Hook, Line and sinker (Patreon)

I generally prefer to photograph in an environment; occasionally, I will go for a more sculptural, stylized look.

I lit these using a large Fresnel spot some distance away to get a real hard sun-like quality.

Again I’ve used a Light blocked on the shadow side (two sizeable black foam core boards). The Fresnel has a focused beam, so I can easily avoid light spilling on the studio floor, making the light much softer in the shadows. I would have set up a flag to avoid light spilling on the floor if I had used a direct head.

The one with the white background uses two additional lights with 90cm reflective umbrellas. And the model is standing on a sheet of white plexiglass.

The plexiglass is shiny, which means that even if it has less light than the background, I will reflect the light from the ground, giving you a reflection rather than a shadow.

If you were to do this right, you would also elevate the model on a few apple boxes and lay the white plexiglass on that, making it easier to illuminate the background uniformly.

One important thing when using a white background (and green-screen): you need some v-flats/light blockers to avoid light from the background spilling onto the sides of the subject.