Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This photo is inspired by vintage pin-up illustrations and photography but with a little bit of my own flair added to the scene.
I was aiming to make this image a little bit playful, a little bit sexy and also add a kiss of color, keeping things in the style of old timey pin-up photos.
Lighting:
Surprisingly, this image was only lit with 2 strobes.
-Main: Bare bulb (for very hard light)
Using a hard light and pushing the subject back closer to the canvas allowed me to create a really nice shadow showing the model’s shape.
-Fill: Large umbrella with diffusion used to fill in the shadows + cyan gel.
I shot this image with the Canon EOS R5 and a 24-105mm lens. What I loved about this combo was the fact I could capture the model in all her glory and get insane detail with the 45 megapixel camera capability. #winning
Post Processing
I did very little in post processing — it goes to show you that certain lighting can by itself achieve your end result. I could have left it like this, but tweaked just a few things.
Here’s what I tweaked:
1. I found the red color on the heels distracting so I took that out
2. I was shooting down at the subject which made her look a bit compressed. For this style I wanted to have her looking long since her legs are a focal point, so I elongated them.
3. I adjusted some of the shadows cleaning up some of the lines
As you can see between the straight out of camera and final there isn’t much to adjust.
👇 The final result wasn't an attempt to do an exact pin-up image, but rather channel the essence of pin-up photography and illustrations but with my own style and twist. Are you a pin-up photographer? Do you gravitate toward pulling inspiration from the past? Let me know what you think in the comments!
📸 Gear:
✅ Canon EOS R5: https://prf.hn/l/7oZobqW/
✅ Canon RF 24-105mm 4.0: https://prf.hn/l/deZLnJq/
✅ Profoto D2: (discontinued, linking to new D3): https://prf.hn/l/K9ENnmk/
✅ Profoto Large Umbrella: https://prf.hn/l/75BdnNR/
✅ Large Umbrella Diffuser: https://prf.hn/l/Mb91VR8/
✅ Rosco Color Effects Gel kit: https://prf.hn/l/7gzpR9a/
🔥 Love working with gels but not entirely sure how to use them? I've got you covered! Check out my latest class the Magic of Gels: invite.lindsayadlerphotography.com/magic-of-gels
🔥 New to studio lighting? Check out my class Master Studio Lighting: https://lindsayadler.photo/masterstudiolighting.
----
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.
This photo is inspired by vintage pin-up illustrations and photography but with a little bit of my own flair added to the scene.
I was aiming to make this image a little bit playful, a little bit sexy and also add a kiss of color, keeping things in the style of old timey pin-up photos.
Lighting:
Surprisingly, this image was only lit with 2 strobes.
-Main: Bare bulb (for very hard light)
Using a hard light and pushing the subject back closer to the canvas allowed me to create a really nice shadow showing the model’s shape.
-Fill: Large umbrella with diffusion used to fill in the shadows + cyan gel.
I shot this image with the Canon EOS R5 and a 24-105mm lens. What I loved about this combo was the fact I could capture the model in all her glory and get insane detail with the 45 megapixel camera capability. #winning
Post Processing
I did very little in post processing — it goes to show you that certain lighting can by itself achieve your end result. I could have left it like this, but tweaked just a few things.
Here’s what I tweaked:
1. I found the red color on the heels distracting so I took that out
2. I was shooting down at the subject which made her look a bit compressed. For this style I wanted to have her looking long since her legs are a focal point, so I elongated them.
3. I adjusted some of the shadows cleaning up some of the lines
As you can see between the straight out of camera and final there isn’t much to adjust.
👇 The final result wasn't an attempt to do an exact pin-up image, but rather channel the essence of pin-up photography and illustrations but with my own style and twist. Are you a pin-up photographer? Do you gravitate toward pulling inspiration from the past? Let me know what you think in the comments!
📸 Gear:
✅ Canon EOS R5: https://prf.hn/l/7oZobqW/
✅ Canon RF 24-105mm 4.0: https://prf.hn/l/deZLnJq/
✅ Profoto D2: (discontinued, linking to new D3): https://prf.hn/l/K9ENnmk/
✅ Profoto Large Umbrella: https://prf.hn/l/75BdnNR/
✅ Large Umbrella Diffuser: https://prf.hn/l/Mb91VR8/
✅ Rosco Color Effects Gel kit: https://prf.hn/l/7gzpR9a/
🔥 Love working with gels but not entirely sure how to use them? I've got you covered! Check out my latest class the Magic of Gels: invite.lindsayadlerphotography.com/magic-of-gels
🔥 New to studio lighting? Check out my class Master Studio Lighting: https://lindsayadler.photo/masterstudiolighting.
----
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.
