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In 2010 I shot for 35 weeks in a row, a new theme each week and seven shots per theme for a coffetable book for prospective clients. I have translated week 7 to English and hope to be of interest.
Week 7: Building Light, step by step.
This week, I had a little helper. The little koala sits where he is put, unlike a live model and is often pressed into service as a stand-in while I adjust things and think about the lighting. When I plan lighting, I always start from the model's viewpoint, as people usually think they know what side they want the focus on. It is easier give directions if I am already in the right headspace.
Built-in pop-up flash
I just fired the pop-up head-on. Note the harsh drop shadow on the background
Strobe, stage left
Here, the strobe is on a stand to the right of the camera, fired through a translucent umbrella. As the purpose of this and the next is to find the right side for the main light, I didn't care about precise exposure or white balance.
Strobe, stage right
The strobe is to the left of the camera here, with the same umbrella. This placement accentuates the better half of the face in this case.
Blixt stage right, 1/2 CTO
In this photo, I have set the white balance manually and then put a 1/2 CTO gel on the strobe. There is still a harsh shadow stage left and the background is slightly underexposed.
Strobe, stage right, 1/2 CTO filter, silver reflector
Instead of adding another strobe, I have used a silver reflector stage left. The WB is slightly warm, but not enough to cut to a 1/4 CTO. There is still not enough separation between the model's hair(fur) and the background.
Strobe, stage right, 1/2 CTO, silver reflector and hairlight.
In this final stage, I have added a speedlight behind the model that lights the hair and most importantly, the left ear. This adds definition to the outline. The white balance is carefully corrected in post.
Evil Koala
Finally an example of what lighting can do to the feel of a scene and cheat with a background. The scene is unchanged, but this evil koala is lit from below. the background is unchanged, but lit with a Rosco Henna Sky deep red filter.
Week 7: Building Light, step by step.
This week, I had a little helper. The little koala sits where he is put, unlike a live model and is often pressed into service as a stand-in while I adjust things and think about the lighting. When I plan lighting, I always start from the model's viewpoint, as people usually think they know what side they want the focus on. It is easier give directions if I am already in the right headspace.
Built-in pop-up flash
I just fired the pop-up head-on. Note the harsh drop shadow on the background
Strobe, stage left
Here, the strobe is on a stand to the right of the camera, fired through a translucent umbrella. As the purpose of this and the next is to find the right side for the main light, I didn't care about precise exposure or white balance.
Strobe, stage right
The strobe is to the left of the camera here, with the same umbrella. This placement accentuates the better half of the face in this case.
Blixt stage right, 1/2 CTO
In this photo, I have set the white balance manually and then put a 1/2 CTO gel on the strobe. There is still a harsh shadow stage left and the background is slightly underexposed.
Strobe, stage right, 1/2 CTO filter, silver reflector
Instead of adding another strobe, I have used a silver reflector stage left. The WB is slightly warm, but not enough to cut to a 1/4 CTO. There is still not enough separation between the model's hair(fur) and the background.
Strobe, stage right, 1/2 CTO, silver reflector and hairlight.
In this final stage, I have added a speedlight behind the model that lights the hair and most importantly, the left ear. This adds definition to the outline. The white balance is carefully corrected in post.
Evil Koala
Finally an example of what lighting can do to the feel of a scene and cheat with a background. The scene is unchanged, but this evil koala is lit from below. the background is unchanged, but lit with a Rosco Henna Sky deep red filter.
