Samppa von Cyborg (body mod artist) portrait. C&C encouraged.

[RustBeltRaw]

A friend at a local piercing shop made my phone ring when possibly the world's most daring and savvy body mod artist came to town for a few days. Samppa's work is technically demanding, extreme, and controversial. Suffice it to say that I do not recommend Googling him if you're at work, if you have a weak stomach, or are easy shocked.

I make no judgements about his work, his person, or his clients. Regardless of the endlessly-debatable moral and aesthetic aspects, interesting characters and cultures have the potential to make great photos. This is definitely another step down the gritty portrait road, and I welcome everyone's opinions.



Technically, this was a little tricky. It's a three-light setup, pre-visualized and pre-arranged to avoid using a bunch of Samppa's time. All hot shoe flashes, one snooted at camera left, one gelled blue and edge-lighting his face, the other gelled red, on-camera with a bounce panel to fill shadows a little and create red catchlights (which were modified in post). He was in front of the camera for less than a minute, thanks to some volunteers I grabbed to help tune the lights.

C&C away. Technical and aesthetic advice welcome.

[Shadowman]

Looks good, could use a bit more light on the eye sockets.

[Donald]

I find that a really disturbing portrait .... which is what makes it so good.

Well done, Lex. I think you've made a an excellent image.

[Manfred M]

Another excellent and gritty piece of work, Lex. I think you have captured the mood quite well; he definitely does not look like someone I want to meet up with in a dark alley.

Somehow looking at the shot, I wonder what he would look like in a tux and top hat....

The one part that catches my eye that I'm not quite sure about is the red catchlight in the one eye. Hitting him with the red on the camera right side works well, except maybe that tiny bit. Would toning that down improve the image or make it less compelling; I'm just not quite sure.

[RustBeltRaw]

The one part that catches my eye that I'm not quite sure about is the red catchlight in the one eye. Hitting him with the red on the camera right side works well, except maybe that tiny bit. Would toning that down improve the image or make it less compelling; I'm just not quite sure.

I have that catchlight on a separate layer with its own exposure and saturation adjustments. I've turned it up and down 8 or 9 times, and tweaked the position, trying to find the right balance. I don't think the shot works without it - that side of his face is in shadow and rimmed blue for a reason. On the other hand, initial edits had it turned up high enough to be cheesy. Ultimately, I set it a little more visible than I thought was appropriate, on the basis that most people won't be looking for it, and should be able to see that element.

I assume the connection between that Terminator eye and the von Cyborg name need not be explained.

[travis4567]

I think I've seen this guy in one of my nightmares.

[Loose Canon]

Hey Lex!

Big fan of the colors for this type of portraiture. Looks like you nailed this guy except I can’t see the nail that has to be somewhere through something on his face!

I would say a bit more of the blue to lift the camera right side but what the heck! Be awesome to get this guy with some time to light his teeth, rings, eyes, etc. as only you could.

Funny, I knew a von Cyborg family when I was a kid. Lived a couple of houses down from us. Very nice family! Momma von Cyborg always brought us brownies! I seem to recall their cousin Samppa being accepted to medical school!

[John 2]

Scary Lex but a damn good portrait. Brings out the character of the man superbly - or at least seemingly so.

[RustBeltRaw]

Scary Lex but a damn good portrait. Brings out the character of the man superbly - or at least seemingly so.

Well, the man himself liked this on both Facebook and Instagram, so I guess I did something right.

Big fan of the colors for this type of portraiture. Looks like you nailed this guy except I can’t see the nail that has to be somewhere through something on his face!

Balancing three flashes, all gelled differently, was a little interesting, but ultimately worth it. I was using a red-gelled flash on camera to create red catchlights, and (bonus!) it created really cool highlights in all his jewelry.

I would say a bit more of the blue to lift the camera right side but what the heck! Be awesome to get this guy with some time to light his teeth, rings, eyes, etc. as only you could.

Time for this photo's dirty secret. The blue side of his face is a copied, color-shifted, and transformed version of the normal side. I had a blue rim light going, but I didn't like the look at the end. His ear was way too hot, and my exposure control efforts didn't look right. So, both his ear, and the blue rim, are essentially post effects. By a healthy margin, this is the most heavily-Photoshopped portrait I've ever done. Glad it's not obvious.