“A Mermaid Melody” was created by Jessica Vallia, one of the instructors for the 2025 Texas School of Professional Photography. Each year, Jessica hosts a fine art portrait event for musicians called “The Aspiring Masters Series.” These inspiring sessions produce many competition images, not to mention unique stories. The musician was originally wearing a hunter green gown but, in post-production, Jessica decided the color did not align with the overall vision so she experimented with the color palette and eventually settled on deep, dramatic aqua tones. The results perfectly complemented the pose and mood of the image. For the lighting, Jessica used a main light positioned camera right with a 4-foot softbox on a Godox AD600 Pro, complemented by a 6-foot V-flat for fill and a 30-inch umbrella on a Godox AD300 Pro using a Nikon D850 and Sigma 135 Art lens at f5.6.
On the Cover: “A Mermaid Melody” by Jessica Vallia
