Rolando Gomez’s LIGHTING for GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY Techniques for Digital Photographers Amherst Media® PUBLISHER OF PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS Check out Amherst Media’s blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/ http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/ Copyright © 2010 by Rolando Gomez. All rights reserved. All images by the author unless otherwise noted. Published by: Amherst Media, Inc. P.O. Box 586 Buffalo, N.Y. 14226 Fax: 716-874-4508 www.AmherstMedia.com Publisher: Craig Alesse Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt Editorial Assistance from: Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder ISBN-13: 978-1-58428-999-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2009939767 Printed in Korea. 10987654321 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher. Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the au- thor’s experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book. CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR .......................................6 PREFACE .................................................7 AGrowingTrend ...........................................8 The Importance of Good Lighting . .8 Acknowledgments . .10 INTRODUCTION ..........................................13 1. LIGHTING BASICS .......................................17 QualitiesofLight ..........................................17 Direction ..............................................17 Intensity...............................................19 Color .................................................23 Distribution ............................................26 Contrast...............................................26 Continuous Lights: Fluorescent and Tungsten . .28 Flashtubes ...............................................31 Ring Flash and Novelty Ring Flash Units . .37 NoveltyUnits ..........................................42 Things to Consider When Purchasing a Ring Flash Unit . .42 On-Camera Flash or Speedlights . .49 NaturalLight .............................................51 OpenShade ............................................54 LightingPatterns ..........................................56 ParamountLighting ......................................56 LoopLighting ..........................................57 SplitLighting...........................................57 RembrandtLighting .....................................57 Find, See, and Feel the Light . .58 Practice Makes Perfect . .61 QuickReactionTiming ...................................62 2. WHITE BALANCE ........................................64 Custom White Balance . .64 White Balance Tricks . .65 Color the Background . .65 Give Your Subject a Tan . .76 Instant Sunsets . .81 3. LIGHT MODIFIERS .......................................82 ThePhysicsofLight ........................................82 Scrims ..................................................86 White and Black Cards . .86 Cutters, Flags, and Gobos . .87 Gels ....................................................89 Softboxes ................................................90 Metal Grids, Louvers, and Honeycombs . .91 4 LIGHTING FOR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY StripLights ..............................................95 Octaboxes ...............................................98 Umbrellas................................................98 Metal Reflectors . .100 Beauty Dish . .101 HowItWorks .........................................102 4. METERING AND EXPOSURE ...............................104 The90PercentRule.......................................107 Clothing Selection . .108 Separation . .108 AddingDetail .........................................108 Composition ..........................................108 TheSunny16Rule........................................109 5. SUPPLEMENTARY LIGHTING ..............................112 Rim, Hair, and Accent Lighting . .112 Kickers .................................................115 LightingtheBackground ...................................115 6. THE CALIFORNIA SUNBOUNCE WAY ........................117 White, Silver, Gold, and Zebra Reflectors . .118 Black Reflectors . .121 InSummary .............................................121 CONCLUSION ............................................122 RESOURCES .............................................123 INDEX .................................................125 ABOUT THE AUTHOR olando Gomez, a Lexar Elite photographer, transitioned from combat R photography to glamour and fashion photography in 1999 and still free- lances as a photojournalist. Known for his “flamour” (fashion and glamour) style of photography, he’s taught over 450 workshops and seminars in Mexico, Canada, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States. He also provides private photography instruction and private glamour photography. Rolando has had photo assignments in thirty-nine countries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Texas, San Anto- nio, where he graduated summa cum laude. In 1994, he was named one of the top-five military photographers by the Department of Defense. In 2007, he conducted a three-country European tour for Calumet Photographic. A former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, he was the personal photographer for General George A. Joulwan for four years and spent twenty-six months doc- umenting the Latin American drug war in South and Central America, for which he was awarded the Department of Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) as a buck sergeant. Rolando’s work was the subject of a September 2006 Rangefinder cover story, “Mysteries of Lighting.” He was honored as a lighting master at Photo Plus Expo in 2004, 2005, and 2006. He has written three popular books: Garage Glamour: Digital Nude and Beauty Photography Made Simple (Am- herst Media, April 2006), Rolando Gomez’s Glamour Photography: Professional Techniques and Images (Amherst Media, 2007), and Rolando Gomez’s Posing Techniques for Glamour Photography (Amherst Media, 2008). In 2009, he lectured at Photo Plus Expo on “Internet Strategies and Guer- rilla Marketing.” That same year, Rolando released his fifth photography book, Photographic Therapy: The Power of Photography to Help Build or Rebuild Self- Esteem. The book is free for download at www.freephotographybooks.com, and in the first three months after its introduction, it was downloaded over 30,000 times. Rolando lives in San Antonio and is the father of five beautiful children, in- cluding four gorgeous daughters and one handsome son. To learn more, please visit him at www.rolandogomez.net. 6 LIGHTING FOR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY PREFACE s I say in all of my books, creating a book is sometimes fun, sometimes A hard, sometimes sad—and sometimes you just want to quit. I’ve never considered myself a quitter, but the past two years have been very difficult— not just for me but for many people and for many reasons, not just the tough economic times. Before I agreed to write this book, I consulted friends and family. Should I do it again? I asked. Most said yes. Some people wondered, do you have time? Still others asked, is it worth it? Obviously, with such a busy schedule, I asked for a bit of help from a good friend, photographer and filmmaker, Tom Suhler. Authors of how-to photography books stand a better chance of getting hit by lightning than making the New York Times Best Seller list. For us, writing books is obviously not about the money. I’m not sure where I find the time to take on the task, but my passion for creating images drives me to spread the Agospel of photography and share information to help promote not just glam- our photography, but all forms of photography. There is no substitute for putting This book limits me in space (thank goodness!), and it’s impos- sible to put everything about photographic lighting in one book. what you read into practice. One of the world’s greatest photography schools is Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California; even they spend years teaching their photographers how to become photographers—I can’t do it in ten books, much less four. Not to mention, there is no substitute for putting what you read into practice. So get your friends, families, and loved ones in front of your camera and practice. Find a military service member or veteran and offer them free photos for their friends, family, and loved ones. The end PREFACE 7 result is, you get to practice to become a bet- ter photographer. I’ve been shooting for over thirty years, and I’m still practicing. We are all students of photography. No one ever gradu- ates from photography; they just have the op- tion to move forward another level with hard work, commitment, and passion for the craft. A GROWING TREND This is my fourth book for Amherst Media and my fifth book overall. Obviously, Am- herst Media believes in my writing and photo- graphic talents, and during these tough eco- nomic times, their ability to take one more ABOVE AND FACING PAGE—Before breaking out artificial light, I’m always chance on me says a lot. Not many in this in- looking at the natural light. If it will suffice, I will use it—especially dur- ing the later hours of the day, as in this image of Eleya in the Virgin Is- dustry give the genre of glamour photog- lands. I purposely strive for this warmer, natural-light look; notice how raphy much respect, but that’s changing