Happy new year.
Here we were testing out some new grids we got for our strobes. Unlike the grids I have for my softboxes, these are applied directly to the strobe. In either case, they reduce light spill significantly but without the soft box the light is a bit more intense but the area covered is smaller. It’s just more light modification options. Grids are great for giving you more control over your light and if you use any sort of artificial light, and while I try to avoid spending much time talking gear, I do recommend getting hold of one in some form or another – there are lots of versions out there so start cheap. I don’t really have a brand or version specifically.
Grids are great for all sorts of scenarios. I use them in low key single lighting setups, large setups that use every light I have, and everything in between. For this session, we just used one strobe and worked from there. But this grid set we were trying came in 4 different types with different degree of openings on the grids (which is what is being referred to with that degree number as I understand it, the bigger the number the wider the opening, the more light gets out).
For posing, we just did a turnaround look and kept the eye’s in frame. I had my assistant sort of do her own thing with looking around. This helps prevent the photos from looking the same and prevent that stiff look. If you don’t want your model to look stiff, let them move around. They don’t have to run laps or anything but don’t tell them to be a statue either.