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OK, enough with the equipment, lets see some lighting!

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
Hi,

Was looking through the threads on the Lighting Forum, mostly equipment and little of the real McCoy.

So I'm going to suggest that we show photos, portrait/fashion/product/etc lit at least in part artificially (from a reflector outdoors to full blown studio setup) with a diagram or clear explanation of the lighting used and more importantly - why and for what specific purpose that lighting was used in this specific situation. What did it add to the final image that a different lighting setup wouldn't have?

It's exactly midnight here so I'm I'll try and get my own example up tomorrow but I think that this would be really educational. Cummon folks...
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
OK, some of you people are going to come up with some incredible stuff but I'm pretty much a lighting infant, I have certain setups I use at weddings but nothing exciting.

Here is a photo from an ultra traditional Chassidic wedding. The couple will not touch during the photos so it forms a challenge to think up 'connecting' poses! I had exactly 10 minutes to shoot this couple with the mother in law ("I don't believe in photos!") standing over me like a hawk! I did 22 seperate poses of them in ten minutes and I still don't know how! One of my 5D's is actually in the repair shop at present from being rained on so heavily during the outdoors ceremony from that job though it did a futher wedding, barmitzva and 250 college headshots before the rear LCD packed it it!

Anyway enough blabber. Keep in mind that wedding work is fast paced and you need 'one size fits all' solutions. You also don't have the time to set up or organise mutiple lights so lights have to do more than one job that in a studio you would use seperate lights for.

Here is a diagram of the lighting. The lighting was: Main/Fill - 50" shoot thru white brollies (bounced into), Kicker - Lastolite 45" Umbrella box.


Now for the why. I always try to shoot brides with short lighting. Never met a bride yet who wanted to look fatter. Hence her position on the (camera) right. On the other hand I can't use too high a ratio or position the lights too close as I need the groom well lit as well. I don't mind the fact that as he is next to her he's getting the broad lighting.

I'm using the Kicker light to do 3 things. Firstly lit at that angle it gives an almost imperceptible rim light which is just enough to give a bit of seperation between the white of the bride and the cream background. You can't see it unless you compare the before/after and see her 'jump' out of an otherwise much flatter photo. Secondly it's providing a bit of backlighting through the veil and thirdly it's set to skim across the folds of the curtain to provide definition to the shape of the folds, again to provide more seperation. I know that a kicker is usually set at a lower setting than the other lights but personally I like it to be the same as the fill for effect.

I use shoot thru brollies, always bounced into for a nice incredibly soft wrap around effect and to be honest the extra light bouncing off the walls gives a lot of soft wrap, like making the whole room into a huge softbox but you still get modelling. You need a light that doesn't need changing as you work through many photos when you have so little time! There literally is no time for moving lights, test shots, etc. Hence the very soft overall light with only a small ratio for the modelling. The Kicker uses a lastolite umbrella box which is a great portable round softbox for when I want more direction to my light. Got two of them in my bag.

Anyway, the photo:


Sounds complicated in writing but takes about 10 minutes for my assistant to set up and I'm ready to shoot!
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Okay Ben, I'm game.

Rather than product stuff (which I've posted plenty of in the past), here are some different people shots using strobes. I'll try my best to remember how I set up the lights ... I tend to light by looking as opposed to measuring ... I can't remember the last time I used a light meter. So I set it up and then move stuff while looking at the effect it has. After awhile you get pretty fast at it and do the calculations intuitively.

Angry man: One light; One softbox camera right, slight rear, up a bit higher than his head; bounce camera left forward of subject and pulled away until it just barely filled the ink black shadows.

Confirmation Image: 2 lights; Large 7' softbox just out of FOV, camera left, Large collapsable white flat with strobe bounced off of it dialed to just under 1 to 2 ratio to keep it all pristine white high key.

Hair Model: One light; location shoot of hair models, 60" shoot through translucent umbrella, camera right up slightly higher and feathered down, bounce using silver enhanced white reflector just out of camera FOV camera left but lower to fill a little under chin. (eye shadow enhanced in PS during post.)

Role Playing Portrait (ala Cindy Sherman); in studio using 3 lights, one key light 7' softbox at model height camera left, large 8' flat camera right with strobe fired into it and dialed to an almost 1 to 1 ratio, overhead light in softbox on white background to provide hard edge on subject .... background is a close-up of the dress fabric that was added using PS during post. (BTW Ben, this is something I'm going to start doing for wedding clients: shoot a close up of their dress detail and use it for a background in a Bridal portrait.)
 

mark1958

Member
I am pretty new to lightening. I have to say I am very impressed with Marc W's images. Here is one from some experimenting I tried. If i remember correctly, I had a slightly to side light and just above the flowers with a barn door and grid, and a second very low monolight from above. Gray mulsin.
 
O

Oxide Blu

Guest
Ben, this guys wins it for the most ultimate cool hair doo I have ever seen in my life!!! :thumbs:

 
R

Ranger 9

Guest
I am pretty new to lightening. I have to say I am very impressed with Marc W's images. Here is one from some experimenting I tried. If i remember correctly, I had a slightly to side light and just above the flowers with a barn door and grid, and a second very low monolight from above. Gray mulsin.
There are several types of well-lit shots in this thread, but this is the one (mark1958's pitcher of flowers) that interests me most. It's quite a beautiful image regardless of how it was made, but still: Can you provide any further detail on how you lit it? Such as...

-- Any modifiers on the main light other than the barn door and grid? e.g., anything to diffuse or soften it?

-- Any modifiers on the second light?

-- About what distance were the two lights from the subject?

