Louise L'Amour through the lens of João Carlos

Recently I had the opportunity to work with my friend Louise L'Amour. Louise is a Burlesque performer and a fashion designer. She created four amazing characters with two looks each that she will be presenting on stage in London soon. I was lucky and grateful to be the first to see her new costumes and photograph her with my Fujifilm X-T2.

Building the set

For this shoot we created a sort of elaborate set with a gypsy feel using multiple backdrops and fabrics which were layered on top of each others using a Westcott Background Support System and Westcott Backdrops. We also used some furniture that I have in the studio to create a dynamic and vibrant cinematic scene.

Behind the scenes Louise L'Amour by Joao Carlos with Fujifilm X-T2 mounted on my 3 Legged Thig tripod and tethered to my computer using a TetherTools USB cable.

For this photo shoot I used my Fujifilm X-T2 mounted with Fujinon XF56mm F1.2R and XF35mm F1.4R lenses.

I was also making 4K video in the same set. So Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XF56mm F1.2R was an ideal choice because I could change between video and photo while keeping the quality of both media. Also, I used my 3 Legged Thing tripod and to better see all the small details of the photos.

During the session, shooting tethered was essential because it enabled me to show the photos to Louise right away so that she could perfect her poses. So, I used TetherTools USB cable to connect the camera to my laptop. This cable is fast, reliable and super-easy to setup, making it my choice for tethered shooting.

We set up a second set just for portraits to capture the details of the character costumes without getting them lost in a complex background. We used various backgrounds and for the light we used a SMDV BriHT-360 and a Halo by Westcott as a main light and also the Eyelighter reflector by Westcott. For the background I used a SMDV BriHT-360 with the SMDV BR-40 Snoot with grid adapter.

Lighting the set

With the set done it was time to light it up. First of all, I used a Broncolor Pulso G with a Broncolor Beauty Dish as the main light just for Louise. I also used a Fast Flag from Westcott to control this light and limit its direction on the set keeping my focus on the model. As a hair light, I used a Profoto B1 with a Profoto 1x6 feet RF strip right above her. Finally, to light the details on the background behind the furniture and model I used a Profoto B1 with a honeycomb grid and two Profoto B2 with a honeycomb grid each to light the details of the fabrics beside the model.

Summing up

Louise is a talented performer and the photo shoot went amazing!

All the images we made were unique and interesting, which the made selecting the final choice a really difficult task. You can see some of the photos of this session in my gallery.

You can also take a look at the video we produced during the shoot presenting Louise L'Amour new characters.

Team

Director & Executive Producer – João Carlos
Camera – João Carlos
Camera assistent – Samuel Felix
Photo Assistance – Samuel Felix
Model – Luísa Correia
Video Editor – Luísa Correia

Gear list

Thinktank Airport TakeOff Rolling Camera Bag
ThinkTank Perception 15
Fujifilm X-T2
Fujinon XF 56mm f1.2 R
Fujinon XF 35mm f1.4 R
G-Drive ev 1 Tb
BlackRapid Strap
Thinktank Citywalker 10
3 Legged Thing tripod
Sandisk Extreme Pro CF cards
Sandisk card case
Sandisk microfiber lens cleaning cloth
TetherTools USB cable
3 Legged Thing tripod
Westcott Background Support Kit
Westcott Backdrops
2x SMDV Briht-360
Standard Reflector BR-120
SMDV Carrying case
BR-40 Snoot with grid adapter
Difuser fabric
Profoto B1
Profoto 1x6 feet RF strip
Fast Flag by Westcott
Broncolor Pulso G
Broncolor Beauty Dish
Profoto B2
Halo by Westcott
Honeycomb grid