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Monte Zucker Reflections On A Trip To England & Ireland - part 2 of 1 2 3

Published 01/02/2006

One thing that I can almost always count on when teaching my classes is that photographers pretty much don't know how to create portrait lighting outdoors. They go outside because there's light everywhere. You don't have to look for it. There is, however, one unfaultable technique that will work always. That is to look for cover overhead and a directional light coming in from one side. Nothing could be easier than going to a covered area where the light is blocked from one side.

A nearby cabin provided exactly what we needed underneath its small porch. I used the black side of a Westcott black/white background behind the photographer who posed for me and two silver reflectors - one below him to open up detail in his eyes and the second one to his left to open up some of the shadowed area on the left side of his face. [6]

The finished portrait shows that I tilted the top of my Canon 5D to his higher left shoulder, achieving a strong diagonal composition of his head and shoulders. I toned down his hand below the camera with an adjustment layer as noted above. I toned down the writing on the camera in the Brightness channel of the Lab Mode. [7]

A similar technique with just a slightly different twist is this family group picture that was created just outside the edge of a covered porch. I was under cover. The light was coming from behind them and to their left. A high camera position simplified the background to the area just behind them. My constant use of an expodisc continued to make a custom white balance quick and easy.

The portrait was made with all available light. One of the things that I constantly point out to photographers is the need to physically connect each of the family members. Look and see how the arms and hands help to bring the family feeling close together. [8]

There can never be enough instruction for studio portraiture on location. There seems to be a lot of fear about this subject by photographers who haven't had the benefit of learning simple posing and lighting technique. Everyone learned a simple lesson when a very young teenager was brought into the classroom to pose as a bride. She entered the classroom in a strapless wedding gown, bare arms and all. I had to do something to dress her up for a portrait.

The problem was solved when I took a piece of fabric that almost matched the fabric of her gown and draped it around her shoulders and over her arms. I had done this quite often when a bride with a long train comes to me with bare shoulders and arms. The cape-like effect saved the day and pleased everyone. This portrait was created using two Westcott Spiderlights and a reflector. How easy is that? [9]

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1st Published 01/02/2006
last update 09/12/2022 15:00:33

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