Portrait Lighting Workshop w/ Steve Carty

*Please note that these photos were taken by me*

Open Shadow

          This photo was taken at the very beginning of our workshop outside in open shadow. It was a fairly cloudy day so most of the area was slightly shaded meaning still a lot of natural light around, but not as much as direct sunlight. I placed my subject on a plain blue door originally which was good because it wasn't distracting. However, I moved slightly to the right and took this shot. I personally like it because of the colours. The blue with the colour of the brick wall is great. The diagonal line separating the door and the wall actually leads you toward the face since it's in the same area. Because I was up close to the model, though, I got a shot where most of the frame is taken up by his face, leaving the background as not too much of a distraction. His expression gives a mood to the photo. He is serious, which are photos that I tend to take, and calm. His expression intrigues the viewer. This image is the first of three, each photographed vertically. Usually, when you take a portrait photo, you take it vertically because that's the direction the body goes. For this entire shoot, all photos stayed in the same direction.

Studio Lighting #1

          This photo was done inside the studio. The background, as you can see, is completely white. This is done by having two lights four feet from the wall, evenly distanced from the middle. It is important that the two lights are the same height as well. The light that is on the left has to be aimed just to the right of the centre of the backdrop, and the light on the right must be aimed just to the left of the centre. All of this gives you an even background as a crisp white which looks very professional. I was using another light for this shot that was directly behind me and above the both of us. This light was giving a more dramatic look which is good on male models. I also took the white side of a reflector and had it placed on the subject's lap. This lightened up the chin just a slight bit from the light reflecting off the white surface, making a noticeable difference. My model's expression is more one of worry. He gives off an innocent look, much different from the photo below. The positioning in the frame is vertical, once again, for the same reason as before.

Studio Lighting #2

          This photo was taken in the studio as well, and was the last photo that I snapped. As you can see, the lighting technique is different from the other two images. This time, I turned off the backlights so the backdrop would look more grey in the photo. Then, instead of having a light above the two of us, it was placed beside the subject. This gave off, again, a more dramatic look and also gave the rembrandt lighting where there is a triangle of light under the opposite eye. No reflector was used for this one. Expression has changed from one of worry, to confidence and mischief. It's like there is no shame when looking into the camera, which is intriguing. The colour of the background goes well with the colour of the sweater, tying the whole look in. Lastly, the image is vertical again because that's the direction of the body, and it works with the pose the model is in. 

This is a diagram of what the studio set up was like, including the lights that I used.

Thank you so much for sticking with me!