Photographing Veronica Webb has always been fun, but to shoot her for American Vogue was something I will never forget. When I received the assignment to capture Veronica's portrait I thought long and hard about how I wanted to light her. The assignment was a portrait job and in true Vogue fashion I wanted to keep it simple and timeless.
Veronica Webb Photographed for American Vogue
A simple white or grey backdrop always works well for portraits in terms of making them timeless. For the lighting, I used a Profoto bi-tube head with an Octabank umbrella. The only other gear on set was two wind machines. One wind machine was on the ground and coming from behind, and the other was used by the hairstylist, Oscar James, as he saw fit.
Veronica Webb photographed for American Vogue
When using a wind machine (or fan) make sure you don't have it coming from the front. A direct fan on your subject will dry out your subjects eyes and cause their eyes to tear. For this reason having a fan coming from behind is best. You don't need a strong wind machine to give the feeling of movement in hair, just a light breeze. Have fun!
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