How Hard Light gave this Brand a very Editorial Look

As a photographer, I have carved myself a niche when it comes to my style of shooting. Even when I was a wedding and family photographer at the beginning of my career I was drawn to the light and airy look and eventually found my style as a light, bright and airy photographer. When I transitioned to branding photography, I maintained that vibe, I just changed up my clientele. When I receive an inquiry to book a shoot, most people will actually tell me that they are contacting me because they love my aesthetic. They specifically want to work with me because of that light, bright and airy look that I’ve become known for. Up until now, I haven’t really further experimented with my style.

However, when my Membership client, Hayley Denker of Hayley Denker Marketing, sent me a Pinterest board to give me an idea of what she was looking for for her latest shoot, I noticed something in many of the images: hard shadows, the obvious use of flash, a much more editorial look. 

So when we held our shoot plan call I asked what she liked about the images. Was it what was happening in the images or was it the look of the shots themselves with the hard light? 

Hayley told me that she liked both the content of the shots as well as the shoot style (heavier on the flash and shadows), but she understood that didn’t necessarily match with my usual aesthetic. A few years ago I would have stuck to what I know. However, I felt comfortable enough with Hayley to say I was willing to give it a try. 

I knew this would require a couple of different lighting styles. So prior to the shoot I made sure to practice using my big umbrella to capture their headshots with some more dramatic lighting and my direct flash to get those hard shadows and moody vibes. It had been a while since I’d used the direct flash technique (my husband, George, is always a good sport!) so I wanted to make sure I was prepared. 

To achieve this editorial, Vogue-like look for this shoot I ended up using two different lighting setups. The first was with my big umbrella without the seamless diffuser and strobe to capture team headshots and some action shots. Check out the results below: 

For the second set up, to really sharpen those shadows, I used direct flash with my speed light on and off camera. This gave the working photos and detail shots a very different and unique look which you can see below:

For the second set up, to really sharpen those shadows, I used direct flash with my speed light on and off camera. This gave the working photos and detail shots a very different and unique look which you can see below:

While I plan on sticking with my light, bright and airy aesthetic for now, it was fun to try something new and I won’t be afraid to experiment in the future should a client want to give this shoot style a whirl. 

If you are looking to book your branding session, make sure you click here so we can get something on the books!