Yesterday I had a 1 on 1 workshop with Mina who wanted to learn some more studio photography techniques before she leaves Okinawa next month. After the dark and smokey Star Trek shots in September we decided to go clean and bright.

This was a three-light setup. Two strobes were pointed at a white background, and the keylight was a  Profoto D2 with a 3×4′ softbox.  Large flags stopped any spill from the background lights hitting the subject. Our model was Kelley, and makeup and hair was done by Audra Presika. We first went will a beauty look that was reminiscent of Daryl Hannah in Splash.  We then switched to an 80’s glamour look, that with the addition of a prop gives us some (somewhat tardy) commercial images for the  Motorola Dynatac.

A more up to date bit of kit was the new Profoto D2 1000W light. Unlike my Profoto B1 this is a mains powered light, so is designed for studio rather than location use. It has fast recycle times, fast flash durations, and unlike my old Profoto compacts, or the Profoto 7a power pack it has an integrated wireless receiver.  I could therefore trigger the D2 with the Profoto Air Remote and have the background lights in slave mode. I really like the improvements in the controls compared to the B1. Overall a great bit of kit, and this will become the heart of my studio system. Would love a second one in the not too distant future.

Thanks Mina, Audra, Kelley, Yuki, and Zac for a great studio workshop. The ’80s never looked so good.