Bright colours in a simple location – a fashion shoot with Sascha Hüttenhain

Concept and idea:

My idea was to play with the bright colours of pretty outfits in a very reduced location that is rather grey and definitely not playful. To make my vision realisable, I thought about a concept before the shoot and planned the implementation very thoroughly. Straight lines of the architecture, but also the simplicity of the surroundings were important to me, so that nothing distracts from the actual image message and the view is focused on the essentials.

To ensure that my idea could be realised on site, I worked with a stylist who procured the fashionable items. We had a detailed briefing discussion beforehand so that we were on the same page in terms of my requirements for the fashionable outfits and also the choice of colours. There is nothing worse than a miscommunication between stylist and photographer and therefore the picture idea cannot be realised as I had imagined.

Coordinating with the make-up artist on the look of the hair and make-up was also important, because the overall appearance of the model should flow into this reduced scheme and make the whole concept coherent. So a simple hairstyle and simple make-up that only lightly emphasised my model’s facial features and contours were my chosen strategy.

Integration of the Datacolor Spyder Checkr Photo:

Before the actual series of shots, I always take a shot of the Spyder Checkr Photo with the model in the respective outfit and location as a colour reference.

Later, in the post-processing of the pictures, the colours can be matched easily and quickly and the colours can be adjusted. Especially with my gaudy outfits in the rather plain backdrop, I wanted the colours to be accurately reproduced, which is a breeze with the Spyder Checkr Photo.

For me, the ideal thing is that the Spyder Checkr Photo is small and handy, so it fits in your pocket or any camera bag. For a shoot like this, we have to carry around quite a bit of equipment as it is, so this small and lightweight colour reference tool comes in handy.

Photoshooting

We started the actual photo shoot early on an October morning. Due to the time of year, it was of course not really warm, but rather autumnal fresh. That’s why we took breaks in between so that the model, who was dressed in tights and a short skirt, could warm up more than the rest of the crew.

To illuminate the model, brighteners in the form of reflectors and also flash lights were used, which were placed and used by my assistant according to my instructions. It was important to me that the contrasts were not too strong, but rather soft.

Since we were shooting on a Sunday, we were very undisturbed inside the location and could do our work without restrictions, which positively accelerated the process so that we had all the motifs in the can by early afternoon. The almost deserted location as well as the precise planning of fashion, make-up and the poses I had thought of for the model gave us all a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Selection and processing of the image material

I have got into the habit of marking the photos on the camera during the shoot that I particularly like. This simplifies the selection later and saves a lot of time. After the shoot, I take a closer look at this selection on the computer and then weigh up which pictures I want to finalise.

I then convert my RAW data and use Spyder Checkr Photo to ensure perfect colour and white/black point determination right from the start.

Especially for shoots where colour is important, this is an enormously helpful tool that I no longer want to do without. Shooting a photo of the model with the Checkr Photo in hand beforehand is quick and easy. This simple action saves me so much time in the end that this argument alone would be enough.

It becomes even more important when I work with different camera systems, because with this tool I can calibrate all systems to the same colour reference. This way, the colours of all the cameras and lenses I used during the shoot look like one.

Spyder Checkr Photo is also a tool to be appreciated for later printing.

An HSL preset for my picture series

In addition, with Spyder Checkr Photo I can define a quick but very effective HSL preset and apply this to a series of pictures taken with the same outfit under the same conditions.

This way I don’t have to colour correct each image individually in the image processing, but can also colour match a larger number of images in a batch processing and then finish them.

The photos are then fine-tuned in Photoshop, where my usual skin and beauty retouching takes place.