August 2008 Tech

I have always said, before you start out to make images ask yourself this question. Do I have the time, the tools and the talent?  If you answer yes to all then go for it. With a catalog shoot time is a real crusher. You need to produce a lot of images and not overrun the budget. So, communication is paramount. Make sure the location is ready and the model knows every concievable requirement well in advance. So time is money let's get started.

The goal in this image was to bring attention to the red garment BUT we also wanted to create a paradox. So the solutions were simple. The red garment just by it’s bold colour would draw the eye. If a darker area surrounded it, it would stand out even more so that was lighting challenge # 1. The paradox was a lot easier.

One of the great mysteries is if an image is bottomless ( no knickers ) then it is assumed that it would also be topless. But when there is a top and no undies…?  That was the solution to the dilemma. Please take note that there are no panty lines on the model’s body. Angelina knew in advance what we would shoot and made sure that no marks would appear in images. Thank God for Pros!

Here is how to light this. It’s easier that it appears if you follow the rules.  Since I wanted contrast and strong contrast at that, I used a 48 inch Silver Umbrella. The silver would punch up the contrast and since umbrellas focus the light I could aim the centre at the model’s face. This will give a slightly brighter rendition to the upper torso than the bottom.  So far so good but we need shadows for isolation.

The solution to create shadows was to place 2 sheets of black foam core  on either side of the light and between the light and the subject. I moved the foam core or gobos as they should be called until I saw the shadows soften.  I took a meter reading at the garment, took a test shot, made a few more adjustments to the gobo positions and got ready to shoot.

Here is one of the few times I load a shot into a laptop and have the model take a peek. The laptop (calibrated screen of course) allows me to see the correct rendition of the image and with a pro like Angelina lets the model get a proper idea of how the image should look.  Warning: Do not do this with rookies! We shot and 10 minutes later it was change to the next set.

The next set was about 10 feet from the last. One secret in doing a lot of sets is to plan your shots so that there is a flow and you are not jumping around from spot to spot.  To set up this image all I did was swig the light, remove the umbrella and replace it with a 40 degree grid spot.  I pulled the light back so that  the edge fall off from the grid would fall on the approximate location of the models lower torso.  Keep in mind that a grid spot does not have a sharp cut off.  Each grid system is different so experiment.

When Angelina sat in the position I noticed that there was way too much light at the top so I used one of the gobos to create a hard edged shadow just above her head. I re-aimed the light to have a very hot look on her face, metered, checked the images in the laptop gave the model a preview and shot again. Time lapse between sets 15 minutes shooting time 10.

Camera: Nikon D200 with 15-55 f=2.8 ED IF Lens

Lights: Calumet 2400WS Elite

Adobe Photoshop Version: CS3

Location: Adriennes Inn at Centre Partk

For the entire series see my Muse Cube Port (or click this link)

See you next month in the Online Studio and always ...

"Chase Your Dream Not Your Competition"...Jack Cutler