Meeting Milestones, Hollywood Style

4 years ago I saw portraits taken of celebrities by photographer Mark Seliger at a custom-built set at the Vanity Fair Oscar After-Party. That’s how long I’ve wanted to create photographs like his and couldn't even get close.

Why 4 years?

Creative Gap: the gap between what we know how to create and what we want to create, a term and concept defined by Ira Glass.

When the inspiration first hit me I didn't have the skills to actually create the kind of imagery I had in my head. It took years of study, practice and learning to even get close. Last December I decided I'd had enough practice and it was time to do something with it or quit. I crafted a backdrop and hosted my own portrait studio booth at a charity event. While not at Mark Seliger's level, the experience helped me recapture the vision and how to adapt the idea for my own style.

Then in February, Salt Lake Photoshoot Collaborations announced a Hollywood Glamour group shoot with some professionally styled models. The location, theme and opportunity were exactly on brand for me. This was a chance to test my limits and see where all that learning could take me.

And there, now five years later, standing next to a stack of vintage steam trunks, I looked at the preview screen on the back of my camera and saw it: the image in my mind.

Ali Pasko, model

I almost cried.

Creativity is an endless process, but hitting personal milestones certainly feels good.

Model Lauren Christiansen, main light at camera right

Technical Stuff

For this shoot I tried something completely new to me: shooting in a dark room. No natural light anywhere. I used two speed lights in 43-inch octa umbrella soft boxes, with the main light on one side and a fill light to bring up the shadows on the other. Most were shot around f/8 at 1/125 sec. I chose those settings to eliminate all ambient light, as fluorescent bulbs were everywhere and I didn't want their color cast to interfere.

Full credits at end.