Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In today’s Photo Deconstruction I use two optical spots to create beautiful dappled light across the subject in this warm beauty image.
As you may know, I’m more than a little obsessed with optical spots, and it’s not because I co-created one with Westcott either. I love how they allow me to create an immense amount of control in my images with tight slices of light or gobos.
This image was taken during one of my hands-on fashion intensive workshops that I hold every year. 👉 https://lindsayadler.photo/fashionintensive
💡Lighting
The main light was an optical spot with a leaves gobo which created little pockets of light on the subject’s face.
The second light was also an optical spot with a leaves gobo pointed at the background for a textured effect.
The last light was an extra large umbrella with diffusion used for fill.
🖌️ Post Processing
Straight out of camera I was happy with the image, I could have kept it as is, but I thought back to the concept and wanted to elevate the image by warming up the white balance a bit more. I added a little bit of yellow to the highlights and a bit of red/magenta to the shadows.
Lastly I went in to fix a few things by retouching just to make some areas more symmetrical and clean things up.
You don’t necessarily need two optical spots to achieve an image like this. You can get away with using one and a gobo with hard light source on the background, it just so happens that I have two and felt that they would foot the bill for this shoot.
👇 Drop a comment below and let me know what you think about the final result!
⚙️ Camera settings:
✅ 1/200th
✅ F4.0
✅ ISO 200
📸 Gear Used:
✅ Westcott Optical Spot: https://prf.hn/l/G9DRROp/ (Free 40 minute tutorial with purchase)
✅ Environmental Gobo Pack: https://prf.hn/l/KXP9e9m/
✅ Canon EOS R5: https://prf.hn/l/7oZobqW/
✅ Canon 24-105 4.0: https://prf.hn/l/deZLnJq/
✅ Canon 24-70 2.8 (as the lens for the optical spot): https://prf.hn/l/QLjXpjz/
✅ Profoto D2: (discontinued, linking to new D3): https://prf.hn/l/K9ENnmk/
✅ Profoto XL Umbrella w/ Diffusion: https://prf.hn/l/W4xmYOj/
✅ Gravity Backdrops beige background: https://lindsayadler.photo/gravitybackdrops
🔥 For more creative setups using the Optical Spot you'll definitely want to check out my lighting recipe guide: https://lindsayadler.photo/opticalguide.
----
👉 Portfolio: lindsayadlerphotography.com
👉 Instagram: instagram.com/lindsayadler_photo
👉 Facebook: facebook.com/lindsayadlerphotography
👉 Twitter: twitter.com/lindsayadler
👉 Education: learn.lindsayadlerphotography.com
Some of the links in this description contain affiliate links to partners.
In today’s Photo Deconstruction I use two optical spots to create beautiful dappled light across the subject in this warm beauty image.
As you may know, I’m more than a little obsessed with optical spots, and it’s not because I co-created one with Westcott either. I love how they allow me to create an immense amount of control in my images with tight slices of light or gobos.
This image was taken during one of my hands-on fashion intensive workshops that I hold every year. 👉 https://lindsayadler.photo/fashionintensive
💡Lighting
The main light was an optical spot with a leaves gobo which created little pockets of light on the subject’s face.
The second light was also an optical spot with a leaves gobo pointed at the background for a textured effect.
The last light was an extra large umbrella with diffusion used for fill.
🖌️ Post Processing
Straight out of camera I was happy with the image, I could have kept it as is, but I thought back to the concept and wanted to elevate the image by warming up the white balance a bit more. I added a little bit of yellow to the highlights and a bit of red/magenta to the shadows.
Lastly I went in to fix a few things by retouching just to make some areas more symmetrical and clean things up.
You don’t necessarily need two optical spots to achieve an image like this. You can get away with using one and a gobo with hard light source on the background, it just so happens that I have two and felt that they would foot the bill for this shoot.
👇 Drop a comment below and let me know what you think about the final result!
⚙️ Camera settings:
✅ 1/200th
✅ F4.0
✅ ISO 200
📸 Gear Used:
✅ Westcott Optical Spot: https://prf.hn/l/G9DRROp/ (Free 40 minute tutorial with purchase)
✅ Environmental Gobo Pack: https://prf.hn/l/KXP9e9m/
✅ Canon EOS R5: https://prf.hn/l/7oZobqW/
✅ Canon 24-105 4.0: https://prf.hn/l/deZLnJq/
✅ Canon 24-70 2.8 (as the lens for the optical spot): https://prf.hn/l/QLjXpjz/
✅ Profoto D2: (discontinued, linking to new D3): https://prf.hn/l/K9ENnmk/
✅ Profoto XL Umbrella w/ Diffusion: https://prf.hn/l/W4xmYOj/
✅ Gravity Backdrops beige background: https://lindsayadler.photo/gravitybackdrops
🔥 For more creative setups using the Optical Spot you'll definitely want to check out my lighting recipe guide: https://lindsayadler.photo/opticalguide.
----
👉 Portfolio: lindsayadlerphotography.com
👉 Instagram: instagram.com/lindsayadler_photo
👉 Facebook: facebook.com/lindsayadlerphotography
👉 Twitter: twitter.com/lindsayadler
👉 Education: learn.lindsayadlerphotography.com
Some of the links in this description contain affiliate links to partners.
