Nowadays, photographers in the cosmetic world are being asked by clients to also shoot video for their social media accounts. This is the exact position that fashion and beauty photographer Jason Pietra finds himself in constantly. Since Jason typically uses strobes for his photography he collaborated with Nanlite USA to create two very different cosmetic video shoots to contribute to his beauty reel for clients. Let’s take a look at what he and cinematographer Mark Raker came up with.

The Lipstick Shoot - Red Monochrome Aesthetic

For the first shoot, Jason wanted to create an atmosphere inspired by the color of the lipstick he was filming. He and Mark decided to use the MixPanel 150 and PavoTube 15C as well as the PavoTube 30C at a hue of 0 (pure red) to oversaturate the scene with a red monochrome vibe. Check out our video below for a shot by shot breakdown of the shoot:

Red Lipstick Lighting Diagrams

The Mascara Shoot - Film Noir Approach

For the second shoot, Jason decided to go more old school, film noir style to reflect the black texture and drama a good mascara can provide. The part two video below takes us through the shot-by-shot lighting used to create this effect:

Mascara Shoot Diagrams

If you're curious about some of the gear used in these shoots, check out the MixPanel 60, the Forza 500, the Stripbank Softbox, and the Para 120 Softbox. 

Here’s a list of the very talented people who made this happen!

Director: @jasonpietrastudio

DP: @mark_raker

Creative: @vivapinkwink

Stylist: @michelle_in_a_handbasket

Set: @matcullen

Make-Up: @kaifri

Model: @boomshakalakaa

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Hopefully this information has been helpful! If you have any questions, please contact us and we'll respond as soon as we can.