 Jenny A. Lee |
Portrait ideas For a portrait, I am interested in doing an 'outline', for lack of a better word, of a person. Not exactly a silhouette. I want the background black and the person's figure black with light tracing the outline of the person. It's not going to be a headshot, more like a 3/4 body shot. Anyone that has done this type of shot before can tell me how to set up my lights for this? Also, what would be the right black and white film for this? Thanks, Jenny
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Mark Feldstein |
Ideally, you need to shoot this in a space where you can block out all extrneous light. You need a black seamless background of some sort and space to move the subject about 8 feet in front of it. Rig a single light a few feet directly overhead and slightly behind the subject to allow the light to edge light their back side while being careful to control the light so it doesn't spill into your background space. If necessary, you can use fill panels placed out of camera view, again, behind the subject, to control spill and pump a little fill light into the subject's sides to give their shape some dimension. They should be wearing black or very dark clothing as well, except for any area you want to highlight. Last time I did this, I just used Panatomic X at ISO 50. These days, I'd probably use Agfapan APX 100. Take it light. ;>)
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
don't have to block out all light, just that it can't be close to the exposure for your main, and don't have any reflection from walls causing the side that's facing you to show. Don't need that much space because you can do it by having the person directly in line between camera and light, aiming light straight back at you. Don't have to be wearing black, but if it's a very small room, makes it easier.
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Mark Feldstein |
Actually Jen, you should block out all the light just to prevent exactly what Greg mentioned. Extraneous light will produce reflections on walls and probably add light to your subject. If you need to raise your shutter speed to counteract that, you'll need faster film. That usually leads to increased grain. Besides, you want to precisely control the light. So, like I said, block off all the extraneous light you can, use a slow speed black and white film, and that should work fine. Getting the subject as far off the background will prevent reflections from the subject's backside from casting light on your background making it look more gray or less pure black which again, would undermine why it seems you're doing this. 8' isn't much distance at all. Aiming the light straight back at your camera position will probably produce glare. That's why I said to get it up high over the subject and behind them, tilted slightly forward and out of camera lens angle and use some light control panels to prevent spill to the foreground. And lastly, if you want to truly just illuminate the outline of the subject, black clothing. Anything less just sort of undermines the purpose of this whole shot as you're likely to be recording their clothing in ambient light.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
No hard feelings, cause I've done it before. Except with flash, not the way you're describing. Having the light directly behind the person, hidden from view, pointed straight back at you, won't give glare. Causes rim lighting.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
time to delete.
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Jenny A. Lee |
On one of the responses, someone mentioned using 50 or 100 speed film. Wouldn't this be too slow for such low light? I was thinking I had to use a really fast film. What is the thinking behind the slow film use? Jenny
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Mark Feldstein |
The reason I mentioned slower speed film is because you would need to work at a slower shutter speed to get reasonable depth of field AND if you use faster film, you might end up recording more ambient light which, as I indicated earlier, sort of obviates the purpose for the whole exercise of just edge lighting the person. Yes, I know edge lighting Greg, and you're right but having done this many times myself, it's nice to outline the top of the person and their shoulders. I do that by placing a light above and behind them so as to not reflect back into the camera and elminating the possibility of glare. Hot lights or strobe, the principles are the same really ;>)
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