A cookie in photography is short for cookaloris. It’s a technique where you shoot your flash through something with holes so the light that goes through creates a textured shadow. For example you can aim your light source at a piece of plywood, that has a bunch of random cut holes like this. Instead of an evenly lit background you can achieve a more varied image with shadows and highlights.

I like to use natural light as much as I can. In this one I’ve consciously used the shadows created by the sun coming through the trees as basically a gigantic cookie. Highlights and shadows create a patterned texture on the grass adding lots of depth to this photo. The red and green make for a great contrast. Flashes coming in from left and right, both at 1/2 power. One light to highlight Falon’s wavy hair and another one to create a rim light on her long legs.

Above: Falon

Filed under: Photography by admin |