Choices

David's Strobist post got me thinking about why I make the lighting choices I do. I decided to show the four images currently on my home page and discuss the choices and reasoning behind them.

The first image is a headshot for a haircutter here in Phoenix. We had to come in and set up in the lobby, then shoot 24 of their customers for wall art and website use. My choice was strobe for many reasons; bad light in the lobby even though there were abundant windows, two different color temps of lights along with daylight, and I wanted to make sure that the hair would show clean and sharp. 56" umbrella with white liner on subject right, two fill cards - one below the subjects and one to their left, and white/black background depending on hair color and contrast. I ended up dumping a head out the door so I could maintain a very limited depth of field (f4 with 150mm approximately). I wanted the image to transcend the normal 'portrait' look that f11-16 would have given me and yet be subtle. The result was exactly as I envisioned it.

The second shot is of Erica in the studio. Large softbox for fill on her left, bright medium umbrella right over camera for main, and small softbox over her right shoulder for hair light. I wanted liquid highlights on the leather jacket, a look of smoothness for her skin and for her to jump off the background. Even though this light looks simple, the complexities are there in delivering the subtle mix of fill and main, bringing out the texture on the leather and the wink of backlight to give the image depth.

Lynne on the stairs downtown was simply shot. No fill flash or bounce cards... 'cept for that big ol building across the street that lit the area up so nicely. Having her sit on the stairs and lean into the railing was all I needed to do. The walls to our right and left were also very bright. Could I have added a bunch to it, sure... but the overall natural look, including the highlights in the eyes may have been lost. It is important to know when you need more and when what is there may work just fine.

Michaila in the studio. This image was shot for the DVD tutorials. It is showing what you can do with fome-core and Home Depot lights. I used a very large main card and a small v-card for fill. The point of the shot was to show my little girl growing up. I wanted to capture that moment between youth and young adult. So the point of the light was to be unobtrusive and subtle. Almost like it wasn't important. I like to do work that looks like natural light, but is done with lighting. Not bringing in a 'hairlight' makes the image a little more accessible, at least to me.

The important thing for these images is that I knew what I wanted, and knew what they were going to look like in presentation.

This is a type of post I will continue doing as David has inspired me to share even more.