This was a shoot in the north London studio Adrian Pini's Studio, near Brent Cross tube station. The models had to make do without a stylist, as she had cancelled last minute. The studio itself is in a warehouse district which presents a lot of opportunities for non-studio images to be taken alongside the studio work. There were three models and two indoor lighting setups. A high key, partially using the infinity curve and a low key, black background setup. The third model was taken out into the yard for location shots until the weather became prohibitive.

Models

We had three models, Strawberry Kiss, Jamie and Dani Divine. They each had multiple latex outfits giving a variety of options when we were shooting. They each had a very different look. Strawberry Kiss was very red. Red latex, red hair and a red tattoo, gave a really powerful image, and she had a knack for giving the camera a smokey, naughty look that worked really well. Jamie was a blond with some impressive, colourful tattoos that worked really well with the outfits and some vivid treatments. Finally, Dani had sets of clothes from a latex designer and changed more often than the other two combined. We primarily worked with her on High Key, as the designer was looking for some images, and her look was impeccable, and her makeup, considering it was done herself was particularly good.

Working with Latex

Perfect Fit: Latex is a very close-fitting item of clothing, and it more or less has to be custom made for the model, at least if you don't want it to either be baggy or rip when worn.
Spray somewhere safe: The silicon spray to make sure that latex has a nice shiny look, rather than a dull matt effect, is very difficult to remove if it gets anywhere and removing it often involves sanding away the offending area before re-painting. Outside one a spread of newspaper is often the safest choice. Especially if you are in someone else's studio! It’s also very slippery so make sure everyone is careful walking in that area.
Be aware of where you sit: As a corollary to the above, make sure that the model is told where is safe to sit down and where will be a problem, as the latex they are wearing is covered by the silicon spray and can damage stools and floors.

The Shoot

High Key Setup

Single light setup with a softbox, with the ambient light in the studio and the white walls and infinity curve, the idea is for the model to be surrounded by light. It’s common in fashion, I'm not a particular fan, even though it does give good photographs, as they are well lit, the lack of shadow, for me, really removes definition. It’s very "product-y" in its effect. Perfect for doing a shoot focused on designers clothes for example.

Low Key Setup

I generally prefer a low key setup, especially for fetish work, as the shadows created by the single focused light (normally with a barn door) create some interesting shapes and have the models faces partially obscured. The darkness gives a sense of the evening and by partially obscuring the model, and by having them almost appear out of the blackness, it relates more strongly to the subject matter, in my opinion, than if you have a more conventional fashion setup and approach.

Location

Given the venue, we also explored a bit, gave ourselves and the models a chance to be a bit more creative with the space and the kind of images we could produce.

London Latex