Breaking-in The Hayloft Studio

So about this new space...

During my first shoot at the new studio, I knew it was important to see what the space has to offer: how the wooden floors and ceilings might affect the colour balance; how to manage both the height and gable of the ceiling as it relates to my lights, modifiers and backdrops; how the often harsh, natural light that filters through the south-facing window could be managed to get desirable results; how the length of the space would allow for more changes in the lighting ratio between subject and background, and whether or not everyone would begin to melt after 20 minutes because of the lack of AC!

Anyhow Helena, Jenny, Brittany and I came together, and I think we got something!

The First Setup

Brittany did a lovely natural look and Jenny made sure to accentuate Helena's curls. One of the great advantages to this new location is that I'm able to take natural-light photos indoors! So I decided to make use of that for this natural look using the south-facing window with a bit of muslin for diffusion. Similar to my outdoor setups in Rockley, this natural-light setup was more directional (adding a bit more dimension without being too contrasty), which suited me just fine - just look at those smooth transitions from highlight to shadow!

The Second Setup

After a quick wardrobe and background change I opted to continue using the natural light from my south-facing window, but this time using some black velvet as a background and I metered my exposure for her skin. One of the take-aways is that this set-up is prone to drastic changes in light quality and colour temperature depending on the cloud-cover and time of day. Though I tried to remain consistent, there are some clear differences in images taken seconds apart.

The Third Setup

Brittany and Jenny decided to go glamorous for the second look, so I decided to switch to my Digibee 800 strobes by Paul C Buff, and instead of using my typical umbrellas, beauty-dish or softboxes I opted for a single bare bulb with a reflector, no modifiers. It's not a very sophisticated setup, but it was good fun to experiment with. There's something very appealing about bare bulbs and sharp shadows, and I felt as though this second look needed that drama! They're black and white because for me, colour just wouldn't do. (Sorry Brittany)

So that's it for now! Keep scrolling to see why the studio is called The Hayloft, or to links that'll get you in touch with Helena, Brittany or Jenny.

LINKS - The Team

Some may know, and some may not...

... that Logan C Thomas has moved to a new studio location in Yorkshire, Christ Church, Barbados! Check out my previous blog post where I mentioned a few of my favorite things about the new studio which I've lovingly called "The Hayloft".

Why is it called The Hayloft? - Well, the space is actually a wooden loft built above some (very clean) horse stables. The groom used to live here so that they'd be close to the horses in case of trouble, but - at least for now - I've taken over!