background, resized to 4:5 ratio for Instagram.

4. Used generative fill again to expand the background where needed and get rid of the white border/frame.

5. Quick-selected Bree, masked her out → refined the edges with clone stamp (especially her hair and any leftover white edges).

6. Bree’s arm got cut off, so I used generative fill to create a natural-looking shoulder.

7. Added a drop shadow behind Bree to match Beyoncé’s original style.

   • Drop shadow settings:

     • Opacity: 22%

     • Distance: 33

     • Spread: 25

8. Took it into Evoto to:

   • Add grain

   • Boost contrast

   • Do final color grading and light hair retouching

Bonus tip: If generative fill doesn’t get it right on the first try, use the "generate similar" option to tweak variations.

🎉 THE REACTION & RESULTS

• Bree and her mom loved it.

• She added the song list and text herself (I just sent her the clean graphic).

• The graphic got me four more birthday bookings just off the strength of this one edit.

• Not a graphic designer here—but it came out clean.

🧠 Final Takeaway:

“This was super simple, especially with generative AI. Before, this would've been a headache. Now? Just tools and good judgment.”