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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Light Lessons

A master of technique walks us through a series of situations and explains how to craft illumination

This Article Features Photo Zoom

8	Camera Format: Large-format /slide Resolution/ISO: 4x5 inch/ISO 100 Focal Length: 480mm Shutter Speed: 1⁄30 sec. ƒ-stop: ƒ/32

Image 8
I placed the big softbox (1) behind the object and set its brightness around 250-250-250 (RGB) or 2.7 ƒ-stops above my aperture to get a clean white. If you go far above this value, your entire studio will be lit and made visible in the chrome tap.

I cut a gray cardboard (2) in the dimensions of my photograph, placed it between the softbox (1) and the object, and illuminated it separately (10). As a result, I got a perfect contour all around the chrome tap. This technique becomes easier if you choose a long focal length and a narrow picture angle (α).

The Pulso Spot 4 with a 150mm projection attachment and templates illuminated the running water only. The light didn’t hit the tap, and therefore we didn’t get a burnt highlight anywhere. The rest was comparable to a classic chrome shot.

1) Pulsoflex C 150x150cm on a Pulso G lamp base 2) Dark gray background paper 3) Pulsoflex EM 80x140cm on a Unilite lamp base 4) P65 normal reflector with narrow grids on a Pulso G lamp base 5) Light blue gel filter 6) White acrylic plate (matte side to the object) 7) Black velvet (to avoid visible reflection of the studio walls in the tap) 8) Object 9) Camera 10) P70 normal reflector with medium grids on a Pulso G lamp base 11) Pulso Spot 4 with 150mm projection attachment and templates 12) Picture angle