In the last blog entry of 2012 I’d like to share some of the results with you of my experimenting with different lighting setups. I had to replace one of my flash tubes the other day and also because I took some days off around Christmas and New Year, I had a good reason and opportunity to spent several hours in my studio.
I used a very simple one lightsource and reflector setup. The images have not been edited or post-processed in any way, so please don’t give this too much attention. This is about the different lighting setups and the effect they have on the ultimate images.
I started with a straightforward setup. One strobe with a 20 degree grid attached. And a reflector. Distance between strobe and model is about 2 metres.
For the second setup I used the same equipment, but moved the strobe much closer to the model. About 1 metre. Brought the aperture down with 1 stop (from f/5.6 to f/8). The shadows become much softer if you bring the stobe closer to the model.
For the third setup I changed the grid to a softbox (without a grid). Distance to the model was about the same as in the previous setup, so about 1 metre. A noticeable much softer light (not surprisingly) overall with much softer shadows. The light seems to wrap itself around the model more or less.
For the fourth and final setup, I used the softbox again, but moved it away from the model. Distance about 2 metres. Opened aperture up by 2 full stops (from f/8 to f/4). Light and shadows a bit harder than the previous setup, but still much softer than setups 1 and 2. Also notice there’s more light on the background (top left corner) than on the previous setup.
Which setup you are going to use, all depends of course, on the message you’re trying to get across with the portrait. Do you want the model to be seen as sweet, gentle, fragile or as tough, hard, strong. Elements such as composition and pose can help you with this, but let’s not forget that lighting is an important (if not the most important) means of communicating a message. The picture that Arnold Newman took of Alfred Krupp comes to mind here, but there are plenty others, of course.
Wishes for 2013? A mannequin to act as a stand-in model….