Light and Lace
Sep, 2016Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in my home studio in West Orlando, Florida. It's a good space, about 16x18 feet that's just perfect for intimate photos like this.Time
We decided to shoot late morning / early afternoon as a good way to start the day.Lighting
The lighting for this photo was a little but tricky to nail down with a lot of trial and error. I have one Nikon SB-700 bounced into the back left corner of white walls and a white 10' ceiling to light the room. The 2nd light, a Nikon SB-900 is about 20' away, outside of the studio room narrowed with a spot grid. Visible on the left side of the frame is an antique tablecloth spread out across a light stand. When the small, hard light hits the table cloth it throws the shadow lace pattern across the model.Equipment
Nikon D600 with Nikkor 80-200 2.8D. Nikon SB-700 providing light to the room and SB-900 gridded and through the lace tablecloth to create the pattern. Both lights triggered with SU-800 Commander using CLSInspiration
I always like the idea of playing with perception, especially when it comes to light and shadow. At first glance, it might look like my model has a really cool back tattoo or henna pattern or airbrush stencil. It might even look like a neat photoshop job. I wanted to capture the idea of body art in cool and dramatic way that didn't feel too "Heavy".Editing
I just used Adobe Lightroom 6 to do some basic adjustments; slight tweaks to exposure and contrast to give the photo a little bit of "pop".In my camera bag
In my bag when I'm just out and about (Wedding Work aside) I usually keep whichever camera body I'm using for the day. either the 600 (upgraded now to the D610) or my d810, my "Trinity" of lenses, nikkor 16-35 f/4 , 24-70 f/2.8, and 80-200 f/2.8, and one speed-light.Feedback
THe key to getting this kind of shot is to get the distances right. Once you figure out the power of the lights and the exposure settings, it's just a matter of moving the main light closer or father away from the fabric to get the size and clarity of shadow pattern. Then it's a matter of moving the subject closer or father away from the fabric to tighten things up. Then all that's left to do is position your subject so that the pattern falls where you want it to across their body.
