Page 22 - Lighting the Unlightable Volume 1 #1

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The light from the sun came through the window over and
behind Nikki. That left this side of the landing very dark.
As much as I was willing to let this section of the scene
be dark, I wanted the transition to be and look natural.
For that to happen, the gray scale had to be carefully con-
trolled. Too much light directed towards the center of the
image would have darkened this area too quickly. Too lit-
tle light would have left this section too dark and would
have lost the drama of the gray scale fade-effect.
Fresnel lighting - by design - keeps a beam of light from
diffusing too quickly. That can be both a problem and an
asset. I have found that the ability to keep a beam of light
from diffusing can be an incredible tool for sculpting light
and for creating dramatic images. However, managing the
intensity of the beam and creating a consistent and soft
pattern of diffusion can be difficult. Here, I had to rely on
effectively breaking the light from both Fresnel adapters
to achieve the soft gray-scale diffusion I wanted.

Effectively lighting the scene also meant keeping as much
detail in the shadows as the human eye would perceive
in the photograph. Especially as the gray faded towards
the far left of the image, I needed to avoid fading to black.
Notice how much detail there is in the rug and along the
floor molding. Even the wood frame of the settee is lit
so that no detail is lost. The detail in the brocade is also
clearly visible.

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