This shoot was in the works for a while and started as a lighting formula in my head and was a culmination of a lot of things -- inspiration from lights at church and concerts, my drive to use my MagMod equipment more, and my desire to exhibit complete light control.  

The model part was easy -- Carlee is the younger sister of former senior client Grant, who I still see every now and then at State Farm Center as a grad assistant for men's basketball.  I also photographed the whole family last year, so we have a history!  Carlee offered to model for a concept shoot, so I signed her on as one of my senior models.  She'll be a #classof2019 senior, and she gets credit for any referrals she sends my way! ;)

The hard part was finding the location. Carlee lives about an hour and a half from me back in my hometown of Mason City, so I wanted to make it convenient for her, but I also thought some sort of stage might work for my vision. I had my DJ friend Ryan Reid from Crash Events hunt around Champaign for some possible venues, but it was Ebertfest weekend and everyone was booked solid.  So, instead I asked my dad to borrow his garage.  It actually worked out really great!  I brought my black seamless paper with me, along with my backdrop stands and every light stand I had. I also borrowed a couple extra speedlights and another stand from some friends (thanks Kristin & Suzy!), a couple extra MagMod pieces from another friend (thanks Jenine!), and a fog machine from another (thanks Val!).

And OH MY GOODNESS, you guys.  These came out exactly as I was hoping!!  The fog gave the colored lights something to "cling" to, the colors are so vivid, and Carlee looked stunning in her floral prom dress.  Plus her hair and makeup were on point!  I am super thrilled with this shoot and so happy to present these on my blog.  I can't wait for my next opportunity to do a shoot like this and am looking for the perfect client to fit the bill.  Is that you??  Email me and let's chat!