February 2008 Tech

It is rare that I repeat the same model from a shoot done the same day.  The point about emotion and feeling is so important that we will take a closer look at that in the first part of this months Online Studio.

Emotion is what creates a feeling in an image. This feeling is what makes a viewer look an image over and savour it.

Rebecca is an extremely demure lady; she is not flashy, gaudy or showy in any way. There is a dignified confidence that she exudes when you meet her. She is outgoing, but you would never think that there is fire in her soul. 

When I set this image into motion, I arranged the lights to create the shadow and body contour. Rebecca was seated on the corner of the bed  and we began to shoot. When I directed her to sit with her knees apart the emotion and fire came to the surface.

Observe! As a shooter watch when things happen in an image. Study the minute details and watch the entire image. When Rebecca moved to this pose her back arched and she stretched to accent her breasts. As I shot, her knees opened wider and her stare at the camera became intense. You could watch as her stomach muscles tightened.  She was feeling the pose and the fire in her soul.

When you shoot if a model releases her inner emotions…. TAKE THE PICTURE!

Two lights were required to give the desired lighting effect. The first or main light was a 36x48 soft box and the second or background light was a head with barndoors to create the highlight wedge on the wall behind Rebecca.

There is only one lighting tool that will do the job properly her and that is the softbox. I placed the box 90 degrees to the camera position to create a dramatic difference between the highlits and shadow. This would also maintain form to her body's countours. Watch as the shadow is created when you are lighting the image because this is an important element needed for seperation. Remember deep shadows are an important element.  I metered this light and that reading would be the basis for all other light settings.

Next came the wedge light.  I used a barndoor on a flashhead placed on a crossbar high and behind Rebecca. The upright is hidden behind the post on the left. The power is set so that the lights was 1 stop less than the setting that I got from the soft box.

The postproduction was simply to add a bit more depth in the shadows.

Nothing to it! See you next month in the Online Studio.

See you next month in the Online Studio & Always Chase Your Dreams Not Your Competition...Jack Cutler