December: Red Polish and Candlelight

Blue-based reds read as elegant on camera; orange-based reds tend to clash with warm indoor light. Two coats over a base, and a glossy top coat that gives the highlight its shape.

Paint the night before, not the hour before. Fresh polish holds a faint texture that a macro lens will find.

Candlelight is beautiful and unstable. Use three or four candles grouped on one side rather than scattered, and support them with one small warm lamp behind the camera so the skin does not fall into noise.

Fairy lights belong in the background, out of focus, at f/2 or wider. In focus they are clutter; blurred they are the whole mood.

A satin or velvet heel absorbs light rather than throwing it back, which suits a candlelit room far better than patent leather.

Photograph the shoe half-off — heel released, toes still inside — for the frame that says end of the evening without saying anything else.