Booty Shoot Setup BTS (Patreon)

Several people have asked how I created the light for this image - it is is both more straightforward than it seems and harder:

You can see it here:

I laid the tarp on the floor and raised the far edge a bit up as I knew I needed to have background above the last model.

Then I placed three lamps illuminating the wall behind the models, as you can see.

The lamp on the far right blew the model light, but the lamp still works, so it complements the "triangle." I started out having the lamps about the same height, but this overexposed the model closest to the light and didn't send enough light to the frontmost.

The back wall is about 4.5-5m (12-15') high, so in effect, I'm creating a massive softbox about 2x5m (6x15').

Since the ceiling is very high, I don't have a massive problem with light reflecting from that; I get the rather hard light softened just a bit. Had I had a lower ceiling and closer walls, I would have covered them with black fabric to avoid the light becoming flat.

And then I adjusted the model's booties to tilt slightly toward me, the ones in the rear more so than the closer ones, as I was shooting more down on them. This also had the effect of equalizing how the light affects the models:

Since the closer models were lying flatter but were further away from the light (making the light smaller and harder), the models most proximate to the light were tilted more my way so the larger light source would hit left of their body.

The net result is that it looks almost like I lit everyone evenly.

In reality, the models at the back were about 1,5-2 F-stops lighter: As you may know, light decreases at the inverse square of the distance.  The models near the camera are about twice as far away from the wall than the closer ones). I evened this difference in lightness in post-production.

And I made the background neutral and darker to make the models stand out.

I knew I needed a massive depth of field for these shots, so I cranked the generators up high so I could shoot with an ƒ. 16 to get everyone in focus.

And Bob's your uncle