Light and Shadow
This was taken in between shots with the model, and I found it worked well with the lighting I had setup at the time.
This was taken in between shots with the model, and I found it worked well with the lighting I had setup at the time.
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Oct, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was shot at a hotel room during a boudoir themed shoot with a local model. At the time I was getting into lighting "on location" using small flash and this was an opportunity to better hone my strobist skill.Time
We conducted our shoot during the night since we both had day jobs and the evening was the only time available to either of us. The shoot was done on a rather short notice with minimal lead time to find a studio, hence the hotel. This shot was done midway through our session, so most likely at around 9pm.Lighting
The image I wanted to create needed to combine the usual sensual element of boudoir but with a bit of added drama. A single light source positioned above the model would give the atmosphere I wanted and would also bring the focus to her face while draping the rest of her body in more muted tones. I envisioned a black and white shot when setting up the pose and lighting to really highlight this play between light and shadow. The light was provided from a single speedlight fired through a beauty dish positioned directly above the model's torso and angled down and a little to the right to focus the spread of light across her face. We were shooting in a tiny space between the bed and the wall - and the white wall (camera right) was giving us a nice reflective fill to keep the lower features (arms, back, wrist) from being lost in shadow. The feathering of the light from the beauty dish yields the great tones on her thighs and stomach.Equipment
This picture was taken using a Canon 5D Mark II with the 24-105mm L Lens - hand held. Light was provided by a Canon 580EX II triggered by Yongnuo YN-622C radio triggers. A Lumodi 14" beauty dish with white diffuser sock is velcroed to the flash. The flash/beauty dish/trigger combo is positioned using a Matthews C-Stand (I work alone, so the C-Stand is invaluable to me as a replacement for a human lighting assistant under controlled environments).Inspiration
I wanted to do a shot that was more "studio-like" in nature to give us some options (there's only so much you can do with a bed after all). I noticed the space to the side of the bed and the texture of the wall caught my eye. I thought it would make for a great black and white shot, and so we took it from there.Editing
Conversion to Black and White was done in Lightroom, and then additional post processing (skin smoothing, dust removal and hair touch up) was done in Photoshop to complete the image.In my camera bag
I shoot with a 5D Mark II and my go-to lenses are the 24-105 and the 85mm 1.8, which is one of my favorite portrait lenses. Also present - but less used - are my lightweight 70-200 f/4, a 14mm manual Rokinon 2.8, and a manual Helios 44-2 lens. My lighting bag typically carries 2 YN-568 flashes and a Canon 430EXII (the 580EX II has since shuffled off this mortal coil by being dropped onto the floor one too many times). More recently I've begun using the very powerful Godox Witstro AD360 bare bulb flash. I can pair that with any of my light modifiers and can get great results with more power in less time.Feedback
Pre-visualising the shot can be very helpful in knowing what to light and what not to light. One of the most helpful things I have learned in my journey is to stop for a moment and think "What am I taking a picture of?". Too frequently do we just frame something quickly and fire the shutter. Knowing what your image will be focused on is a fantastic starting point for composing the rest of the shot, and can give some excellent hints on how the scene should be lit. It also makes for a more efficient shoot.
