Page 38 - Lighting the Unlightable Volume 1 #1

So, I found myself looking at two different lighting problems. One from the

height of my B4 heads up, and another from the heads down. Traditional
soft boxes, especially octagonal, would have addressed this problem by
virtue of the fact that they diffuse light from the strobes significantly. Our
5’ Profoto octagonal soft boxes diffuse light over a significant area.

Even if I had elected to use “traditional” soft boxes, I would have created
other problems. For example, while using Profoto’s 5’ octagonal soft boxes

would have created a more diffused pattern of light than the Cine reflector
Fresnel heads, they would have left the floor too dark, and, I would have
had to limit where I stood in relationship to the soft boxes. Experience had
taught me that they often reflect in windows.

The Profoto B2 location kit and the Photoflex 7-in-1 Multi Disc reflector
combination proved to be just what I needed. I wanted to

make sure that the B2 heads were at 45 degrees to the re-
flector in order to maximize the diffusion they would create.
I placed the reflector as close to parallel to the wall with the
windows as I could get it.

I was relying on two things happening: Because the B2 heads
were at 45 degrees to the reflector, when they discharged,

the light would strike the reflector and immediately dif-
fuse in a broad pattern. Enough of the light from the reflec-
tor would strike the far wall under the window and “bounce
back into the room to fill the space from the B4 heads down.

This was important if I wanted to capture the shadow under
the couch in a way that looked natural. Further, some of the
light from the B2 heads would “bounce” up and break the light
from the B4s. (See pages 154-155 and 156-157 for diagrams and

additional commentary.)
One more note: Clearly visible behind Carolyne-Marie are mul-

tiple shadows. I could have removed them and elected not to.
Since I often work in a style similar to Hurrell, a style in which
shadows figure prominently, I decided to leave them.

As you study the rest of this example, remember, the goal
is always the same: Render the volume of light consistent.
When you render the volume of light consistent, detail, tex-

ture, contrast, and a sense of space are maximized. The result
is an emotionally powerful image.

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