Archive for the 'lighting' Category

During a smaller family gathering I set up my gray fun-to-fold background and one studio strobe with the 1mx1m softbox on it and persuaded my family members to suffer a bit in front of my camera.
The light source was just a few feet from the models’ faces slightly pointing down on them. I really like the effect of this lighting. It is subtle enough - due to the proximity of the relatively big light source - not to grab the viewer’s attention and also natural looking because there is only one light.

There are a few big guys who use extremely simple lighting set-ups and yet make amazing portraits, like Timothy Greenfield-Sanders or Platon just to name two of them. Visit their sites to get some inspiration.

I rented a photo studio for two hours to shoot my old tap dancer and choreographer friend whom I shot last year as well. At that time I was using small speedlights and had very little concept on what I wanted to achieve. Now I had my plans.

The reasons of the shooting were:

• Basilio González from Barcelona, Spain found my other tap dance pictures and he invited me to take part on a tap dance photo contest
• my friend still needs some pictures for his Web site
• I wanted to practice with big strobes

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Martin Szipal, our 80 year old instructor arrived to the 4th session wearing a claret (well, reddish for me) jacket. I’m writing about his outfit all the time because he always looks stylish paying attention to the smallest details. He clearly maintains a style. But it cost him money of course. As he said once: “… my sister asked me: ‘you made so much money in America. Where’s that?’ And I told her: ‘I spent two thirds of what I made to make people think that I was extraordinarily rich. I was driving a Rolls Royce, was wearing expensive cloths and was living in a penthouse. So two thirds went for these and I was living from the rest in a modest way.’”

“The purpose of using a light source is not to lit the dark areas. It’s for creating dimension with the shadows.”

First of all I would like to share two pictures where the models were lit and instructed by Martin. One light source again with reflecting white surfaces. This is really Martin’s style.
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Extremely useful complete training on studio lighting by Ken Henderson for free.

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Last Sunday on the third session of the portrait photography class Martin Szipal, our instructor was wearing a grey suit. He said that it was not for us, but for his friends who invited him for a Sunday lunch in some fancy restaurant.

We started with available light shooting on the balcony of the studio. The Sun was hitting the scene from behind the model and only those white boards were used as reflectors. The model’s hair was wonderfully bathed in light while her face was also lit properly. Martin explained that when the Sun is right above the model some artificial shade is to be constructed above her to avoid deep shadows in her eyes and under her nose and chin.

Martin mentioned Richard Avedon again. He said “Avedon was regarded the best photographer of the world. There was him and only the Almighty God above him.”

“The eye and the light reflected in the eye is the most important. When something is in golden ratio that’s good. When the eye is in golden ratio, that’s the best.”

“When one of the model’s eyes is looking into my eyes while the other is staring my ear, that is the the sign of distress. Distress might contract some muscles, for example muscles in the eye. You have to ask her to shut her eyes and open them again a few times to release those muscles in the eye.”

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The second occasion of the portrait photography class took place last Sunday. Martin Szipal, our instructor, looked just a bit less extravagant than last time.

The session was devoted mainly to lighting.

“Why do we talk about light, when shadow gives the essence of the photo? Shadow gives dimension.”

We started again with his pictures as good examples and he brought quite some magazine pictures as bad ones. “A student of mine once asked me: ‘Why do you say bad things about other photographers?’ And I told him: ‘Seeing only good pictures you cannot learn anything.’”
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