Become LIGHTING

Master Lighting Achieve the depth and dimension of a Rembrandt painting with natural light sources by megan cieloha

Rembrandt light might seem like a lofty, overly technical type of lighting situation to achieve, however it’s actually anything but. This light use, with the telltale triangle of light underneath the subject’s shadowed eye, can be achieved with one light source and a bit of patience. Garnering its name from the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn, Rembrandt light takes advantage of the depth-producing characteristics of light that provide chiaroscuro, or clear tonal contrasts between highlight and shadow. These contrasts can be dramatic or quite delicate and subtle. Let’s take a look at a typical set up for achieving Rembrandt light and a few examples.

The Director of Clickin Moms University, Megan lives in Lincoln, Calif. with her Air Force pilot husband and two sons. Megan the basic set up for achieving Rembrandt light of the subject. In this image, I have my subject uses her D700 and various will include a window, or other light source, that placed in front of an east-facing window in the lenses to capture soft, clean, you can position your subject toward at an ap- early afternoon. I’ve closed the blinds, until only lifestyle photography. proximately 45-degree angle. The smaller your 18 inches of window remains uncovered, in order light source (relative to your subject) the harder to lessen the relative size of the light source and the light will be, and the more defined the con- intensify the play between light and shadow. trast between light and shadow. Should you wish In the resulting image, you can see the way to soften the shadows you could always add a shadows define the planes of my subject’s face, reflector, or other fill source, on the shadow side providing a modeling effect that makes the

54 myclickmagazine.com “These contrasts can be dramatic or quite delicate and subtle.”

curves and dips of his cheek, nose and lips feel nose meet the shadow formed on the side of the almost “touchable.” The classic Rembrandt cheek, as the light falls off due to the roundness triangle will be no wider at the top than the sub- of the cheekbone. As you might guess, facial workshop ject’s eye and extend no longer at the bottom shape, positioning relative to light and strength Megan, the director of Clickin Moms than the lowest point of the subject’s nose. In of the light source all have an effect on the ease University, teaches "Shooting 201: Mastering order to achieve textbook Rembrandt light, you with which you can achieve Rembrandt light. Natural Light Indoors" clickinmoms.com/cmu will need to have a subject that follows direc- tions concerning very slight adjustments of head gear & settings angle. The goal is to have the shadow cast by the Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF lens, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 800

myclickmagazine.com 55 Become lighting

“The smaller your light source the harder the light will be …”

gear & settings Nikon D700, Nikkor 105mm 2.8G AF lens, 1/200, ISO 6400, f/5.6

A few more examples of Rembrandt light achieved with one window as a light source. They follow the rules for Rembrandt light with varying levels of accuracy, but each image does make effective use of the chiaroscuro and doing so has resulted in images with lovely depth

and dimension. c

gear & settings Left to right: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF lens, f/4.0, 1/80 ISO 400; Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF lens, f/1.4, 1/640 ISO 1600

56 myclickmagazine.com gear & settings Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D AF lens, f/3.2, 1/400, ISO 800

myclickmagazine.com 57 Become NATURAL LIGHT

OneAre you getting Window, the most out of your windows? Five by stacey haslemLooks Whether you’re working in your own home, in a studio or in a client’s home, you can still achieve a variety of looks using the windows around you. Despite making the decision not to take commissioned photography work in 2011, I was determined to continue to grow as a photographer. As a mother of four, I was limited in my locations for shoots, but I didn’t want to feel the limits of the indoors in my work. So I spent the year focusing on taking advantage of window light in my home and learning to produce as much variety as possible. Stacey Haslem is a lifestyle and fine art photographer based in Northern I’m sharing five images using a favorite window of mine, but similar images can be captured with California. She mainly works with natural any window. Just so you know, I don’t have a big empty room I shoot in. I often move furniture around light but has experience with artificial so I can take advantage of the light as I did in most of these images. light. She has a strong predilection for black and white photography and thus it encompasses the majority of her work.

LOOK ONE: Split Lighting Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G lens. ISO 500, 1/125, f/3.0.

GET CREATIVE! Your only limits are your imagination. Going outside to capture the scene inside can give you a fresh perspective. Use your window as a frame for your composition. Use a pocket of light on the floor created by a window. A reflector is also a great tool to have handy indoors. I have been known to pull mine around all over the house. Use that odd little window that you may have in your Split lighting is perfect for creating a more serious atmosphere. When I think of split lighting, I rarely bathroom. The possibilities are endless! —S.H. think of smiles and laughter. I think pensive, moody, serious, etc. Posing for split light is rather simple. You want your subject’s cheek or line of sight to be parallel to the window and shoulders perpendicular to the window. The side of the face closest to the window will be lit and from the middle of the face over will fall to shadow. It is much more dramatic than 45 degree lighting. A little trick for this situation is to expose for the highlight side of the face.

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LOOK TWO: Silhouette Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G lens, ISO 200, 1/640, f/2.8.

