Page 52 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #2

A TUTORIAL BY FALCON

Lighting the Un-lightable

When creating emotionally powerful images,

every element of the scene must be considered.

o where do you want to work next?" I asked Salena. We were at

the Belmont Estate, a glorious, early twentieth-century mansion in

S Reidsville, North Carolina.

Here, there is no shortage of places to work—Belmont's architectural beauty

and her furnishings make every room ideal. Not that Belmont is without its

challenges, mind you. As I discussed in the last issue, the ballroom on the third

floor is often difficult to light and other rooms offer their own challenges as well.

"I want to work there," said Salena, pointing towards the "garden room" that

faces the courtyard.

For a brief moment, I considered asking Salena to select another place to work.

I had never worked in the garden room because it was obviously a very difficult

place to light. Even though the room itself is glass on three sides, there isn't

enough ambient light or light from fixtures to create a properly exposed image.

What’s more, right outside the garden room is a tent used for weddings. Given

that the tent is white, it reflects considerable light back into the room. However,

it doesn't reflect enough light to compensate for the overall lack of light. And,

since the garden room faces west, in the afternoon the tent blocks more light
than it reflects. (See Figure 1 on page 55 for a diagram of the garden room.)

52 | lighting the un-lightable