Erin Flour
Dancer Erin throwing flour.
Dancer Erin throwing flour.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Aperture f/8 ISO 200 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 50/1 
Dallas, Texas, US
Dec, 2020Views
66
Likes
Awards
Hidden Gem Award
Categories
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Behind The Lens
Location
I had a group of dancers who wanted to do a "flour shoot." I set up a large sheet of black seamless paper in my driveway and used 3 Alien Bee strobes to light the image. The dancers did a variety of dynamic poses and would throw the flour. I did my best to catch the action.Time
We shot just after sunset. Natural light wasn't important because I lit the whole thing with strobes.Lighting
I used 3 strobes total. Two Alien Bee 800s were each side of the seamless setup facing in and forward to backlight the flour. I had a third Alien Bee key light at camera left fit with a beauty dish.Equipment
This was shot on a Canon 5DMKIV, and a 50mm f1.4 lens on a tripod. I used 3 Alien Bee 800s and Paul Buff receivers and trigger.Inspiration
I had seen the results of a few flour shoots and wanted to try it. The dancer/models were very enthusiastic and a complete joy to work with. Their creativity was infectious and we had a ton of fun making several compelling images.Editing
I did a little post - mostly in Lightroom to crop and adjust levels. Some Photoshop edits including cleaning up the background a bit were employed as well.In my camera bag
For pro shoots I always have my Canon 5DMKIV in the bag. If I'm shooting 1 subject I usually use my favorite portrait lens, my Canon 85mm f1.4L. I also usually carry a 50mm f1.4 and a 25-105 f4.0L for when these primes don't do the job. When I travel and don't want to drag the heavy 5DMKIV I have a Fuji X100S in my bag. I also find myself using my iPhone a lot these days, but don't tell anybody.Feedback
I encourage folks to try a flour shoot, it's a ton of fun. DO IT OUTSIDE. The flour makes a complete mess. Have towels on hand and remind the models to avoid other's eyes when throwing the flour. I taped the paper securely to the driveway. The paper also gets slippery when it is full of flour. At the end of the shoot most of the mess can be cleaned up by simply cutting the used paper off the roll and folding it up with the flour inside and tossing it. Getting the timing right on the shots takes a bit of practice and communication with the models. There is a lot of "1, 2, 3, GO!"
