About the Image

A striking advertising beauty image of a woman with dark hair styled in a braided headband, wearing a black lace lingerie top. The warm, moody lighting accentuates her sultry gaze and red lipstick, creating a captivating and alluring atmosphere. It was shot on location in a hotel room in Marina del Rey, California.

How I Shot It

This was shot midday in a average sized hotel room. We closed the drapes to block the sunlight. I used the table lamp in the background for the warm glow and using a Lumedyne battery powered strobe pack with the head inside a 30x30 Four Square "Travel" softbox for the main light and a Sunbounce Swatter, which is a silk in a frame, for the soft fill light. See the BTS photo below.

The hairstylist added a braided hairband that did not match the hair color, it was close, but I wanted it to match the hair. So in Photoshop I made a selection of the hairband, added a curves adjustment layer, and fixed it. See BTS photos below.

Feel free to share, this is the shortcut link: stpvd.com/25/17

For Photographers

The Gear:
Canon camera set to 1/15 second shutter speed, 200 ISO and a Canon 85mm lens set to f3.5.

The Light:
The key light is a Lumedyne battery powered strobe using a Sunbounce Sunswatter (which is silk on a frame) used as a soft bounced fill. The warm light in the background is from a table lamp. See the BTS photos below.

The Rest of the Story

This part of the project was shot in Marina del Rey, close to Los Angeles. The LAX airport is about 5 miles (8km) from here.

This image should have been shot the day before but my bags missed the connection when I flew into Los Angeles from Milan via JFK. After I landed I went to pick up my checked bags. After waiting 35 minutes there was an announcement saying the bags on the Delta flight from JFK were going to be delayed about 30 minutes. Then another announcement 40 minutes later saying it would be another 30 minutes. By this time I am now on the phone with my producer who flew to LA the day before to finish the prep for the project. She asked if she should get me a sandwich because the restaurant was about to close. I said yes and then walked to Delta's baggage office to fill out the paperwork. Delta said they would be delivered in the morning, which they did do. By the time I had to wait in line for a taxi, ride to my hotel, check in, eat the sandwich and fall into bed, I had been awake for 26 hours.

Then the hotel lost the bags after Delta delivered them the next morning. We did not get the bags until late in the evening, so I had my producer set this shoot up to finish the project.

It should be noted that the delay was not Delta's fault but TSA. When you fly into the USA, and have a connection, your bags will be re-screened by TSA and my bags are always opened up and hand inspected, delaying the baggage handling process. A lot of my gear looks suspicions when x-rayed.

My producer was livid that the bags were not here on time making a second shoot day a necessity. I looked at her and said, "Vicki... the plane did not explode in midair, I'm just fine with it." For me I feel it is important to not loose sight of the big picture. Yes, we all lost a day and we had to change the tickets, keep the rental car another day and stay another night in the hotel but to me, that is just life.

Even after being up for 26 hours, having less than a full night's sleep, crossing 9 time zones, being dehydrated from flying, I was still able to function just fine. Fortunately for me, when I am shooting, I am oblivious of just about anything that may slow a person who is not used to crossing timezones a lot, I do cross time zones a lot and even though jet lag is not fun, I just power through.

So, in the morning, I got up, picked up a rental car and started to shoot later that morning and shot all day and into the early evening.

I see things differently, which is an advantage to my clients. Being inspired by the beauty of light, motion, and atmosphere... my work reflects the same creativity and attention to detail I bring to every client project, commercial or editorial. Whether you're looking to elevate your brand visuals, tell a compelling story, or capture unforgettable moments with impact, let's create something visually extraordinary together, stills, motion or both. Get in touch to discuss your vision today. E-mail is by far the best way to contact us as we are traveling on average 175 days a year and sometimes well out of cell phone range.

We are based in Los Angeles, California, Atlanta, Georgia, both in the USA & Milan, Italy, and serve the nation and travel worldwide for projects, both video and stills. On average we travel 175 days a year from all over the USA, to Singapore to Japan, Europe and the Middle East. We are normally in Europe 2 or 3 times a year, mostly Italy and Germany, shooting for clients there.

If you would like to use this image, or any of my images for mock or comp use, please just ask. There is never a charge for this service. Educational use is permitted without charge, unless published, but please ask first. All commercial use is available only with a limited copyright release prior to use from the copyright holder, Steve Thornton. Thanks for looking!