Spotlights! Costumes! Carousel Horses! Cabaret Photoshoot!

Cabaret lighting looks simple until you try to shoot it.

One spotlight. Dark room. Drama – Those are the caberet shots I wanted.

The reality? It’s very easy to lose detail, flatten the subject, or let the image feel theatrical instead of intimate.

For this cabaret shoot I wanted the spotlight, when we used it, to feel real. The secret to making that happen? Tighten the spotlight so it hit the face and upper torso, allow the shadows to stay deep, but not enough to lose detail. Use the darkness as framing and then enhance it by applying radial filters in post.

A big thanks to the amazing model Bonnie who did an absolutely amazing job with the costuming and to Copper Flair Studios for setting up the shoot, and making that really cool carousel horse!