Lighting a studio

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I am quite excited

I have found a stunningly beautiful subject to photograph. I would like
to do the shots in white walled room which has a 10' x 7' window on
wall wall, a 3'x4' window next to it and opposite the smaller window
there is the white wall. The large window faces West and sunset light
should come through, but i don't want the model to face the sunset as
the backdrop is no good. The ceiling has a small fluorescent tube light
shieldedby a translucent scrim.

How am I going to get the lighting right for this?

Looking at the room i can see that there won't be enough light. It will
be a little bit overcast in there. The light is kind of grey / cold /
hospital like. I would prefer something warmer / more golden... less
like the interior of an insane asylum, haha!

I don't have any lighting equipment. I have a Canon 10d. I don't want
to use the flash on that really. I would like soft, diffuse lights, you
know, the sort of light women like to be photographed in because it
brings out their beauty.

Should I get / try something?

Later, in the same room, I would like to try to get some dramatic
shots, with shadows accentuating the bone structure etc. I should
probably close the blinds on the windows, and then what? I read that we
need a 'small' or 'tight' light source for this sort of thing...
Any suggestions? Will probably aim to print those dramatic shots as
black and white.

Thank you!

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 22:12:20 -0700, yeeehi wrote:

> I am quite excited
>
> I have found a stunningly beautiful subject to photograph. I would like to
> do the shots in white walled room which has a 10' x 7' window on wall
> wall, a 3'x4' window next to it and opposite the smaller window there is
> the white wall. The large window faces West and sunset light should come
> through, but i don't want the model to face the sunset as the backdrop is
> no good. The ceiling has a small fluorescent tube light shieldedby a
> translucent scrim.
>
> How am I going to get the lighting right for this?
>
> Looking at the room i can see that there won't be enough light. It will be
> a little bit overcast in there. The light is kind of grey / cold /
> hospital like. I would prefer something warmer / more golden... less like
> the interior of an insane asylum, haha!
>
> I don't have any lighting equipment. I have a Canon 10d. I don't want to
> use the flash on that really. I would like soft, diffuse lights, you know,
> the sort of light women like to be photographed in because it brings out
> their beauty.
>
> Should I get / try something?
>
> Later, in the same room, I would like to try to get some dramatic shots,
> with shadows accentuating the bone structure etc. I should probably close
> the blinds on the windows, and then what? I read that we need a 'small' or
> 'tight' light source for this sort of thing...
> Any suggestions? Will probably aim to print those dramatic shots as
> black and white.

Okay, let's see... Both the 10x7 window, which I'm assuming in 7' tall,
and the 3x4 window are on the same west facing wall. Right? But the
wall opposite the 10x7 window is unattractive as a background, whatever it
is. A fireplace, maybe? How big is the room? What are the walls that
face south and north like? And how close is the closer edge of either
window to them?

I'm going to make some assumptions here: the room is rectangular about
15' wide by 22' to 27' long with a white 8' ceiling and mostly white
walls. Floor covering is light, neutral tone carpet.

To get the most light into the room for the highest shutter speeds, shoot
in the afternoon when direct sunlight is coming through both windows, more
or less.

(You can shoot earlier, but you're going to have to use much slower
shutter speeds and, since the room will be illuminated mostly by very blue
skylight, you'll have color balance problems with your color
shots, which may or may not be alleviated by the "auto" white
balance of your camera, but probably not, or doing a custom
white balance, which would be better. White balance won't matter much, if
you're converting to b&w.)


Soften the direct light by covering both windows with white, translucent
fabric like parachute nylon or commercially available diffusion material.
The result should be soft, diffuse light throughout the room, and the
ability to shoot most anywhere, even using the large window as a
background, having the room fill for a dramatic high-key. However, the
best angle to shoot -- you're not going to like this -- is with the model
opposite, facing and more or less centered on the 10x7 window with the
photographer between the model and the window. To handle the unattractive
wall behind the model, bring in your own background: seamless, roll
background paper; a commercial photographer's muslin background, even a
large piece of faric like a blanket or bedspread or gauze/shear window
fabric. Use you imagination.

Have the model as far away from the background as possible and shoot with
as wide open an f-stop as you can use while still maintaining sufficient
depth of field to keep your subject in sharp, but throw the background out
a little to a lot, all without letting the shutter speed fall below 1/60
of a second . If you can shoot with a tripod, you can use a slower shutter
than 1/60. Most people can hold sufficiently still to use a 1 or 2 second
shutter speed, but I'd advise not to go that slow. Set whatever ISO speed
you need, but remember the higher the speed the more noise.

Now, for the more dramatic lighting, use the 3x4 window with the diffusion
material still on it. Pose your subject with the window to one side,
turning the subject slightly and moving her closer or farther from the
window to get the lighting effect you want. If there is too much fill
light from the rest of the room, cover the 10x7 window, either partially
or completely, to reduce the extra light. The 3x4 window should be big
enough for head and shoulder to 3/4 length shots. For full length shots,
use the 10x7 window covering parts of it until you get the desired effect.

I additionally recommend that you go to the library or book store and
look for books on Natural Light Portrait and/or Glamour photography.


Stefan