The Subject
This is Millie. I’ve photographed her many times over the years, and I think that familiarity brings a kind of quiet energy to the images. Even when the hero frames are calm and composed, she’s got this brilliant ability to flip into laughter the second the camera dips—and I love that. You’ll see one of those moments here, and honestly, it might be my favourite.
This shoot was part of a one-on-one day in the studio, helping another photographer finesse their image-making. It was a chance to talk about lighting, posing, spacing, colour, and how you can play with all of them while still keeping things beautifully simple.
The Setup
This whole sequence was inspired by Millie’s outfit—a loose white-on-white ensemble that immediately pushed me toward a high key setup. It also reminded me that I’d just painted the studio walls again (finally!) and this was the perfect excuse to make the most of that clean backdrop.
The light is feathered away from Millie, not pointed directly at her. Instead, it’s angled just off to the side, and we point the studio flat (a polyboard reflector) towards the light. That way, the bulk of the light bounces back in, softening shadows and wrapping around her more gently. This kind of feathering gives you light that’s flat in contrast but still full of character.
The key to this is the positioning of the light. We’ve drawn out the setup below (top and side view), but the short version is: one large softbox, angled across Millie from camera right, and a polyboard reflector opposite it. I’m standing around 3 metres back from the subject—which is about where I like to be. It gives me enough space to react quickly to anything spontaneous that happens, and keeps the perspective honest.
The Image
These pictures are all about restraint. There’s an elegance in them, I think, that comes from holding back rather than adding more. The background, the clothes, the light, the tone—everything leans into the same calm aesthetic.
That said, the real twist here is that this is actually a shoot about colour. Or more accurately, about the absence of it.
Sometimes, the lack of colour is the colour. In other words, the absence of strong hues forces your eye to pay more attention to the tones, the shapes, the subtle textures. Everything becomes more deliberate. This is where that crisp white suit and clean wall came together with the lighting to form something minimal but visually rich.
There’s almost no shadow. There’s almost no colour. And yet, there’s plenty to look at.
That’s the magic of restraint.
Lighting Diagram