Grey Gardens

I discovered Melissa Rodwell's amazing fashion and beauty work much like how I found this sweet clip of Zero Gravity Cats. That is, by complete accident. Thank you, procrastination!

I think I like Melissa Rodwell's photography because it's dark and edgy. Almost gothic in a way. It's not the same old boring shot of a vapid model posing in front of a cyc wall. There's tension. There's mood. There's a concept. Thank you!

Coming from the advertising side of this school, the one thing that is pounded, beaten and forced into our brains each and every day is that "Concept is King!" (aaaand que dramatic echo).

Sure a photo can look neat and all. But, if there's no concept or big idea behind it, then it really doesn't accomplish much other than being just another same-old-same-old shot polluting Flickr. Rodwell's work is coherent and each campaign has a tangible concept. And I find them all to be freakin' sweet.

The shot in question is from the Spring '10 Grey Gardens shoot for Genlux Magazine. The lighting is ridiculous. I'm digging the simple set, featuring paneled walls and a victorian-era sofa (I think it's a sofa, not sure what the difference is). It's almost royal. But not the typical pomp and circumstance. It's gothic and a little demented.

The shot was lit using a softbox through the window. "We We blasted about a total of 600 Watts through one [softbox] on that side, so not a lot."

The key light was a beauty dish placed high, camera left and angled down at about 45 degrees. It was also pumping out about 600 watts.

I know that Rodwell also uses speed lights (she shoots Nikon) as accents. So, it appears she threw one into that birdcage in the upper left hand corner as a little flourish. And all the fog/smoke is a nice touch and probably helps diffuse the light a little bit. But I'm just guessing.

It also seems like Rodwell got down low and close with a wide-angle lens (maybe a 34mm). I love the composition and the perspective helps push the piece further toward twisted.

There's also a behind-the-scenes video of this particular shoot on Rodwell's blog. It's a great resource for anybody interested in shooting for fashion.

When it comes down to it, I'm really impressed with the results she gets with just two lights. Of course the shots are probably tweaked a lot in post. But, damn! Great work and she's up there in my top five.

Here are the rest of the shots from the series: