How I Got the Shot by Jeremy Kramer

Bio: Jeremy Kramer is an editorial and advertising photographer based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Follow Jeremy on Instagram, Facebook, and connect online at jeremykramerphoto.com.

Concept

This image is the result of a test shoot I put together to collaborate with a few new freelance artists. The concept for this shoot is fairly simple on the surface. Clean, simplistic, beauty. With this kind of image, the details are very important because there isn’t an elaborate concept to draw your attention. It is extremely important to establish a connection with your model to capture the expression and mood that you want in your final image(s). Additionally, hair/makeup/retouching are key elements. I pull together test shoots like this to work with new artists whenever I can.

Setup, Lighting, and Gear Used

Proper lighting is essential when creating beauty images. While there is no set way to do things I believe the lighting should complement the overall mood of the image. For this shot, I used 5 Profoto D1/D2 heads with a variety of modifiers. Our first main light modifier was a beauty dish with grid and diffusion. The second main light was a gridded strip box under the beauty dish, a “clamshell lighting” setup. The last light hitting our subject was an overhead fill which was a 7’ Westcott umbrella (silver) with diffusion. Finally, I used two background lights, one with spot grid to create a small bright spot right behind our subject and another with a small umbrella and diffusion to fill and brighten the background overall. Additional gear used for this shot: 

• Canon 5DS w/ 100mm L Macro lens
• Profoto Air Remote TTL-C
• Tether Tools USB 3.0 cable with Tetherboost Pro.
• Tether Tools JerkStopper A Clamp (This has saved me from jerking my cable out of my computer many times)
• MacBook Pro running Capture One Pro

Shooting Tethered in Studio

Shooting tethered is an essential part of my workflow. It is much easier to see details in the image we are trying to create on a larger screen rather than the back of the camera. This is also extremely helpful for hair and makeup artists to see and correct anything we can in camera. I recently purchased up the TetherBoost Pro to help with signal reliability and that has been amazing.

Post-Processing

I do most of my own post-processing/retouching but for this project, I decided to enlist the help of an awesome retoucher Jordan Hartley. I sent him over the raw file for this image as well as a .jpg that I had drawn on with notes for retouching. Since this was a test shoot I took advantage of the opportunity to try working with new talent in this area as well.

The Team

As mentioned, I worked with a new team for this project with the exception of my main assistant Devyn Glista. Hair & makeup by Jesse Gray @Jessegraystyle. A special thanks to Nate Nunemaker for the behind-the-scenes video. Retouching was done by the awesome Jordan Hartley www.jordanhartley.ca/ For even more How I Got the Shot articles, download version 3 of the How I Got the Shot Guide. Each educational article features a different image, behind-the-scenes video, as well as a detailed breakdown of how the shot was made.