How do I get this kind of shot from Rihanna's album art?

[Phoxxie]

This is from Rihanna's Album art.





I'm very interested in taking photos like this in the near future for a friend of mine. What settings should I use? Should I use a reflector? flash? Or is this mostly post processing and if so, how can i get a similar image?

[Quaz8r]

I would guess a ton of post processing...There could be some filters used for the in camera shot but mostly looks to be Photoshop to me.

[Izzy]

There are presets for lightroom that do this pretty close, then it is a matter of adjusting it to suit the picture. Check out Presets Heaven to find lots of LR presets.

[Phoxxie]

Originally Posted by Izzy

There are presets for lightroom that do this pretty close, then it is a matter of adjusting it to suit the picture. Check out Presets Heaven to find lots of LR presets.

thank you! I will try that and look for more presets!

[autofocus]

I would have to say that most of the stylized colorization was done in post processing. As far as the shots go, both are backlit, and appear to have no added light on the subject..so no flash or reflector. Usually, you would need to add some light on the subject when they are backlit in order to achieve good frontal exposure. I think it's all in how the subject was metered in these examples. In the first image, they wanted some light on her face, but to not totally blow the details in the background..my guess is they metered off the highlight area on the left side of her face and hair.This would leave the right side of her face somewhat dark, and be close to the exposure of the backlight.

[Phoxxie]

Originally Posted by autofocus

I would have to say that most of the stylized colorization was done in post processing. As far as the shots go, both are backlit, and appear to have no added light on the subject..so no flash or reflector. Usually, you would need to add some light on the subject when they are backlit in order to achieve good frontal exposure. I think it's all in how the subject was metered in these examples. In the first image, they wanted some light on her face, but to not totally blow the details in the background..my guess is they metered off the highlight area on the left side of her face and hair.This would leave the right side of her face somewhat dark, and be close to the exposure of the backlight.

Wow thank you for your detailed thoughts on these images. Sounds like a good guess to me. I will keep that in mind on where to meter to get that hazy look.

[autofocus]

You also could add a soft focus filter to the process. A couple of tricks if you have an extra inexpensive UV, or sky light filter (but don't do this to your primary filter) Rub a little Vaseline on the filter but keep the center portion of the filter clear of the Vaseline...you also can try spraying a little hair spray on a spare filter..again, keeping the center section of the filter somewhat clear of the spray. You'll love the effects you get, but a little messy with the Vaseline.

[Phoxxie]

That is AWESOME! I will try that once i get filters. Nice advice on using a cheaper one cause i would have probably put it on any filter lol.

[autofocus]

Remember, what you see here on this album cover may have been the result of a 200+ shot session before they got the look they wanted. (and the photographers doing the shoot are most certainly seasoned pros) So, don't be discouraged if it takes you a lot of shots to achieve the look you are going for.

[BigFuzzy]

Also, keep in mind the clothing. In the 2nd image, the white dress itself is acting as a reflector. Look at the light hitting the bottom of her right arm, that's her dress acting as a reflector.. this is not to be discounted as a significant part of the lighting of this image.

Seeing her face in the 2nd shot i wouldn't be shocked if there were some targeted flash (or a large reflector) being used to bounce some light back at her.. though, it could all be natty light as well.