We recently had some fun in the studio. I had this idea about using silver Mylar emergency blankets hung up around the studio to reflect colored lights to create some very cool creative portraits. Add in a VERY cool costume and some crafty hair and makeup, and we had a fabulous afternoon.

The setup

I ordered a six-pack of silver Mylar emergency blankets. We hung some of them from a backdrop stand and laid the rest on the floor. I had mixed feeling about the creases in the mylar. While these did bounce the reflections around, the creases were also a tad annoying. I think next time, I instead of trying to flatten them out, I would perhaps scrunch them up and make them creased.

Gear used

We then placed two Neewer LED light panels with a blue and cyan gel on them, as well as two Lume Cube Mini lights set to Blue. We placed the lights around the studio. Two Lume Cube Mini Tubes on the floor and two Neewer LED panels shining down created a myriad reflections on the silver mylar.

I used my Sony A7RIII and Tamron 28-75mm lens, as the lights were constant as opposed to my usual studio strobes it was a little challenging. My settings were ISO 640, f/3.5, 1/250 seconds at 28mm. It was also challenging to get enough light on the subject’s face. I was looking for more of a light shimmering effect with lots of sparkly reflections rather than a regular portrait shot.

Editing

Editing my images from this series in Photoshop, adding a little creative blur with Neural Filter — Depth Blur, adding some lighting effects and finished off with some Nik Color Effex. Apart from a basic cleanup and crop I wanted to let the reflections and color shine through. Some were a little brighter in the face by moving the Lume Cube Mini Tubes closer to the face.

Final images

Just a few of the final images from this series. I am sure there are things that could have been improved, but on the whole, we were pretty happy with the results. Using constant light as opposed to studio strobes meant we could really play with colors and bouncing the reflections.