3. STUDIO MODIFIERS IN ACTION

Most people are not comfortable in front of a camera. Therefore, it is best to start with traditional lighting and move gradually into more dramatic styles. Some people may prefer traditional portraits; others will be excited about experimental ones. As your session progresses, you and your client will become familiar and more comfortable with each other, enhancing the creative process.

I had photographed Seiha No for her senior portraits a few years back, so I was pleased to get a call from her to create images for her modeling portfolio. Seiha and I discussed clothing selection before our session and she came prepared. Seiha wanted a mature, sassy look for her portrait session.

For photograph 3-1, I chose a 22-inch Hensel beauty dish as the main light; I desired a soft feel for the image, as this young lady has very soft, delicate features. Notice that Seiha’s body is angled away from the main light to retain a feminine look. The background light consisted of a small softbox placed just behind and to the right of the model. The softbox was slightly feathered toward the background to illuminate it. An additional monolight was placed behind the model to her left. The kicker, or hair light, was fitted with a 40-degree grid that produced a direct source of light on Seiha’s hair, adding separation and a beautiful hard-edged accent on her left cheek.

For photograph 3-2, Sieha changed her wardrobe while I placed an additional light at approximately 45 degrees to camera left. This small 6-inch strip light, attached to a monolight, was placed at a lower angle to add fill on the model’s legs. The strip light was ideal because it pro-

PHOTOGRAPH 3-1. This is a traditional portrait that shows shape and depth. Remember to turn a woman’s body away from the main light to slim her figure. SUBJECT: Seiha No. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: AWB, manual mode, 1/100 second, f/11, ISO 400.

BEFORE THE SESSION

Set your camera to the manual mode, meter all your lights, and adjust the lights to your taste before each session. Then fine-tune the lighting as you go.

duced soft, directional light that closely matched the main light—without any light contaminating the background or foreground. (Note: If you only have three lights, the light on the right of the model could easily be replaced with a reflector to achieve a similar look. It is not always the amount of equipment, it’s how you choose to use it.)

To create the simple yet dramatic effect seen in

graph 3-3, the strip/fill light was turned off. For the main light, a 30-degree grid was placed inside the 22-inch Hensel beauty dish, creating this soft yet very directional center-spot beauty portrait. No exposure adjustment was needed. In my opinion, the Hensel beauty dish and grids are the most versatile of all light modifiers; to me, they are indispensable.

PHOTOGRAPH 3-2 (LEFT). An additional strip softbox was added to fill the shadows on Seiha’s right leg. SUBJECT: Seiha No. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: AWB, manual mode, 1/100 second, f/11, ISO 400.

ABOVE: Set scene for PHOTOGRAPHS 3-1 and 3-2.

PHOTOGRAPH 3-3 (FACING PAGE). To create this dramatic look, a 30degree grid was placed inside the beauty dish for the main light. The fill light was turned off. SUBJECT: Seiha No. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: AWB, manual mode, 1/100 second, f/11, ISO 400.