Instructor's Tip: Side Light for Scenics

Enjoy this week's Photo Tip by instructor Russ Burden. To take a class with Russ or a fellow instructor in your area, check out the Digital Photo Academy. I took an intermediate and advanced course with Russ and he has continued to be a strong source of encouragement and education as I have progressed in my photography.

Don't forget to check Take Great Pictures for Russ' most recent tips. On the home page, click on the "Photo Tips And Techniques" button in the left hand column. Additionally, check out his "Digital Tip of the Month" found by clicking on the Digital Photography button.

To learn more about how Russ took the above photo, join him on one of his photo tours. Visit Russ Burden Photography to get more information.

Side Light For Scenics
"The direction of light is very important in determining the success
of an image. Whether the subject is lit by flash, room light, or
illuminated by the sun, if the angle is wrong, the photo will fall
short. Frontlight falls squarely on the subject. This direction of
light is very flat. Backlight produces silhouettes which limits the
detail in the photo. Sidelight hits the subject at a ninety degree
angle. The result is an image with strong highlights and shadows.

Frontlight can be beneficial with certain subjects. Wildlife is a
great example. While running my photo tours, when the opportunity to
photograph a terrific specimen of an animal presents itself, I tell
my participants to aim their shadow toward the animal. The more
perpendicular it is, the more direct the front light. Backlight can
be dramatic and create mood in an image. If a subject’s outline is
easily identifiable, a silhouette offset against a vibrantly colored
background can produce a gorgeous photo. But for scenic photography,
the best light is sidelight.

Sidelight for scenics is beneficial for many reasons. To begin, the
sky behind the subject will have maximum polarization. This allows
the sky to pop off the page as the colors and tones become rich and
saturated. Sidelit subjects are lit at this angle. To determine the
angle of light at sunrise or sunset, face the direction in which your
shadow is falling. Turning ninety degrees to your left or right of
this direction is where sidelighting occurs."

- Russ

Get the Goods: My New Home Studio

Interior designers say your home should reflect who you are. Well, mine certainly does now. The first thing people see as they walk through my front door is my new home studio which now boasts my backdrops, Alien Bees and Westcott Spiderlites, reflectors and other tools of the trade. I easily have enough room for a background light and at least two more key lights to create numerous lighting schemes and diagrams such as those seen here.

It doesn't take long before a burgeoning photographer gets tired of rearranging furniture in the living room to make way for a photo shoot. Now, granted some of the first great shots I captured actually (including the lovely shot of Teri and her daughter Avery which graces my banner) took place in a makeshift studio about the size of a walk-in closet in my entertainment room. I parceled off the space in front of the patio doors leading to my backyard, moving back the couch and other furniture. That's some back-breaking work!

While my budget won't currently allow me to rent a private studio, I spent the weekend transforming an unused sitting room in the front of my house into my new home studio. I had grand ideas about having a sitting room filled with shelves overflowing with books, comfy overstuffed chairs, mood lighting and a water fountain for relaxing. So much for good intentions. That room mostly sat empty, and I think I read in that area exactly twice.

Photographytips.com suggests that the studio should be at least big enough to photograph a person full length using a normal lens, and hopefully roomier if you've got the space. While the studio can be as complex as your space (or budget) will allow, it doesn't have to be for the creation of beautiful pictures, especially basic headshots. "Sometimes, all it taks is a single light, properly positioned, to create the appropriate mood for a fabulous picture." One of my favorite instructors told me that no one would ever be able to tell that a great portrait was taken at the bay windows inside your kitchen, in a corner in your living room or in a cleaned up section of your garage. My sitting room fit the bill and also had a large window for natural light. The room's high ceilings give me plenty of space to set up my backdrops and adequate space to separate my subject from the background.

This picture is a shot of the set I used to take beautiful and sexy boudoir shots of Teri seen in this gallery.

I've also added some of my own framed photos on the white walls to create an overall gallery-type feel. Oddly enough, I think it lends a great air of mystery and expectation for visitors to my home. As soon as people walk in, they can't wait to get in front of the lights or lounge in the chairs I use for props. And then the questions begin: "You take photos? How much do you charge? My family could use some portraits." This could be the cheapest advertising campaign yet for my business!

Need more ideas for setting up your own studio?
Use these tips from ehow.com, taking special note these warnings:

1) Color finishes on walls and ceiling will create an unwanted cast in color photographs.
2) Make sure the lighting you'll be using will not overload the circuit. To figure out the number of amps drawn by your equipment, divide the lamp wattage by the supply voltage.

Get the Goods: New Lighting Gear

Some long awaited lighting equipment finally arrived this week and will be a big boon for my business, allowing me to capture more images like the one I took above of model AngelucaK. I took that photo during a Colorado Strobist meet-up earlier this month. I had to borrow other members' equipment, but the experience got me instantly hooked to strobes. Now I have my own! My new Alien Bees strobe kit and my Westcott Spiderlite TD5 continuous light source will give me more portability and make it easier for me to overcome the challenges that shooting outside a studio can pose. These new set-ups along with the Wescott constant light deluxe kit I bought last year and two new PocketWizards to trigger everything will give me plenty of options to illuminate any situation!

Sooner or later, every photographer has to leave the controlled setting of their own studio and head out into the unknown world that is "shooting on location." Being able to manipulate both natural and artificial lighting wherever an assignment takes you is crucial to making a living with a camera.

Buying kits are the most cost effective way to build a studio set because they usually include everything you need in one box. Both the Alien Bees and Westcott kits I purchased include two lights, softboxes, sturdy light stands and a carry case. Check out the March issue of "Popular Photography" for reviews of off-camera lighting systems. On Saturday I will be taking a "Crash Flash" course to learn some new off-camera lighting techniques. I'll share them with you next week.

From My Portfolio

Simply named "Mother and Child," this image of Terilynn and daughter Avery was taken during my first attempt at a family portrait session held in my home studio. I was excited to try out a newly purchased studio lighting kit (plus I thought all the equipment would make me appear more professional, I admit it). But over the next agonizing 30 minutes, I watched as each bulb in the three-light kit blew out one by one!

Out of desperation, I whipped out a "cheapy" kit given to me by a photographer instructor: one of those Home Depot clamp-on-lights, a white styrofoam board for bounce and a furnace filter for diffusion. But you never would have known that minimalist lighting setting had produced this stunning image.

Stay the course and be quick on your feet, no matter what happens during an assignment. Sometimes, your skill, determination and ingenuity will help you nail the shot -- not your equipment or how much you paid for it!