See large version here.

This is 80% coming from one of my favourite collaborators, Rheannon, and her endless closet of wonderful costumes. On the spur of a moment, she swept by my apartment looking like this and really how can you not get up for that?

Lighting info

For the shot above:
Key light: Monolight with beauty dish on stand at camera right high
Kicker: Sunpak 555 speedlight on stand from subject left pointing at the right-side of her body
Background: Storm-grey seamless paper

After ten minutes of refussing with the costume -- and my clumsy help getting everything tightened up (that's why you need assistants, because the photographer fails at wardrobe) we got down to business. An hour of shooting, laughs and then she's off like Cinderella to a costume ball and I'm tired out.

But really can you be really that tired when you get to shoot this?

Lighting info

Key light: Bare speedlight lying on the floor pointing up
Kicker: Sunpak 555 speedlight on stand from subject left pointing down at the boots and leggings

Most of the shooting was done using the first lighting set up but when we got down to the floor in the last sequence obviously all the lights had to come down with her. The monolight doesn't have a stand that goes down that low and in the interests of time I got out a second speedlight and just sat it down flat and used its adjustable head to point in the right direction.

I used a beauty dish in the upright photos and bare flash for everything else because I wanted contrast and highlights in all the metal and shiny bits. Plus with her makeup, very little diffusion was needed.

And what have you got to say about her makeup? It's great. Like I said, 80% what she brought to it. That costume is from a local designer -- I'll try and get the name another time. Funky gun, eh?

I love comics and had several just lying around (after moving, trying to figure out what I want to keep and what to give away). When she came in she saw them and said: "you still read comics?" Aw. Dagger in the heart. Yes, yes I do. I don't spend a lot these days but I still love comic art and comic writing. I'm even in a comic made by local artist Steve Rolston (in a way). I wish I could draw.

This was shot a couple weeks ago from the makeshift studio in my new apartment. The ceilings are not high but there is enough length in the room to pull off a full-body shot. And it is wide enough to deploy my seamless background. Not really large enough space to do any high kicks but in that costume, it wasn't going to happen. At least I wasn't getting into that.