Professional photographer's secret of setting the light and shadow
Professional photographer's secret of setting the light and shadow | ||
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The world of the studio photographer is as different from the photo journalist's as a painting by Norman Rockwell is from one by Van Gogh. Rockwell paid careful attention to every brushstroke in an attempt to capture reality in meticulous detail—a reality that's warmer, prettier, funnier, and more perfect than everyday reality. Van Gogh strove to use the materials of the moment to create a reality where perfect was not a question, but rather a raw look at an inner reality. Anyone who thinks studio photography is 'of the moment' has never spent all afternoon watching a photographer manipulate everything, especially the light, to capture a single moment. Here are some of the ways studio lighting creates different realities in a portrait. A single light shines directly at the subject of a photograph evenly and smoothly in straight lines from the light sources. Without any material in front of the light to modify the light, and no other lights on the subject, the single light creates a flat, featureless face and well- defined shadows. The photographer can do two simple things to better reveal the subject's face. (Both these can also be accomplished with a flash attachment that connects to the camera with a cord rather than the hot shoe.) One technique is to move the light to the side so that the light is striking the subject from about a 45-degree angle relative to the camera horizontally, and vertically from about a foot or two higher than the camera. The lighting reveals more of the contours of the subject, but it is still stark. The second technique is to use an attachment that softens the light coming from the light source. A softbox takes the sharp edge off the shadows. As light passes through the translucent front cover of the softbox, the fibers in the cover diffuse the light, bouncing it first one way and then another. The result is that light strikes the subject from many directions so that there is no single edge to shadows. The bigger the area of the softbox, the softer the light becomes. A reflector located on the other side of the camera from the light creates a fill light by bouncing the light back into shadowed areas. A photographer may use a reflector with a gold surface to add warmth to the lighting or a silver surface for a brighter, crisper fill. The fill light makes the subject appear less harsh. An alternative to a reflector is a second light. A common addition to studio lights is an umbrella, which can be used two ways. An umbrella both reflects and diffuses light from the source pointed away from the subject and into the umbrella's concave underside. Or the light and umbrella may be turned around so the light shines through the umbrella. In both arrangements, the effect is similar to that of a softbox. A snoot light is one that shines through a long cylinder that restricts the light to a small spot. It is often used to point down on the subject to add highlights in the hair. | ||