Another take on window light is creating a silhou- ette. This isn’t my favorite window for silhouettes because I have a play set right behind it. However, I made it the secondary subject by posing my son to convey him wishing to be outdoors. The key to a silhouette is underexposing your subject. In this image, it looks like it was dark in the room. In reality, the room is just as lit as it was in the other images. Underexposing the image brings back detail in the highlights/window and my subject became part of the shadow areas of the image.

LOOK THREE: 45-Degree Lighting Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens. ISO 200, 1/320, f/1.4.

A traditional approach to window light is placing your subject 45 degrees from your light source. In other words, the plane of your window is the zero degree line. Your subject will be placed left or right of the window at 45 degrees. In this situation the light falls nearly three quarters over the face/subject and then gradually falls into shadow. Your subject is nicely lit while some shadowing maintains depth in your image.

52 myclickmagazine.com LOOK FOUR: Backlighting Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G lens, ISO 1250, 1/200, f/4.0.

Dreamy backlit images can be achieved indoors with window light. It’s just a matter of having a strong light source in your window and carefully placing your subject. The window I am working with faces south. The light is pretty strong mid- morning to mid-afternoon making it an ideal shooting period for backlight. I also open the blinds to let in as much light as possible. By placing my daughter between the and the win- dow, I have achieved rim light and a dreamier feel that I often envy in outdoor images.

LOOK FIVE: Close-Up Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, ISO 125, 1/640, f/2.0.

A window is like a giant soft box. The closer your subject is to the window, the softer the light is. Bringing your subject close to the window will create a glowing quality to the image. It also allows you to use the window and reflection in your composition. I love how it looks like my daughter has her hand pressed up against a little friend’s hand. Remember to expose for the

highlight side of the face. C

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Shadow Dancing Lessons on capturing beautiful photographs in low light One candle in a power outage, the night light in a child’s dark room, the good washing over the bad. “The light in a dark scene is precious,” says Caroline Jensen, a Clickin Moms Pro from Westbrook, Minn. “On a bright day everything is overly lit; nothing stands out. On a gloomy day, a small shaft of light becomes a character in your story.” We asked Caroline and Atlanta-based Clickin Moms Pro Kate T. Parker, both gifted in creating shadowy masterpieces, to share their tips on how to tackle and master the dark arts.

CAROLINE lovestandsstill.comJENSEN

Low-light Gear Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Lenses: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 lens (wide apertures are impor- tant for any handheld work); 35mm f/1.4 L USM EF lens; 135mm f/2.0 lens L USM EF, Lensbaby Composer with Sweet 35 or Edge 80 Optic. Equipment: Sunpak tripod (lightweight and easy in the dark); Flashlight (useful for seeing camera gear & settings, left to right: mark ii with canon ef 35mm f/1.4l usm lens, iso 400, f/1.4, 1/400 buttons in the field and catching focus in very canon eos 5d mark ii with canon ef 35mm f/1.4l usm lens, iso 3200, f/2.8, 1/250 low light); Moon Phase iPhone App to gauge how much moonlight I have to work with; Remote re- lease or self-timer; ExpoDisc white balance filter. plicated in bright settings. Sometimes I’m stopped in my tracks by the silhouette of a building against the sky or the full moon late in the year. I keep my tripod in my car at all times for those spur-of-the- Favorite low-light subjects moment images that require long exposures. My favorite low-light images are usually portraits. I love how shadows and soft light mold and Favorite low-light locations? shape a person's face or body. Low-light portraits I love, love, love small window light. I also love overcast or dreary days. If you can find a wall, building create a very three-dimensional image and or tunnel to help shape the light you can create gorgeous images with very little sun. I adore the light you

create a moody atmosphere that can’t be du- can get at night in the city by the light of a sign, streetlight, or even headlights. Jensen Caroline 64-66, pp. Images

64 myclickmagazine.com “I love how shadows and soft light mold and shape a person's face or body.”

gear & settings: canon 5d mark ii with lensbaby composer pro with sweet 35, iso 2000, f/2.5, 1/320 Images pp. 64-66, Caroline Jensen Caroline 64-66, pp. Images

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gear & settings: canon eos 5d mark ii with canon ef 35mm f/1.4 l lens, iso 500, f/2.0, 1/100

