2016. My first editorial with L’Officiel Manila.

This shoot was one of the most technical setups I had done during that time/year, considering that we were photographing only half a body of a single subject. Three lights: a main for the face, one for the hair, another to provide an overall spill.

The main light was set on a beauty dish with a layer of white diffusion on it. I wanted to achieve soft but dynamic shadows, without visible lines. Two reflectors were placed on either side of Kat to bounce off the main light and the strip box, as well as block a direct hit from the giant light at the back.

The strip box was set directly above, with a low output to not overpower the main light, but just enough to give separation and glow to Kat. An elevated reflector was placed right underneath to catch the light from above and soften the shadows under the chin and around the neck.
There’s this giant light modifier in (currently) Siren Studios, and I can’t help but find a way to use it whenever we have shoots there. So for this, I used it as a general flood of light into the setup. With all other lights turned off but this one, the results would be a flat and barely visible photo; as if I was shooting right when the sun drops.

Almost every shot had our models in eye glasses, so having any light within the catch range of the glasses had to be avoided; this meant I couldn’t have any light beside me or in front of the model. My lighting setup revolved around this—achieving dynamic lighting without compromising anything on the eyewear. Anything hitting the front of the face was a result of proper bouncing from lights oriented more on the side or the back of the subject.

Under Pam Quinones as Editor-in-Chief
Miguel Mari as Art Director
Styled by Meg Manzano
Makeup by the late and great Archibald Tolentino
Hair by Ethan David
Musing by Kat Smorodina