Creating a sense of drama in a
portrait
does not need be a difficult task as long as you employ the right tools and techniques. As opposed to the traditional headshot, dramatic portraiture does not follow any prescribed formula. This lesson demonstrates how to employ a single Starlite with a 3-foot OctoDome NXT to create this moody image of a saxophone player. It then shows how adding a second Starlite head further increases the range of possibilities in lighting a portrait like this. |
Figure 1 | Positioning the Main Light To start things off, we positioned our main light, a Starlite OctoDome nxt Kit, at a 45° angle and to the left of the subject. We positioned the light parallel to the subject plane, being careful to spread an equal amount of light from the top of the model's head all the way down to the bottom of the saxophone. The background was a textured muslin backdrop supported with a ProDuty Backdrop Support Kit. [figure 1] |
Figure 3 | Experimenting with Negative Fill Next, we decided to experiment by creating some negative fill on the opposite side of the subject. Negative fill refers to using black material to absorb light from the subject instead of using a white of silver material to reflect light back. Here, we used a 39x72" LitePanel Kit fitted with Black/White fabric. We positioned our LitePanel with the black side facing out as close as possible to the model on the opposite side from the main light. [figure 3] |
Figure 5 |
Figure 6 |
Figure 4 | Adding a Hair Light For the next shot, we set up a 500-Watt Starlite with small Silver HalfDome on a Boom and positioned it directly above and slightly behind the model's head. [figure 8] When positioning a hair light, it's important to pay close attention to how it affects the overall shot. Typically, the goal is to light the hair and shoulders, but not to have any light spilling onto the face. |
Figure 11 | For the next series of shots, we decided to start from scratch and go back to our very first main light setup. Shown here is the same setup we used for the first shot in this lesson. [figure 11] |
Figure 12 | And, here is the same result that we obtained earlier using a Starlite OctoDome nxt Kit positioned as our main light at 45° to the subject. [figure 12] (We are re-introducing this shot as a new starting point for the new lighting changes described below.) |
Figure 13 | Using Extra Diffusion Next, we decided to use our LitePanel, this time fitted with white/translucent fabric to create extra diffusion for the main light. Keeping the position of the main light unaltered, we simply placed our translucent LitePanel directly in front of the SoftBox. [figure 13] |
Figure 15 | Adding a Rim Light With our main light in place and modified to our liking, our next step was to add some style to this portrait by using a rim lighting technique. To do this, we set up a 500-Watt StarLite with a small SilverDome on a Background LiteStand and positioned it about five feet to the right and behind the subject. [figure 15] |
Figure 19 | Narrowing the Spread of Light To add the final touch to this dramatic portrait, we decided to tone down the background by adding Accessory Grids to both the main and rim lights. [figure 19] |
DestinDave wrote:
Excellent posting Alex! This really shows the versatility of a quality light system and knowing how to use it..
I'm really looking forward to my Octodome Kit and learning how to use it and apply options.. should take my photography to a whole new level..
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