This image is a part of a small personal series I’ve been wanting to photograph over the last couple of years. The general look and feel is inspired by classic mobsters in the 1930s (think the movie Public Enemies). I was fascinated by their suave appearance and lawless attitude. So when the weather finally warmed up enough for a night photo session, I convinced my good friend Alec to model for an hour in his classy outfit.
We photographed at night to set the environment. One light from above camera left shooting into a silver reflective umbrella to control the spill. Another light camera right, set to 85mm aimed directly behind the subject to create background separation. I bumped up my ISO and lowered my shutter speed to let in the overhead floodlight and add in some natural grain. The last photo demonstrates the stages of the post processing and the “No Parking” sign that was cloned out.
I still have a couple more photos to process from the shoot but I wanted to share one before I get too bogged down in editing again.