Back to Black: Fashion and Beauty with a Darker Edge

Flowers tend to be a recurring theme in my fashion and beauty photography. I love to incorporate them in the wild, painted on walls or backdrops, as motifs on clothing or hair accessories, or as props when shooting in the studio. Most of the time, however, flower imagery tends to be bright and airy, evoking the vibrance of nature, accompanied by a happy, colorful mood. For this beauty concept, I wanted to use flowers in a more low key, darker context, complementing the flowery lace of the black top I had selected. The result was a more Victorian-inspired look, part May Queen, part Persephone.

Shot at the studio of the IHECS in Brussels, I decided to experiment with window light, in order to provide a soft, natural-looking image, with a defined edge and good contrast. Since the walls of the studio were black, the light fall-off naturally faded to black behind the model, while still painting detail in the blacks of the clothing. Model Kateryna Karpushyna managed to exude just the right amount of intensity in her gaze to complement the atmosphere of the shot.

To complement our exploration of fashion with a bit of a darker edge, we shot some high contrast black and white images using a constant light. The silk ribbons, attached to a boom arm overhead, brought more of these undercurrents into the mix, allowing the model to experiment with new poses and expressions. While I initially thought the ribbons would introduce an element of puppetry, like a marionette being controlled by a set of invisible strings, the lighting and posing pushed the mood into a tinge of noir, with a touch of German expressionism as well as a hint of classic Hollywood.

Kateryna’s poised elegance gave the shots the allure of a grande dame entangled in a fated plot, wistfully contemplating her role as an actress on the world stage.

Finally, for our third look I decided to infuse some color into the shoot, picking up on the blue notes in the dress. As the sun poked through the blinds, I used direct window light to create a sunny, contrasty image that would carve out the silhouette of the dress.

As a variation, I bounced a strobe into the white background, which created a hazy, ethereal look, with more emphasis on atmosphere.

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