About the image

This was from my first shoot with Allee Sutton-Heathcoat, a wonderfully collaborative model in Nashville. It is part of my Classic Hollywood Glamor series, in tribute to the portrait style developed in the 1930’s and 40’s for Hollywood actors. In following the tools of that era, I used an Arri 650 fresnel on the model from a position opposite the camera. A fresnel gave me the control of the light necessary for this style. Since she is lying down, it is coming from the “classic” direction of beauty light sources, emphasizing cheek bones. She is lying on prop furs and throwson a low couch. The fresnel is the only light source, with no diffusion, set to flood for the best shadow clarity. I used a thin , 3′ wide x 15″ long piece of wood between the light and the model to create a shadow across her forehead to narrow the look of her face.It was clamped in a grip stand and set to camera. I pay a lot of attention to a model’s hands and how they reflect her feeling in the scene. I wanted Allee’s hands relaxed, open, and soft.