Pro Showcase Contributor: Lighting for Stock Images

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Also: www.jaypmorgan.com
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Hi, I'm Jay P. Morgan. I love photography because it takes me places. I get to do and see things that most people never get access to. This year, Web Photo School asked me if I'd be interested in producing a creative lesson for Valentine's Day. It was a great assignment because I shoot for a card company and can always use new images to send to them. I have my own process through which I come up with ideas and create images, and I hope this lesson helps to explore some of that process with you.


Brainstorming & Planning
In the early stages of developing ideas for a project, I typically use a sketchpad to lay down any thoughts I may have. This assignment was no different. I made notes about ideas and looked on the Internet for Valentine’s Day images. Sometimes, I'll do a search for a random object like "ladder", as I did here, and ponder how I can incorporate such an object into a shot. For this Valentine's Day image, the ideas started flowing as soon as I locked onto the idea of using a ladder.

In preparation for the shoot, I explored a few perspectives to shoot from and decided to shoot from the roof. I knew I wanted to set up a scene of a young man climbing a ladder to his girlfriend’s (or crush’s) window. For more details on creating a free standing ladder and set building, click here to view the more in-depth version of this lesson on Web Photo School.

Lighting

When I light things I hope to use light that feels natural for the situation. Every scene has a combination of ambient natural light and man made sources. I should say opportunities for man made sources. My strobes need to imitate these sources. A light on a face needs to feel like it is coming from a window or light pole not a strobe.

Ambient
The first element of lighting this image will be the ambient lighting, which is the natural light produced by the sun that is falling in the photograph. I chose to set the aperture to f/8 to make sure all the subjects were in focus. I set the shutter speed to 1/80 to allow just enough ambient light in to brighten up the trees and other elements of the background. I know as the sun goes down I will slow my shutter speed down to keep the background consistent. I may start at 1/80 and end at 3 seconds depending how late we shoot. Here is an example of the level we want the ambient to be at. [figure 1]

First Light

The first light I set up was a StarFlash 650 with a small LiteDome soft box. I powered this strobe down to 1/2 power to use as a fill light and not overpower the scene and create a flat light. The light was attached to the roof using the a few simple tools. A C-Stand, rope, a big roll of duct tape, and a couple sand bags did the trick. The C-Stand was laid flat with its adjustable arm pointing straight up. Then one end of the rope was tied to the C-Stand and the other to the big, heavy roll of duct tape. The duct tape was then thrown over the house where it caught on to edge of the roof on the other side. That gave just enough support to hold the c-stand and light in place. Two sand bags were also placed at the base of the C-Stand for support as well. [figures 2 & 3]

Here’s an example of this light only: It opens up the shadows on the young man on the ladder just enough to add fill and detail to the image. Not too much as to make it feel lit. [figure 4]

Second Light

The second light that was set up was a StarFlash 650 strobe with a 7" reflector, 40˚ grid, & blue gel. This was placed on a high stand and raised to about twenty feet. The light was placed at approximately 160˚ camera right. This strobe was powered to 3/4 power to rim the model and add highlights to the roof. This adds definition to the entire scene. It will rim the young man and add highlight to the roof so it is not flat. I use hard light in this situation because I want highlights and the distance makes it difficult for a small box. I also added a Photoflex LitePanel 77"x77" Aluminum Frame with a white side reflector as a large bounce panel for the StarFlash 650. This is to bounce light as a side fill for the scene. [figure 5]

Here is an example of the StarFlash 650 with small LiteDome and the StarFlash 650 with gel. [figure 6]

Below is a review of the steps we have taken so far. [figure 7] Things are starting to take shape but there is much work to do before the talents come.

Third Light

The third light that will be added is a StarFlash 650 strobe equipped with a 7" reflector and an orange gel to warm up the light and make it appear as lights from inside a house at dusk. We also used a Scrim Flag, which is a flag with netting material that partially blocks light. This was positioned to block half of the light so that the light would not fall onto the back of the girl in the window. This light was pointed straight out the window and will help illuminate the boy on the ladder. [figures 8 & 9]

This is the resulting image with this three light setup: We get a nice light on the boy’s face and some light on the girl’s back. The boy is farther and needs all the power where as the girl is close and needed to be scrimmed so she is not too bright. It’s looking good. [figure 10]

Fourth Light

The fourth light for this image will be a StarFlash 300 with a 7" reflector and also with an orange gel to simulate warm light coming from a house at night. This light was positioned at about six feet high and slightly tilted down. In this position it will shine just enough light over the top of the bush to illuminate the boy holding the ladder. [figures 11 & 12]

Here is the result with the four lights: Better light on the boy holding the ladder. It feels like its coming from inside and emulates a natural source. The blue we see in figure 10 on his face makes him look like he is very sick. Not natural. The warm light looks like it is coming from inside and feels right. [figure 13]

Fifth Light

Now we need light on the girl’s face. It’s a tough spot to get light on her without messing up his light. This took sometime to figure out because of the positioning of the model we needed something up close that wouldn't be in the shot. I set up a small strobe unit and used a clamp to connect on to the ladder right beside our male model. This had a 20-degree grid on it to keep it under control and not spill all over the place. The boy will then hide the light from the camera. [figures 14 & 15]

Here's the result. [figure 16]

Sixth & Final Light

This sixth strobe will add in a rim light on the boy with the flowers and make him really separate from the background. This light is a StarFlash 650 with a 6" reflector and 20˚ grid. I also set up a white and black mat board on a C-Stand to block the light from hitting any unwanted areas. [figures 17 & 18]

Here's our result image with these six lights. [figure 19]

Below is a comparison of the lighting setup progression from the first light in the interior of the house to our final light, the rim light on the model in green. [figure 20 - 23]

Once I had all of our lights setup I decided to slow down the shutter speed to 1/50. This gave the image that extra pop that made it jump of the page. The image below was my favorite image out of the last few pictures I did with the lights all set in place and the exposure dialed in. [figure 24]

Conclusion
I sent the image off to the card company and they were very excited and will print it for a Valentines card in 2010. Card companies work very early. I felt I had an idea of what the shot should look like and was able to make it a reality. I guess that’s what professional photography is defined by. Can you take a comp or an idea and make it into reality? If you are consistent in that process you will work in this industry. It’s not enough to get lucky it’s a matter of learning the craft and being able to solve problems that arise on set and deliver the product. Education and knowledge will make the difference between a lucky guess and a person that understands and applies their craft. Keep shooting; I know I’m going to.