-- When you say "second very low monolight", am I correct in assuming you mean "very low" in terms of power setting, rather than position?

I'm interpreting all this to mean that you had a lower-powered, larger/softer source (the plain monolight) plus a higher-powered, harder source (the one with the grid and barn door) coming from basically the same direction... which is an interesting concept.

I've always wanted to come up with a setup that would imitate the effect of sunlight coming in through a very dirty window, and this seems like an approach that might do that.

Thanks for any further info...
 

mark1958

Member
I love the tripod shot.. That is too artistic for ebay sale...


In regards to my tulip shot, I spent half a day trying different shots and I cannot remember with definitive certainty the angle of the lights but I will recall best to ability.I know i had shut all the extraneous light from other rooms and from the window.

I had a hensel 500 monolight off to the side with a barn door and grid. I had played around with the barn doors to get the light to shin like it did. I was pretty close to the flowers, no more than a few feet away. The light was just about the height of the flowers or a bit higher. There was a bit of a stronger reflection on the silver vase that I softened a bit in PS. The second light had a softbox and was above possibly just off to the side, and you are correct what i mean was that I had a minimal setting. I do not believe in this shot I had anything else. I had a diffuser but I do not believe i used it in this shot. I was playing around so much and changing a lot of parameters some ever so slightly and then looked through the images. I probably should have written things down.
 

ChrisDauer

Workshop Member
Okay Ben, I'm game.
Angry man: One light; One softbox camera right, slight rear, up a bit higher than his head; bounce camera left forward of subject and pulled away until it just barely filled the ink black shadows.

Role Playing Portrait (ala Cindy Sherman); in studio using 3 lights, one key light 7' softbox at model height camera left, large 8' flat camera right with strobe fired into it and dialed to an almost 1 to 1 ratio, overhead light in softbox on white background to provide hard edge on subject .... background is a close-up of the dress fabric that was added using PS during post. (BTW Ben, this is something I'm going to start doing for wedding clients: shoot a close up of their dress detail and use it for a background in a Bridal portrait.)
Angry man is awesome. And the halo is a nice touch.
 
L

LivingFiction

Guest


Very basic large softbox camera left and raised just above the subject.
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Very basic large softbox camera left and raised just above the subject.[/QUOTE]


Very nice...box size distance power?

Thanks,

Bob
 

LJL

New member
Nice shot, Michael. When I saw this, I had just seen a similar look on the faces of several UConn fans after the NCAA semi this evening against Michigan State. (Not to worry, I cheer for all the teams....being a sports shooter creates new meaning for the need of "neutrality".) I like the fall-off and you got just enough wrapped spill on the subjects left side of the face to keep the dimensionality there. Looks good.

LJ
 
L

LivingFiction

Guest
Very nice...box size distance power?

Thanks,

Bob
Thank you, I bought the box long enough ago I honestly don't know the exact measurement, looks about 2.5 by 3 feet. The distance is 10-14 inches, just out of frame, the flash was down 1/32.

LJ,

Thank you for the feedback! It's hard shooting sports and being impartial. I haven't shot sports in a few years, but I definitely found myself picking a favorite by the end of a game.

The expression here was just part of a test I was doing with this actor, helping him to become more familiar with his expressions, and how they come across in preparation of a project we would be working on together. The project had some more complex lighting situations, perhaps I'll post some of those up later :D
 

Y Sol

Active member
Here is a shot from a bar in a hotel on a German island.
I used two 1000W Arri spots outside and some 150W Dedolights inside.
I love to shot with the Dedolights and sometimes use 5-6 of them in
a small room.

Y Sol
 
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fotografz

Well-known member
Here is a shot from a bar in a hotel on a German island.
I used two 1000W Arri spots outside and some 150W Dedolights inside.
I love to shot with the Dedolights and sometimes use 5-6 of them in
a small room.

Y Sol
Sweet shot! I've been eyeing those dedolights for some time now ... pricey little buggers.
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
Here is a shot from a bar in a hotel on a German island.
I used two 1000W Arri spots outside and some 150W Dedolights inside.
I love to shot with the Dedolights and sometimes use 5-6 of them in
a small room.

Y Sol

Please educate me, in a situation like this, is the idea to as closely replicate what it actually looks like in real life or to perfect it (i.e. get rid of that huge shadow in the centre)?
 

LJL

New member
Ben,
Not speaking for Y Sol, but my interpretation of this shot is an attempt to replicate morning or evening sun filtering in from the windows behind and left of the viewer, casting warm light and strong, long shadows. Further, the smaller lights are placed in such a way as to illuminate things that may be too dark to see details. Just how I saw what was posted.

My comment about the too large shadow in the middle goes along with yours, plus the out of balance look of the light from the far window not matching that of the big Arri lights used for the glow. The rest of the shadows are sort of expected and create the depth and ambiance of what may usually be a more darkened room, but that is purely my interpretation of Y Sol's capture. I sill like the shot.

LJ
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Please educate me, in a situation like this, is the idea to as closely replicate what it actually looks like in real life or to perfect it (i.e. get rid of that huge shadow in the centre)?
I can give an Art Directors POV on this shot ... to me the shot simulates late afternoon sun ... I've seen exactly this atmosphere many times while traveling. After a day out and about, you return to this inviting environment ... the end of day moment to relax and have a drink.

Without the warm light and late afternoon shadows it would be informative, but sterile and boring.
 

Y Sol

Active member
Thank you fotografz,

that was exactly the idea behind that shot.
And after a long day of work have some cognac or armagnac
and watch the sun go down.

I love my job: its just the work that I hate.

Y Sol
 
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