Well, my first post in quite a few months. I was surprised today to see that the last post I made on Aper(cul)ture was in January, not actually as long as it has felt (who am I kidding? Eight months is eons in internet time!) The good news is I've got plenty of photography to share.

A little while back, I was hired by Boston T-shirt designers Brivia Sky to make some photographs of models wearing their inaugural creations.

I opted to go for a very clean feel, shooting the models at close range against white seamless. The following shots were all taken using two Canon 580EX speedlites on floor, lighting the background, and a single 580EX shot through a white umbrella in front of and slightly above the model. (I moved the light around for different photos, so experienced readers will notice the key light coming in from the model's right in a few of these, or almost directly in front.)

(1/400 sec, f/8, Canon EF 28-105 at 30mm, ISO 200)

(1/400 sec, f/8, Canon EF 28-105 at 30mm, ISO 200)

(1/400 sec, f/8, Sigma 10-20mm at 18mm, ISO 200)

(1/400 sec, f/8, Canon EF 28-105 at 28mm, ISO 200)

Before you praise the impossible lighting on the background, I'll let you in on a secret - it's cut out. My speedlights, unfortunately, didn't put out enought power to completely blow out the paper, especially given it's texture after that horrible day.

Rather, to simulate the high-key-ish feel here, I simply took the images and carefully cut out the subjects, placing them on a background layer of stark white. Once the background was taken care of, I applied some curves adjustments, saturation, and spot dodging, plus fixing small details like reflections on the sunglasses.

The result is a high-key simulation that doesn't seem too polished, a nice balance of sophistication and edge.