REUNITING WITH LIV

IDEA: LAYERED LIGHT IN THE SHOP: (AND LETTING TIME DO THE RETOUCHING)

I hadn’t seen Liv in too long. She’s one of my favorite collaborators — not just photogenic, but genuinely capable: patient, inventive, and up for an experiment.

The idea was: light the face, the body, and the background individually, then exaggerate the separation with motion blur as a way of letting time soften the image's micro-contrast.

THE PREMISE: “LAYERED LIGHT” (kinda)

Instead of one “pretty light,” I built the scene in layers. Each plane had its own job.

The face was lit with a strobe through a very small snoot, with a focus-point exit around 1.5 inches.

The body was lit with an 8-inch constant LED with a deep grid.

The background was lit with a second strobe with no modifier, aimed into the back wall to build a stage-like gradient behind her.

The glue was a small Mole-Richardson fresnel gem (Sunspot) pushed through a large diffusion scrim behind me. That soft wash held the frame together so the hard sources could stay hard without turning everything crunchy; makes the “separate planes” idea feel like a photograph instead of a lighting diagram.

THE FRIENEMY: I USED A 24–105MM ZOOM

I also dug out the 24–105mm zoom - a lens I can’t recall ever using for intimate portraiture. I’m a 50mm prime loyalist for its honesty and the way it renders proximity. The zoom was a deliberate disruption: a different brand of compression, a different kind of decision-making. I also wanted to keep the frame full...something I didn't stick to very well in the moment when faced with the distortion (no room to step back).

I typically use the zoom for more situational work. Shot this collection at the Women's March in 2017 with it: https://www.flickr.com/gp/nick_holmes/U14sn2U152

Book available here: https://www.blurb.com/b/7713491-women-s-march-los-angeles-2017

THE IDEAL SHUTTER SPEED: 1/5TH OF A SECOND?

With all the variables - the technical heart of the session ended up being the shutter speed. 1/5th of a second got me closest to what I wanted.

At that exposure time the strobe can still lock parts of the frame into sharp-enough territory, while the motion blur lets edges and hair become a little wet-plate; softening micro-contrast and sanding down harshness in a way that feels, to me, like it wasn't done after the fact.

WHAT I’M CHASING NEXT: HURRELL WITH A LITTLE EDGE

I love the old Hollywood Hurrell look: epic faces, controlled shadows, cinematic glamour. That inspires my film noir heart. I want the classic polish with a faint threat under it; Hurrell-style glamour with teeth. A magazine editor once described my style as "...as though someone gave Avedon their hotel room key." I like that (it sounded even better in French).

This shoot had many successes. I’m going to refine the execution: tighter control of ratios, more deliberate movement - perhaps using a tripod with a drill attached, and a more repeatable way to dial that perfect collision between sharpness and cream.

(at .8 of a second - still cool in the extra chaos)

Liv made the experiment better simply by being Liv: present, fearless, precise, artful, skillful. I’m grateful for the reunion.

Be good to each other.