Date night: A cute couples’ photoshoot idea

I recently did a couple photo shoot. Jess is a rockabilly model and she’s shot 1950s cool before, but this time her partner Danielle joined the studio.

Create a theme

I found inspiration for 3D movies on Pinterest and elsewhere, and put together mood boards for date nights. For this shoot, I really wanted that James Dean bad boy vibe. Jess is cute rockabilly Wearing his dress and jacket James his dean his style leather his biker borrowing his jacket pop Daniel in his shirt and blue his jeans It was so easy to do.

After that, I went looking for a box of popcorn, an old-fashioned bottle of Coke, and a glass of milkshake. Some are easier to find than others. Oversized 3D glasses were made by hair and makeup artist Em. It was all kept pretty simple, but I had a lot of fun creating this series.

We went to three scenes: movie, milkshake, and going home.

proper hair and makeup

Em Mrietta is our hair and makeup artist who created a poodle fringed ponytail along with amazing winged lashes and makeup. Daniel was so easy. He wanted his back hair sleek, but he needs to work with what he has.

Recreate the atmosphere of a movie theater

Two chairs were placed in front of a black background and shot from behind to recreate the atmosphere of a 3D movie. He then turned his chair around and placed his Godox strobe against a backdrop of magnum dishes and a barn door to create the ambiance of the projector.

I used two other light cameras on the left and right with blue and green gels to add a ‘movie vibe’. Add popcorn (lots of popcorn) and you’re good to go. Then it went to the cliché yawning, stretching, arms around the shoulders “in the movies” and Jess hummed it with different expressions (to better see facial expressions, some images are in 3D I took off my glasses.)

Not used to being in front of the camera, Daniel played the perfect tough guy. Em created the perfect hair and makeup look for her Jess. She tethered to Capture One and filmed the whole thing, so everyone could see the captured image.

used gear

I shot with a Sony a7R III and a Tamron 28-75mm lens, keeping the focal length around 40mm. We also used a tripod so we could set up and leave the shoot.

I shot at ISO160, but since there were two people, I set the aperture to F5.6.

My lights were two Godox AD400s, a bare bulb (or magnum reflector and barn door) and a Godox AD200Pro with fresnel heads. I used the blue and green gels that came with the Godox lights. Using a bare bulb makes the light a bit difficult and harsh, so I usually use a softbox to diffuse the harsh light.

Create a 3D look

It’s actually quite easy to recreate the look of a 3D movie by placing text (if you want text) on the image in Photoshop. I created a cinema, seats, and a screen and placed them in front of a seated couple.

I also added some glow to the front from the screen light. Then I created a new Stamp Merge Layer — Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E (Command + Option + Shift + E on Mac). I’ve put together a small video below.

Remember, not everything has to be completely serious. Making good memories can be just as important as taking great photos.