Sonoma portrait studio photographer Jason Guy here. Today’s photo shoot with Miss B. gives you a behind‑the‑scenes look at how I create studio‑style portraits on location. These photos were personal branding portraits for Miss B. meant for marketing and promotion.
This Sonoma Portrait Studio Comes To You
For these portraits we turned Miss B.’s living room into our Sonoma portrait studio. By moving her coffee table and some other furniture out of the way, we had an ideal, unobstructed working space with good light control to create whatever portraits she had in mind! You can learn more about space requirements for studio portraits here.
Miss B. primarily wanted a headshot for her online presence, but she also wanted some authors portraits of herself for a book she’s writing. She also just wanted some nice portraits of herself because she’d never had them professionally captured before.
Other than the above direction, Miss B. gave me complete creative control, which is my favorite kind of project!
To start things off, I decided we should begin with a captivating headshot since this was a must have shot for her. When I have full creative freedom I like to create multiple headshots with different looks so the best fit can be used for the right situation. Even if the person doesn’t want multiple headshots it gives them a few styles to choose from.
For example, headshots on a white background work well for social profiles since the backgrounds of all these platforms are white.
Headshots on black or grey create a bold, striking look for website bios, keynote speeches or anything else where want to make a striking first impression. Let’s take a look at how I captured Miss B’s headshots.
4 Strip Ring Light Headshot On Black
This headshot was lit with 4 studio strobes modified with strip boxes. The strip boxes were essentially arranged in a circular fashion to create a high power ring light. Additionally, I set up a couple V-flats behind her to get more light to reflect back at her and keep her from falling into blackness.
Clam Shell Lighting Headshot on White
This headshot was lit using a clam shell set up with a beauty dish as the key light. A second light with a strip box added a touch of fill to the shadows.
I used two strip boxes to light the background evenly and turn it pure white. That even lighting helps the background blend seamlessly into white website layouts. Since most of the internet lives on a white backdrop, this clean, modern look is one of the top requests I get with my mobile Sonoma portrait studio.
Classic Portraits on Grey
After I felt that we’d captured some good headshots, I thought we should create a few traditional portraits for Miss B that could be displayed in a multitude of ways.
In addition to headshots, I always think it’s a good idea to augment them with pulled back 3/4 or full length portraits to give the viewer some extra context. This extra context helps humanize you (especially online) to people who don’t know you yet.
I chose to do these 3/4 portraits on a grey background and keep them simple. I key lit them with a large octobox, filled the shadow side with a strip light and illuminated the background with a separate strobe.
Low Key Portraits on Hand Painted Muslin
With all of the must have shots captured, I decided it was time to get more creative and capture something more dramatic for Miss B.
With her dark skin and soft features, I decided I was going to sculpt her with classical poses and traditional yet moody light. My goal was to create some striking portraits that would still look amazing 30 years from now.
Despite the very different look from the portraits captured on the grey background, the set up for this is actually very similar.
The differences between the two set ups were:
- I changed the background out for a hand painted muslin.
- I also contained the spot light on the background with a tighter grid.
- I adjusted the power of all the lights to match the dramatic feel I wanted.
Rim Lit Profile Portrait
I really liked the way this low key look was working with her dark features and black dress. For her final portrait I wanted to create something ultra low key but still classically simple.
For this shot I used four lights. I used 3 strip lights to rim light her from slightly behind. Then I set up a large octobox right behind me to act as a general fill and make sure the shadows didn’t go totally black.
Because her living room was so large I decided to photograph this portrait at a very long focal length to give it a compressed distortion. This zoom also allowed me to isolate the portrait as a bust which I think helps give it a timeless aesthetic.
Anxious About Posing? Don’t Worry—I’ve Got You.
Posing is one of the biggest reasons people hire me. Most of my clients aren’t models, and that’s exactly the point. You don’t need to know what to do in front of the camera—I’ll guide you every step of the way.
I’m obsessed with creating the best portraits possible. That means putting you in great light, helping you find your best angles, and making you feel confident while we shoot.
You don’t have to stress about how to stand, smile, or move. I’ll show you how to do this. If you’re looking for a Sonoma portrait studio, tap the button below and let’s chat about the photos you want to create!