Noir Ghost: a black-and-white staircase AI photoshoot
You get five black-and-white frames in a raw concrete stairwell, shot from high above while the figure on the steps looks up into the lens. A long black coat cuts a diagonal across the stairs, and dark negative space fills the rest.
Art direction: Alex But
- Lens
- 28 mm
- Camera
- Steep high angle
- Film
- Black-and-white, visible grain
- Light
- One hard side light
- Color
- Deep blacks, soft halation
- Place
- Raw concrete stairwell
Best for
Five frames from this shoot
Five separate frames, made by haloshot from three phone photos of one person.
Frame 1 · Noir Ghost 
Frame 2 · Noir Ghost 
Frame 3 · Noir Ghost 
Frame 4 · Noir Ghost 
Frame 5 · Noir Ghost
About the high-angle black and white look
One hard light comes in from the side, so half the face holds detail and the other half drops into deep black. A 28 mm lens pointed steeply down from a landing bends the steps into strong converging lines. Out-of-focus handrails cross the foreground and catch small highlights. The film look carries visible organic grain, a little halation on bright edges and uneven tonal steps.
Clothes, place and when to pick it
The wardrobe is unisex: a dramatic oversized black coat with asymmetric layers and long sleeves, wide black trousers and heavy minimal shoes, cut for women and men alike. Any bare concrete stair with metal rails works as the set. Pick it for an author photo, a book or album cover, or a portfolio page that frames your face in hard geometry.
How it works
Add three photos of yourself: face, half turn and full length. haloshot renders a free five-frame preview of Noir Ghost with your face. Pick the frames you like and keep them in 4:5 HD.
How to photograph a stairwell portrait from above
Height and one hard source make it. The camera hangs over an open stairwell pointing steeply down, and a bare light rakes across the steps from one side.
- Get permission for a raw-concrete stairwell with an open well and metal rails, and book a quiet hour.
- Lean over the rail a floor above with the 28 mm, framing the model looking up.
- Set one bare head or fresnel on the landing at 90 degrees to the model, letting the far side fall black.
- Load black-and-white film such as Tri-X, and keep a rail close to the lens for soft foreground highlights.
Strap the camera to your wrist; anything dropped down a stairwell can hit someone below.
Set notes by Alex But, art director · Updated
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Shoot Noir Ghost with your face
Three photos in, five free preview frames out. Keep the best ones in HD.