This is a portrait lit by reflection. The key light for this was a reflection. I've played around with this stuff before for macro shots, and it's turned out really well. Big reflection on a big (surface area wise) surface gives really nice, soft light. I use it all the time for portraits using natural light, I've even bounced strobes off of reflectors as light sources. I even mimicked the sun with a strobe and then mimicked the snow with a reflector.
Side note: Why didn't I just just the actual sun and the actual snow? Well, because I wanted more pop in my sun and the snow didn't throw the right, or enough, light back. Plus we were in the shade...
Anyway, today I wanted to use this technique again, but make it super simple. No mimicking suns or using multiple walls and other lights as rim lights this time. Just one strobe and one reflector. and maybe a snoot...
If you didn't know, a snoot is a light restrictor. It's a tube (sometimes) that goes on the end of the strobe that basically turns it into a spot light. It's useful if you want to light only a tiny area from a distance.
I'll show you the end result first and then you can see the set up. Try to figure out the set up from the first photo...
and here's the basic set up
So obviously the background is different, and I'm looking in a different direction, but essentially the set up is the same. You can sorta see the strobe in the lower left corner. What you see there is the connection between the snoot and the strobe. The snoot is shooting the light up at me but mostly at the white mat board in my hand. The light is then reflected back at me. The warm glow on my face is caused by spill from the snoot. The snoot is made from card board, which is a warm tone, so it warms the light, hence the warm glow on my face. The light reflected off the white mat board is turned...you guessed it...white. Theoretically it's still tinted warm, but it's unnoticeable.
Super simple set up, awesome results.
For the camera settings, f2.2, ISO100, 1/200. 50mm lens on 7D. Was going for a shallow depth of field and the ability to run super low power settings on the strobe. 1/200 to get rid of ambient light as best I could.
In Lr, I did my normal routine. Enhance the eyes with saturation, clarity, and highlight boost. Boost all the highlights and shadows a bit too for this one. I boosted the clarity in my hair for some golden glow. Clarity lightens highlights by the way. I think that's about all I did. The photo ended up being pretty specially flat sadly, so I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. This was about experimentation for the most part anyway. It would be good for laying in Photoshop though....
On to a bit of theory. Reflection is, I think, one of the best ways to light something. For one, if you use the environment you're in, you get the natural tones so it looks more realistic to the viewer and you don't point and say, look! That was made in a studio. Lately I've been wanting to do more with natural light. I haven't for a long time, and using strobes to recreate certain natural lights got me thinking. If this light already exists in nature, why do we even care to recreate it if it takes more work? The point I'm trying to get at is there has to be a balance. Rarely is there a photo taken with just natural light or just artificial light that looks perfect, so to speak. You don't get the drama with natural light as easily as if you create the light yourself, but creating light adds too much drama and looses the beauty that natural light has. There's exceptions to this of course, there's absolutely no absolutes in photography. As a general rule of thumb though, the best photos I've seen combine natural light with artificial light. The basis is formed by natural light, and artificial lights are added to supplement and create that dramatic or romantic (not the kiss kiss kind of romantic, the other kind) feel that photographers see in there mind. This artificial light can exist in reality, or in post production in photoshop. So up and comer photographers, take note, be diverse. Don't go one direction and think its the only way. Don't be scared to try new things and create the world you see.
So enough of the rant, see you tomorrow.
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