Beauty Portrait Photography with Sparklers

Photography Tips  •  Portrait Photography

Fabrics, hats, animals, flowers and glasses are commonly used props for beauty portraits. They make the photo more interesting by giving the subject something to manipulate. Since beauty portraits involve only a subject, lighting and a prop, there’s more pressure on the model to express herself beautifully because she is the main focus of the picture.

It’s not everyday you come across a brilliantly-executed beauty portrait that involves sparks bouncing off the model’s face, but Aaron Nace and his team have pulled it off.

Here’s how they did it:

A Sparkler?!

Creating an interesting portrait is made easier by having a few different elements. One thing you can add is a prop. Props direct attention within the photo and add interest. It also gives the model something to play with.

Using a sparkler was a cool idea, but they had no plans of letting it hit the model’s face at the time. Once they happened to catch one of the sparks hitting the model’s face, they decided to push that boundary.

Never force your model to do things she isn’t comfortable with. Aaron put himself in his model’s shoes just to see how close he could hold the sparkler to his face without getting hurt. It turns out it didn’t even hurt at all. Inspiring confidence in your model will pave the way for a more positive and relaxed atmosphere.

Lighting is another challenge in beauty portraits. In this case, the room was pitch black to allow for a longer shutter speed (1 second). A slower shutter speed is often used in light play; coupled with a wind machine, longer light trails were captured on camera. Focusing became another challenge, which is why they trained a flashlight on the model to help the camera focus before taking the photo.

It takes a lot of trial and error to get everything right, from the lights, hair, makeup and even the distance of the sparkler from the model’s face. In the end, the team’s diligence and creativity paid off.