Cupcake Quarterly is a popular magazine based in Los Angeles, California, which features high quality photography with pinup and specially themed issues. I was asked by publisher Elisa Teague to shoot model Xanthia Pink for the magazine’s Tiki/Rockabilly or “Tikibilly” edition. Our location was the legendary tiki restaurant Bahooka, famous for flaming mai-tais and Polynesian fare since 1967! Here is the original shot below, followed by some background material and behind-the-scenes (BTS) pictures.

Although Bahooka was finally closing it’s doors after a continuous run of almost 50 years (much to the chagrin of legions of adoring fans), we were given rare last minute access by the owners to come in and shoot before everything was moved out.

I scoured the establishment to gather props in order to build an impromptu “set” that would reflect our theme. There were tiki statues, barrels, bouys, and colorful paper parrots strewn all around the labryinth-like rooms and hallways. I chose one large statue for the center of our set, and arranged everything around it. For lighting I used two strobes with umbrellas about 4 feet apart in front of the model. I added two lights around the sides/back. The first was a yellow/orange gel to give a “sunset” effect (which I overemphasized just a bit for a colorful “hyper-realism”). This light was difficult to place due to the small space in which we were shooting, so I had to forego the tripod and actually lay the light on a shelf in the open doorway of the cashier’s box. While I wanted to give this shot the feeling of a thatched hut on the water with the light streaming through the open-air sides at sunset, we actually were in a dark, narrow hallway that led to the restrooms - right next to a giant fish tank which housed “Rufus,” the famous 33 year old Pacu fish that was featured in Johnny Depp’s “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas.”

The second (green) light was aimed from below at one of the smaller statues and raked across the back a bit. It was reminiscent of those retro “Voodoo Zombie” type B-movies with the low light casting spooky shadows.

Gathering the props and statues along with dressing and lighting the set took substantially longer than the actual shoot. There was plenty of time while Xanthia prepared hair and makeup. When we were both ready, Xanthia quickly got into character and I took about 150 shots. Looking them over, there was one in particular which really caught my attention. Xanthia’s playful smile and sparkling eyes drew me into the shot and I knew it was “cover-worthy.” Publisher Elisa Teague agreed and we were all very happy with the final result. I’m proud to have been a part of one of their most successful editions.

(see below for some BTS including a wider view of the set and a picture of the hallway taken from their website)

Links:
Cupcake Quarterly Magazine
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Xanthia Pink

Some BTS video from this shoot and others…

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COVER SHOOT: CUPCAKE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE