Since 2010, I’ve been helping the Kardashian family create their brand of Christmas magic with their annual holiday card. In 2010 and 2011, the family opted for a more dramatic theme, and so I did my best to create that with the lighting, blocking and pose direction. This year, Kim wanted a much happier vibe, something with lots of energy. She also wanted everyone in white.

As any photographer or cinematographer knows, capturing perfect skin tones with white wardrobe usually comes down to a compromise between skin underexposure and protecting white highlights from clipping. However, after years of experimentation, I finally accepted that I just don’t like the way underexposed skin looks, even with exposure levels corrected in Lightroom. When shooting any of my clients, skin glow is almost always my top goal, above even wardrobe.

The three-day mega-shoot spanned the country, beginning in Miami in October and ending in LA just two weeks ago. For my team, that meant tracking detailed setup parameters to insure family members not photographed in Miami could be seamlessly added to the final image.

Most of you who follow my work know that I rarely talk about my lighting setups. This week, however, UK journalist Jon Severs persuaded me to discuss the lighting of the Christmas card, and I went into a surprising amount of detail, more than I ever have before. You can read the interview here.

I’ve attached my actual lighting diagram below, please take a moment to appreciate the fine chicken scrawl. And enjoy these wonderful behind-the-scenes images taken by photographers Joyce Park, Scot Fortino and Kate Garfield for SlickforceStudio.

My thanks to Kris, Kim and the entire Kardashian/Jenner family for allowing me to capture the card & help create such a festive moment in their lives!

CREDITS: Makeup by Mario Dedivanovic and Rob Scheppy. Hair by Clyde Haygood and Scott Cunha. Photographed at Temple House in Miami and at SlickforceStudio in Los Angeles.