THE SETUP BEHIND THE SHOT – LINDSEY RICKERT

‘Otherworldly Botanicals’ was a series born at the start of the pandemic. I found myself feeling lost and disconnected at the sudden inability to photograph or be near people. Searching for a creative outlet to help me cope, I looked out my window one afternoon to see my Four ‘O Clock plant had started to bloom. These beautiful flowers bloom in late afternoon and lose all of their petals by the following morning. I quickly clipped a few of them and rushed into the studio to play, approaching them as I would a portrait of a person. As the weeks carried on more subjects began presenting themselves as they came out of their winter dormancy and the series was born.

THE SETUP
Shot on a gray background in the studio, I knew I wanted to highlight all the amazing textures of the artichoke by using a triadic color combination. I started with my AlienBees B800 with a 7” reflector and a teal gel on it positioned just slightly to the left of my camera and a little higher than my subject so that it hit both my subject and the background. Next, I added my AlienBees B400 with a 7” reflector and pink gel to the far left and slightly behind my subject so it would highlight the spikes on the artichoke without spilling onto the background. To bring some definition and contrast to the far right side of the plant, I set up my AlienBees B800 with a 7” reflector and a yellow gel to the far right side of my subject and slightly behind again, to keep the light off the backdrop. Finally, I added my AlienBees B1600 with a snoot and a red gel directly above the subject and angled down and slightly towards the backdrop to highlight the purple hairs of the plant while allowing the red and teal to mix on the backdrop and create a transition from teal to pink in the middle of the frame.

FINAL IMAGE