Page 82 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #3

with two 500-watt/second “moonlights.” In the I identified an additional problem - every
months that had passed, I had come to enjoy model with whom I have worked in that room
using them. They took less time to put together has moved - most often she will start on the
than "conventional" strobes and they produced sette in front of the window and then move to
a dynamic range of light I found more effective a side chair. Hannah had indicated she would
than the Canon 580 EX and EXII flashes that work in the darkest corner of the room first.
had become the hallmark of my work. I had to plan effectively for her move to an-
That was the good news. They bad news was other part of the room. This is harder than it
that I didn't bring soft boxes for them. I had seems since - inevitably - lighting adjustments
only two umbrellas. They were white and high- have to be made. I didn't want to have to ad-
ly reflective on the inside and totally black on just anything - or if i did I wanted to make sure
the outside. Virtually every bit of light would that the adjustments were kept to a minimum.
be reflected back into the space when the Experience has taught me that making large
strobes fired. I could adjust the intensity of the scale adjustments when working with a mod-
strobes, but I couldn't really soften the light. el - any model - can become distracting and
At least not the way a soft box does. in the end they can result in a loss of concen-
tration and emotional engagement. Not just
Now that I had identified the specific chal- for the model but for me as well. I made a rule
lenges, I began to apply our methodology. long ago that when that happens - when either
The date was June 10th. I was in Reidsville, the model or I become disengaged - it is time
North Carolina. I was working on the east side to end the session.
of a house in the afternoon. Collectively, this I found myself pondering three questions:
told me that the sun would be relatively high (1) Where can I place the moonlights so that
in the sky, and that over the next hour it would they will create an even and consistent volume
move across the front of the house but still this of light in the room? (2) Can I place the lights
was not as much of a problem as it would have so that I won't have to move them during the
been a month earlier since, as I have already shoot? Moving lights during a shoot might not
noted, it would track relatively high in the sky. seem like a problem, but it can be. The more
The light was intense around the window time I spend tinkering with the lights, the
facing the front of the house. It was not as in- greater the risk I will lose the model's attention
tense in front of the window by the fire place. and the emotion of the moment that we had
In the corners of the room and in front of the created together, would be gone. Sometimes,
couch, the shadows were heavy and dark. There re-creating that emotional moment can be dif-
was almost no light there. ficult and sometimes once it is lost, it it gone
The volume of light in the room, the key to forever. (3) How can I increase the dynamic
creating images that look as though they were range of color and light in the room without
created using ambient light and which appear to losing emotional impact? With two 500 Watt/
be just as the human eye would see them, was a second lights it would be easy to lose the em-
serious problem. Near the windows, the volume tional impact by using too much light. Light-
was driven by relatively intense light from out- ing the room too intensely, would run the risk
side the room. In the corners, under the chairs, of losing color, detail, contrast and texture as
the volume of light was very different. As I not- well. Besides, the shadows were exquisite and
ed earlier in this article, the difference between overlighting the room would lose the drama of
the volume of light by the windows and along the shadows. I also knew what would happen
the floor was greater than two F-stops. This is to Hannah's red dress if I tried that. It would
well past the range that produces good images. not only lose all detail but it would become a

82 | lighting the un-lightable