Portrait Photography How To

Here's a great idea to capture truly head-turning portraits if you have a willing model. In the below video, photographer Karl Taylor shows you how to create dynamic portraits by throwing (yes, throwing) paint on a model.

Or, Lights, Camera, Splash! (As he puts it.)

"If you want to capture stunning paint-splash shots like this, the first thing you need is a model who’s a really good sport! Fortunately, our model Sophie was exactly that," Taylor says.

"Willing model: check. Plenty of paint: check. But what else did I need? How many lights did I use? (Hint: the number reached double figures.) Which modifiers did I use and why? And just how big a mess did we make? Watch the video to find out. I take you through the lighting setup step by step and give you some glimpses behind the scenes of this very memorable photoshoot."

Of course, there's more to it than just splashing your model with paint. In the video below, Taylor takes you through the step-by-step process in one of his photo breakdowns. But first he shows you the finished portrait which is truly stunning.

"You can see we have these wonderful, energetic dynamic sheets of red and blue paint flying all around her, all over the place," he says. "All captured in that perfect moment with the fast flash duration."

After you watch the tutorial, you should check out two of Taylor's other photo breakdowns including how to capture a lingerie photo with atmosphere and how to create perfect light for boudoir photos.