I almost forgot that I said in a previous post that I would give some technical commentary (i.e. photo nerd talk) since I’ve started experimenting with artificial lighting and I’m learning as I go. And also b/c in 3 months (or, weeks) I’ll be wondering how the heck I did this.
I was going for a film noir aesthetic. Dark, mysterious, sinister. The deranged-looking orchid made a pretty good subject, though I think the set up could’ve used a few more props. Maybe the orchid should be brandishing a tiny knife?
Camera: ISO 160, f/10, 1/180s. Killed (sorry) all the ambient light except a tiny bit of highlight on the reflective white pot. This lets the flashes do all the work. Camera positioned to look up from slightly below the table top.
Flash 1: Key light, just a little less than 90 degrees away from the camera axis, zoomed narrow, fitted with barn doors to make a vertical slit of light. You can see its shape in the highlight on the pot.
Flash 2: Rim light, hidden behind the flower pot and pointed straight at the camera, powered at 2x the key light, zoomed wide.
I did’t have an acceptable background to work with, so the lighting was designed to not spill onto the walls in view of the camera. And, yeah, believe it or not, I did dust off that table top first…