Page 58 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #2

But even when we expertly light the most
difficult scenes, there will be elements of a
scene that we cannot change. Sometimes, how
we handle what we cannot change is as im-
portant as how we handle the things we can.
Working in the garden room, there was
nothing I could do about the frame of the wed-
ding tent. Even though I was able to light the
scene so that the photograph looked just as the
human eye would see it, I had to contend with
the tent frame and its impact on the emotional
experience I was creating. (In fact, lighting the
scene in this way actually caused the tent to
become an issue.) I knew that if I brought the
tent frame into depth of field, it would end up
being very distracting. The viewer's eye would
have gone past Salena and focused on the
frame. By using a lower aperture than I usu-
ally do, I avoided this problem. It isn't enough
to light the "unlightable." To create an emo-
tionally powerful image, every element of the
scene must be considered.

In the next issue, we will once again return
Conversely, I wanted the left side of her face to the Belmont Estate to take a look at an-
to be darker since it faced away from the sun. other problem common to working indoors.
The photograph on page 53 and the full page For this assignment, I was working with Kat
spread of Salena in the garden room on pages Marie in the ladies' drawing room. The room
60-61 show how I lit Salena’s face to match the is beautiful, but there are many challenging
light in the room. Had I not been able to do elements that must be considered and ad-
this, no matter how well the room may have dressed. These elements include a marble
been lit, she would not have looked natural. fireplace, a large window, bright walls, and a
What’s more, the inconsistency in lighting window to the right of the fireplace. And, per-
would have stripped the photograph of some haps the most difficult challenge—a mirror
of its emotional power. over the fireplace. ■

Working on-site can be much more difficult
than working in a studio. In a studio, we have
almost total control over the environment.
When we work on location, there is very little Above left photo and full page spread
that we can control. Knowing how to light the on pages 60-61 show the finished results
"unlightable" is an important part of working of the Belmont Estate shoot with Salena.
on location.

58 | lighting the un-lightable