Portrait Artist Forum - View Single Post - Achieving Traditional Lighting with New Technology

Karin Wells · 06-28-2001, 01:52 PM

by Karin Wells
This and other information can be found on my website at www.portraitartist.com/wells

A Single Source of Light

I've always loved the paintings of the Old Masters and often have copied their works in order to understand the masters' use of light and composition. Their lighting is simple, elegant, and comes from a single light source. Over the years, I've devised a method of achieving this single source lighting with the use of my camera and artificial illumination equipment. Because I personally find a natural daylight source to be inconsistent and often paint into the night without a model, I heavily rely on my camera for reference "notes".

I've found that it is difficult, if not impossible to produce a good portrait from a poor photograph. For example, shadows that look wonderful when you have the model sitting in front of you, can unhappily appear as solid black in the resulting photograph. Another inferior result comes from the use of high-speed film in low light, making the photo grainy. There are two variables that determine how much light intensity is needed - lens aperture and film speed. The faster the film speed and the larger the aperture setting, the more grainy and inferior the resulting photo. What a portrait artist needs is sharp, brilliant pictures with good depth of field. The only way to get this, especially with moving children, is to have lots of steady light, a slow speed film, and moderate or high apertures.

The placement of the light in relationship to the subject is critical. As a rule of thumb, when photographing most clients, I set up my light to the left of the camera and above the subject. This placement will produce shadows appearing in a pattern that photographers call, "Rembrandt Lighting". Since paintings, like books, read from left to right, this direction of light is oftentimes the most pleasing. With older clients, I like to keep the lighting as frontal as possible in order to minimize the appearance of creases and wrinkles on the skin.

To reflect light back into the shadow slide of the model (so that the shadows don't look black in the resulting photo), I place reflectors (white cardboard will do) opposite the light source and "off camera". Bounce more light than your eye tells you to back into the shadows, so that you will be able to see detail within the shadows. Most professional photographers use another light to accomplish this, but I urge you to resist the temptation. I find that the results can be excellent when served by a single light source and a reflecting board.

I often photograph my subject with a neutral background. My discovery of a portable "Background System in a Bag" by Photek, makes traveling to the client's location a breeze. It consists of a large, 8'x12', pearl gray material with collapsible supports. In composing the actual painting, this neutral background allows me the flexibility to add objects or landscapes that I've photographed separately.

I use a 35mm Canon EOS Elan camera (auto focus) with a Tamron 28-200 zoom lens. I prefer a slow (160 ISO) professional film by Kodak, Vericolor III. It gives me accurate color, clear detail, and soft shadows.

The "White Lightning Ultra 600" studio flash manufactured by Paul C. Buff, Inc. of Nashville, TN., illuminates the subject while showing exactly where the shadows fall. It is lightweight and portable, and allows me to shoot at a faster speed, thus eliminating the need for a tripod. I also use a Wein light meter (any will do) to determine the aperture on my camera. When I click the shutter, a strobe ring at the base of the modeling light automatically flashes and illuminates the subject with the correct amount of light. I also use a diffuser, softbox or white umbrella to provide light that wraps gently around the form.

It takes time, study and practice to produce beautifully lighted photographs for use in portraiture. My system has worked well for me to mimic the single light source.

06-28-2001, 01:52 PM	#1
Karin Wells FT Pro, Mem SOG,'08 Cert Excellence PSA, '02 Schroeder Portrait Award Copley Soc, '99 1st Place PSA, '98 Sp Recognition Washington Soc Portrait Artists, '97 1st Prize ASOPA, '97 Best Prtfolio ASOPA Joined: Jun 2001 Location: Peterborough, NH Posts: 1,114	How to photograph a client by Karin Wells This and other information can be found on my website at www.portraitartist.com/wells A Single Source of Light I've always loved the paintings of the Old Masters and often have copied their works in order to understand the masters' use of light and composition. Their lighting is simple, elegant, and comes from a single light source. Over the years, I've devised a method of achieving this single source lighting with the use of my camera and artificial illumination equipment. Because I personally find a natural daylight source to be inconsistent and often paint into the night without a model, I heavily rely on my camera for reference "notes". I've found that it is difficult, if not impossible to produce a good portrait from a poor photograph. For example, shadows that look wonderful when you have the model sitting in front of you, can unhappily appear as solid black in the resulting photograph. Another inferior result comes from the use of high-speed film in low light, making the photo grainy. There are two variables that determine how much light intensity is needed - lens aperture and film speed. The faster the film speed and the larger the aperture setting, the more grainy and inferior the resulting photo. What a portrait artist needs is sharp, brilliant pictures with good depth of field. The only way to get this, especially with moving children, is to have lots of steady light, a slow speed film, and moderate or high apertures. The placement of the light in relationship to the subject is critical. As a rule of thumb, when photographing most clients, I set up my light to the left of the camera and above the subject. This placement will produce shadows appearing in a pattern that photographers call, "Rembrandt Lighting". Since paintings, like books, read from left to right, this direction of light is oftentimes the most pleasing. With older clients, I like to keep the lighting as frontal as possible in order to minimize the appearance of creases and wrinkles on the skin. To reflect light back into the shadow slide of the model (so that the shadows don't look black in the resulting photo), I place reflectors (white cardboard will do) opposite the light source and "off camera". Bounce more light than your eye tells you to back into the shadows, so that you will be able to see detail within the shadows. Most professional photographers use another light to accomplish this, but I urge you to resist the temptation. I find that the results can be excellent when served by a single light source and a reflecting board. I often photograph my subject with a neutral background. My discovery of a portable "Background System in a Bag" by Photek, makes traveling to the client's location a breeze. It consists of a large, 8'x12', pearl gray material with collapsible supports. In composing the actual painting, this neutral background allows me the flexibility to add objects or landscapes that I've photographed separately. I use a 35mm Canon EOS Elan camera (auto focus) with a Tamron 28-200 zoom lens. I prefer a slow (160 ISO) professional film by Kodak, Vericolor III. It gives me accurate color, clear detail, and soft shadows. The "White Lightning Ultra 600" studio flash manufactured by Paul C. Buff, Inc. of Nashville, TN., illuminates the subject while showing exactly where the shadows fall. It is lightweight and portable, and allows me to shoot at a faster speed, thus eliminating the need for a tripod. I also use a Wein light meter (any will do) to determine the aperture on my camera. When I click the shutter, a strobe ring at the base of the modeling light automatically flashes and illuminates the subject with the correct amount of light. I also use a diffuser, softbox or white umbrella to provide light that wraps gently around the form. It takes time, study and practice to produce beautifully lighted photographs for use in portraiture. My system has worked well for me to mimic the single light source. Last edited by Karin Wells; 11-20-2001 at 11:39 PM.