Profile Shoot: Venus O’Hara in a New Light

Venus O’Hara is a writer with a career that’s… let’s say, colourful. You’re best off visiting her website if you’re curious—my attempts to explain might fall short or veer into the unprintable. Let’s just say, she’s not your average lifestyle columnist.

This shoot was for a magazine feature, so both of us agreed to keep things on the tamer, fashion-forward side. Venus also wanted something a bit more classic and clean—less drama, more gloss. Still, I had lighting experiments in mind and decided to blend a few techniques to try and get the best of both worlds.

Playing with Light (in a Living Room)

Initially, I aimed for a moody, shadowy aesthetic—but the setup just wasn’t clicking. The recent run of dark, gritty shoots had me itching for something lighter. So I scrapped one of the grids and replaced it with a good old shoot-through umbrella. On the second light, I kept the grid but added a gel to intensify her fiery hair. A ring light filled in the shadows for that glossy, editorial-style finish.

All of this happened in Venus’s living room—a tight space with plenty of ambient daylight, which I worked hard to eliminate to control the scene. The result was a crisp, vibrant set of portraits with clean backgrounds and vivid tones.

Venus Brings the Spark

Venus was a dream to work with—natural in front of the camera and totally aware of how to play with presence. We chatted throughout the shoot, covering topics I won’t attempt to summarise here—let’s just say it was never dull, and some of it probably isn’t fit for a public-facing blog.

If you’re intrigued, she contributes to GQ and other major publications. Go read her stuff—you’ll get a much better sense of her than I could possibly cram in here.