4. EXPERIMENTAL LIGHTING TECHNIQUES

The following images were created by playing with white balance. In the film days, I had used this technique quite often as a commercial photographer for NASA—but I had yet to use it with digital. Friend and colleague Dave Black reacquainted me with the technique when I attended one of his seminars. You can visit his web site (www.daveblack photography.com) for more tips.

Some months after the seminar (and several experimental photo sessions utilizing this technique), Gabriel Grier commissioned me to create some images for his acting/modeling

portfolio. Gabe wanted images that were different from those he had from other photographers in Los Angeles. We came up with a “moody blues” theme that would reflect his versatility as a model/actor.

To create a bluesy feeling, the white balance on my D300 was set to 3000K. For photograph 4-1, the main light was a Hensel Integra 500 monolight fitted with a medium softbox. This was placed at approximately a 45 degree angle to camera right for soft illumination. Inside the softbox, I placed a warming gel to balance the main light with the camera’s

PHOTOGRAPH 4-1. The main light records as neutral, the kickers record as blue. SUBJECT: Gabriel Grier. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: 3000K white balance, manual mode, 1/250 second, f/7.1, ISO 200.

PHOTOGRAPH 4-2. Sometimes the shot is not in front of your subject. Move around your subject and you may be surprised at what you find. SUBJECT: Gabriel Grier. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: 3000K white balance, manual mode, 1/250 second, f/7.1, ISO 200.

white balance of 3000K. (Don’t be afraid to experiment; your subject’s skin tone will determine the final effect you achieve.) For separation, I used two monolights, one with a softbox and one with a grid. These metered about one stop brighter than the main light. Because the accent lights were not gelled to match the tungsten white balance of the main light/camera, the accent light recorded as bluer (about 5500K) than the main light.

Photograph 4-2 affirms why I don’t use a tripod while shooting in the studio. I was moving around the set adjusting a light and looked up to see this beautiful angle of Gabe

with the back kicker light acting as a rim light behind him. If you keep you eyes open, you may encounter a happy accident like this image. (Incidentally this image became one of the model’s favorites of the entire session.)

PHOTOGRAPH 4-3. When using the Maxi as a background, you’ll likely see some soft flare in your images. SUBJECT: Alianna Zyablovskaya. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: AWB, manual mode, 1/100 second, f/11, ISO 200.

Set scene for PHOTOGRAPH 4-3. Notice the reflector (for fill) to camera left).

LASTOLITE MAXI

I like the versatility of the Lastolite Maxi light modifier (www.lastolite.com). It is quite large, yet very slim, so it fits well in even the smallest of studios. For model Alianna Zyablovskaya, who desired some fun images for her modeling portfolio, the Lastolite Maxi was chosen not as the main light but as a versatile background (photograph 4-3). The main light was a medium softbox attached to a Hensel Integra 500 monolight. The Maxi softbox was illuminated with two monolights metered to record one stop brighter than the main light. When using this modifier as a background, don’t expect to get crisp images; the light from the softbox typically produces a soft flare on your lens and pleasant wraparound lighting (photograph 4-4).

Affixing gels to the monolights illuminating the background added a touch of color. The camera-left monolight was raised and a blue gel was attached; the camera-right monolight was lowered and fitted with a pink gel. For both background lights the power was reduced by approximately one stop (relative to the main light) to darken the background. The medium softbox (our fill light) was moved approximately five feet further from Alianna. The main light was a Speedotron focusable spotlight fitted with circular cookies (www.coloradocustommetal.com). I set the spotlight’s power about one stop higher than the fill light to create a very dramatic look. Can you start to see the versatility of using a wide variety of light modifiers?

PHOTOGRAPH 4-4 (FACING PAGE). A focusable spotlight with custom-made round cookies placed on it created this beautiful fashion image. SUBJECT: Alianna Zyablovskaya. CAMERA: Nikon D300, Lexar media. SETTINGS: AWB, manual mode, 1/100 second, f/13, ISO 200.