Op Art Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

Q: What shots should I get for a Op Art photo shoot?

For a Op Art shoot, capture: Frontal, dead-level shot of a large black and white warped-grid panel filling the frame edge to edge, no context, the distortion doing all the work; Medium shot of a figure in a black and white striped garment standing against a striped wall of a different frequency, the moire forming where they overlap; Close detail of concentric black circles printed on white board, one red circle interrupting the sequence, hard edges, no visible texture; Wide shot of a white corridor whose floor is a radiating stripe pattern that seems to tilt, a single figure in black at the far end; Overhead shot of stacked screenprints in black and white, the top sheet a vibrating chequer, one blue sheet showing at the edge of the pile.

Q: Where should I shoot Op Art photography?

Good locations for Op Art photography include: A white studio cyclorama, A gallery wall hung with large monochrome panels, A long plain corridor or stairwell that can be dressed with pattern, A screenprint studio with drying racks.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[op art        ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(op-art______.BRF)
✎Op Art
01 LightFlat, even, shadowless light so nothing competes with the pattern. Softbox or overcast. The subject is contrast between black and white, and any gradient from lighting reads as a mistake.
02 WardrobeBlack and white only, in stripes or solids, with a hard line between them. One garment may carry a single colour block. Fabrics that hold a crisp edge, nothing that drapes into curves unless the curve is the point.
03 LocationA white studio cyclorama
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Precision is the whole style. Shoot level, centred and sharp, and let the pattern supply the movement. Keep colour to one interruption per frame and make it count. If it starts to feel psychedelic, reduce: fewer colours, harder edges, more white.

All 151 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs, $8 →

Viewfinder

Live

Four controls on the brief's own plate · the meter is real, so you can blow a frame

Standby50mmf/5.6 · 1/125 · ISO 400

Aperturef/5.6Shutter1/125ISO400White balance5200K

Use your own photo

Running the list sets the camera for every shot in turn. Load your own photo to light and expose a frame you actually shot.

LGT

Light the set

3 lamps

Drag a lamp and watch the frame above change. The brief's own note is the preset

KeyThe light that makes the pictureMediumEye level

FillHow far into shadow you can seeHard, closeEye level

BackRound at the front, where it is just another fillOffEye level

On the brief

Contact sheet

00 / 12

Nothing on the sheet yet. Set the camera, then take a frame.

SEQ

Shot list

00 / 05

Tap a pad to mark the frame shot · saved on this device

Frontal, dead-level shot of a large black and white warped-grid panel filling the frame edge to edge, no context, the distortion doing all the worksetup50mm

Medium shot of a figure in a black and white striped garment standing against a striped wall of a different frequency, the moire forming where they overlapsetup50mm

Close detail of concentric black circles printed on white board, one red circle interrupting the sequence, hard edges, no visible texturedetail100mm

Wide shot of a white corridor whose floor is a radiating stripe pattern that seems to tilt, a single figure in black at the far endwide24mm

Overhead shot of stacked screenprints in black and white, the top sheet a vibrating chequer, one blue sheet showing at the edge of the pileoverhead50mm

Rolling

Take it to set: all 151 briefs as one PDF · $8

LOC

Locations

A white studio cycloramaA gallery wall hung with large monochrome panelsA long plain corridor or stairwell that can be dressed with patternA screenprint studio with drying racks

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Op Art aesthetic?

Pattern engineered to move while the camera holds perfectly still.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Op Art photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Frontal, dead-level shot of a large black and white warped-grid panel filling the frame edge to edge, no context, the distortion doing all the work
Medium shot of a figure in a black and white striped garment standing against a striped wall of a different frequency, the moire forming where they overlap
Close detail of concentric black circles printed on white board, one red circle interrupting the sequence, hard edges, no visible texture
Wide shot of a white corridor whose floor is a radiating stripe pattern that seems to tilt, a single figure in black at the far end
Overhead shot of stacked screenprints in black and white, the top sheet a vibrating chequer, one blue sheet showing at the edge of the pile

What lighting works for Op Art photography?

Flat, even, shadowless light so nothing competes with the pattern. Softbox or overcast. The subject is contrast between black and white, and any gradient from lighting reads as a mistake.

Light

Where should I shoot Op Art photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

A white studio cyclorama
A gallery wall hung with large monochrome panels
A long plain corridor or stairwell that can be dressed with pattern
A screenprint studio with drying racks

What wardrobe works for Op Art photography?

Black and white only, in stripes or solids, with a hard line between them. One garment may carry a single colour block. Fabrics that hold a crisp edge, nothing that drapes into curves unless the curve is the point.

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Op Art style

Omoro reads your visual references and generates images in your exact aesthetic. Build a mood board before the shoot or create composite references for your client.

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