This is warmed chocolate sauce, a wonderfully graphic prop for photography. 
 
Lighting Diagram 
The cove is lit to balance the front main light to right hand side. 
 
For me the monochrome images are stronger because the pure graphic mix of the chocolate against the skin is so much stronger. 
 
However, I had pre-visualised this shoot about a some what manic women laughing her way through the chocolate. 
In this case you really only get one sequence or style to shoot, the chocolate runs, smudges and so on. It would be interesting to repeat this shoot …

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This is a simple setup, a rectangular softbox behind the model.  I decided to go for a see-through top as I thought that would be more interesting than straight nude.
 
What I did discover was that a not quite rectangular light (it bows) was very distracting and need straightening out in post.
 
The model is the wonderful dancer Jude Windmill.
 
 

 
About the Experimental Shoots Blog Posts
 
In this series I am focussing on different kinds of setups I’ve tried.  Some are more successful than others.  The idea is …

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When you walk into a coved studio, or indeed any space, it is so tempting just to shoot with the background flat and square to the camera.
In particular in a cove, you’ll put the model right in the middle of the space. Here we are using the walls and corners to create different views.
Firstly, with the model against the back wall – her back is to all the lights.

Lighting Diagram
Two softboxes at front provide a little directionality, two strobes at the back light the cove.

Then we have the …

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1) Shoot children at their height

 
Get down to their level to shoot children, don’t shoot the tops of their heads.
 
2) Shoot up to give power
 
Want to make someone look stronger in your picture, then bring the camera below their eye line.

 
3) Shoot down to make someone inferior
 
The reverse tip, if someone is literally “looking up to you”, they will look inferior or submissive.     Now this can be used positively, especially when trying to make girls look sexy or cute.
 
4) Don’t just shoot the face.
 
Especially for children, but not exclusively, what …

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1) Set your picture style to neutral in your camera
 
Doesn’t matter whether you shoot RAW or JPEG.  Set the style to neutral so you are in control of the post processing adjustments for sharpness, saturation, etc.   My standard post processing automatically includes some sharpening, saturation and contrast boosts, but sometimes I don’t what the standard.
 
2) Whiten teeth properly in photoshop
 
Too many people photoshop teeth to bright white.   Here is a better way.   Create a new adjustment layer and set desaturate the yellows.   This will make all yellow in the picture …

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