Like many of my lighting setups, this one was born and refined through teaching. Over the past five years, I’ve run countless workshops, constantly evolving my techniques—tweaking a light position here, changing a modifier there. This portrait of Jada was captured during a workshop in Dallas and represents the culmination of that ongoing experimentation.
The goal for this shoot was to create a highly sculptural black and white portrait with depth, separation, and detail across a full tonal range. To do that, I started with a setup I had used many times before, but this time, I made a few key changes to push the contrast further.
The Technical Build
I removed the diffusion from the Elinchrom indirect strip softboxes, which immediately added a harder edge to the light and enhanced definition. For the fill, I swapped out my usual white card—which tends to soften and flatten contrast—for a 7” reflector. This change preserved the integrity of the shadows and maintained contrast while still giving me just enough lift.
That subtle bump in light from the reflector was crucial—it gave me a clear separation between Jada’s facial hair and the skin on his neck.
All told, the image used five lights:
• Two Elinchrom indirect strip softboxes for strong edge lighting
• A Elinchrom 30x90cm strip softbox for my main light and my hair light
• And the 7” reflector fill, acting as a precise and contrast-conscious touch-up
Gear + Settings
• Camera: Canon EOS R5
• Lens: RF 28-70mm f2L USM at 70mm
• Settings: 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 200
Post-Processing
I kept the image largely true to life, with just a slight desaturation to help emphasize the monochromatic treatment. The final look celebrates Jada’s features while giving the portrait that timeless, editorial feel I love to create.
Closing Thoughts
This shot—and the lighting approach behind it—came together over years of teaching and refining. There’s something satisfying about watching a setup evolve from something you teach to something you fine-tune and eventually master. It’s a reminder that no matter how long we’ve been doing this, there’s always room to improve.
A Note from Mark Weber, Marathon Press – John Gress helped lead Team USA to victory in the World Photographic Cup in 2025! Check out his workshops if you want to learn from one of the absolute best in the industry, and don’t miss out on his incredible Lighting Handbooks.
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