Challenges of a Tight Space

Mary shows off her collection in a very crowded closet.

For my recent shoot with vintage clothes collector, Mary Kuhn, I literally photographed in a closet.  To get the light I wanted was a real challenge. The angle of the door did not allow me to set the light outside. So to make space, I sat on the floor and put a light on a stand above me. Then I held the camera just inches  above her shoes on the floor to get a super low angle.  With my free hand I used a handheld speedlight to light her jewelry. The total space here for Mary, me and the equipment was probably 3 feet x 6 feet. It was a good challenge.

Our second shot was in a tight hallway, I loved the vintage phone hanging on the wall. In this case I put a light outside a glass door that entered the hallway from the side, giving me a nice soft effect. I filled with a speedlight and softbox from the right. Always a sucker for a tattoo, I focused in on that for this shot.

Our final shot was more what I am used to. I used a large Octabox for this shot on the bed. We lined the bed with more of her beautiful dresses and she posed in a vintage play suit. This pose is a bow to the pin ups of the 50s.