Page 83 - Lighting the Un-lightable 2015

to work in first, then attempt to move my lights to the same place in the second room.

My best possibility for success, I thought, was to treat the two rooms as though the

were basically the same. That is to say, I would focus on the similarities between the

rooms. I would use the differences to "fine tune" my setup. The only thing I knew for

sure was that Akira would first work by the sliding door and then move to the bed.

The sliding glass door would be easy. I would place one light outside the sliding glass

door to light up the area immediately outside the sliding glass door. That area was

darker than it would otherwise have been because it was under the overhead porch.

The Profoto Cine Reflectors have replaced soft boxes when I work with models. While

they are clearly more difficult to master, the results are more dramatic and more in

keeping with the style of photography created by Hurrell. Cine Reflectors employ Fres-

nel lenses. Fresnel technology was designed to keep light from diffusing - hence it's

ideal use is in light houses. When Hurrell was working in Hollywood, theatrical lighting

was very dependent upon Fresnel technology. Hence, when it comes to emulating his

style, Profoto's Cine Reflectors are incredibly important.

However, because Fresnel technology keeps light from diffusing, even in a small room,

there can be "dark spots," for lack of a better term, that push black and white farther

apart. Given what we know about light and digital photography, this causes serious

problems. In fact, in the first images of Akira on the bed, that was obvious. At first, I

was taken aback, and then I realized what was happening. To my surprise, unlike my

work with Katie at Belmont (see the previous edition of "Lighting the Un-lightable"),

where the heavy shadows added to the dramatic effect, that wasn't the case here. As

I had done with Carolyne Marie (see the featured model section of this edition of the

magazine), I would have to introduce more light. I needed to do so without diminidhing

the effect I wanted from the Cine Reflectors.

At first, I tried moving the strobes. That didn't work. The whites became too "hot" and

the blacks too dark. Honestly, I wasn't surprised. Fresnel technology can very quickly

alter the balance between black and white and render an image unusable. Fortunately,

I had the Profoto B2 Location Kit. It saved the day. Though they are considerably lower

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