a bit than to open up noisy shadows, so expose need to know the limits of your camera and plan 8 TIPS FROM What’sa bit to the your right approach if possible. to shooting in low ahead. Use a tripod for inanimate objects and CAROLINE light? longer exposures, and fast lenses for hand-held 4. Shoot in manual always, always, always. Low shots. Expose properly so that even if your im- 1. My style of shooting, when hand holding the light can really play tricks on your camera and it age is taken at 12,800 ISO it will retain detail in camera, is often wide open and as fast as the lens will have a terrible time trying to understand the highlights and shadows. Practice metering can go. I shoot at 1.2mm or at most, 2.8mm, if the scene if you don't just tell it what to do. Again, off of various things in your scene if you have that’s the limit on the lens. Don't be afraid of f/8 the zone system is handy, or practice metering the time to do so and watch that histogram. or f/16 at night though! Get that tripod out and off of something common like grass, the sky, or take a few shots, metering for different objects your hand. I am not afraid to let shadows go 6. Watch for underexposure. It is far easier to in your scene, until you find the look you want. black if that is the intention, but try not to have bring down a tad than to bring it up in Learn the zone system and understand your that happen on your subject. In bright shooting post processing. histogram so you can get those gorgeous frames. we want to prevent the blowing of highlights on our subject, but low light has the opposite 7. Choose your upgrades based on your shoot- 2. Your camera's LCD will often lie to you in effect. We can end up with hair or clothing that ing style. You can put your money toward studio low light. It will look fine and be all wrong once is void of all detail, so just be sure to meter for lighting or flashguns, or your may want to spend you upload it, so do watch the histogram. those things that are important to you. more for high ISO capabilities in your camera body. If low-light shooting is something you love, 3. Shoot in RAW if you can. Low-light images 5. Beware of improper noise; plan ahead! I love then invest in the gear that will get you there. need as much latitude as you can manage for grain, and noise can be managed, but it takes post processing. It is very easy to have clipped a bit of forethought. You really don't want to 8. If you plan to shoot in color, have a way to bal- shadows and blown highlights, depending smooth everything out with a noise removal ance the light temperatures. I use an ExpoDisc for on your scene. It is easier to bring exposure down program because that can look unnatural. You this when I foresee producing color images.

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gear & settings, top to bottom: nikon d700 with nikkor 28mm f/2.8d af lens, iso 1000, 1/250, f/2.8 nikon d700 with nikkor 28mm f/2.8d af lens, iso 125, 1/1000, f/3.5

KATE T.

katetparkerphotography.comPARKER

Low-light Gear When I shoot low light I shoot with my Nikon D700 and either my Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 lens or my Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G AF-S lens. If I am shooting really low light, (i.e. a mostly dark room), I will use my Manfrotto tripod and remote release.

Favorite subject for low-light shooting? I love photographing in low light. The light is just working for you to make your images stun- Favorite locations for shooting in low-light? ning (hopefully!). I am attracted to shooting My all time favorite place to shoot is in my garage. Yes, really. My dirty, cluttered garage. It is like a the same things in low light that I shoot in the mini studio. I keep all my stuff in there, chairs, a fan, reflectors. I shut all the doors, turn off the light, day. I love people — their expressions, faces open one of the window blinds and sit my subject in the light of the window. It is amazing. Direc- and emotions. Low-light photography seems to tional, dramatic and very easily manipulated light (I just move my subject). I also love shooting in enhance certain feelings in images. Anything the light of gadgets (computer, iPhone, flashlight, glow stick, sparkler). Usually my kids are happy moody or dramatic is just made more so to be playing with whatever it is and their faces reflect that. Happy, smiling kids with very cool and

by low-light photography. unusual kinds of lighting make for some awesome shots that definitely stand out. Photography Hetherington and her kids: Ed Kate of Portrait T Parker; Kate 68-70, pp. Images

68 myclickmagazine.com LEARN MORE Clickin Moms Pro and instructor Sarah Wilkerson teaches tips and techniques for low-light photog- raphy in the 48-page eBook, “Shooting from the Shadows.” $30. clickinmoms.com/store.

gear & settings: nikon d700 with nikkor 28mm f/2.8d af lens, iso 1000, 1/125, f/5.0

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gear & settings, left to right: nikon d700 with nikkor 50mm f/1.4g af-s lens, iso 800, 1/640, f/2.8 nikon d700 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4g af-s, iso 640, 1/125, f/1.8

Why did you start shooting low-light images? I was working on a 365 project for Clickin Moms that inspired me to get better at shooting in low light. I was shooting daily and mostly at home and mostly my kids, and I was getting really, really bored with waiting for sunset or waiting for them to do something funny or cute to document. I decided to stop waiting around and create my images. I worked with what I had. Bad light, low light, almost no light. Are they asleep in bed? Get that tripod out! Unflattering midday sun? Get your little behinds in the garage, girls.

6 THINGS KATE SAYS around. Find the best use of whatever little the contrast between the light and the dark to light you have. tell the story of your image better. 1. Embrace the grain. Pump up that ISO. Use what you have, don't try to work against it. 3. Use the shadows. Let them help make your 5. Go big or go home. Get your blacks When I shoot dramatic, low-light images, as long images more dramatic. Try just shooting the black, get your lights light, and keep the mid- as I have my technical stuff down the light is shadow as the focus of the image. tones somewhere in the middle. Keep doing the rest of the work for me. as much detail as you can, but go for it. Make 4. If you love color, try some black and whites. dramatic, stunning images. 2. Shoot your subjects in different angles in Low-light images are amazing in black and the light. Have them in it, out of it, move them white. Get your blacks really saturated and allow 6. Have fun. C

70 myclickmagazine.com Tools & Trimming Products, Gear, Services & Packaging

SHineEven the most die-hard a natural lig light shootersh shouldt have a working knowledge of off-camera lighting. Learn how to use because you know you need it, and you may just fall in love. by mary marantz, photographs by justin and mary marantz when the conversation turns to flash and off-camera lighting, most photographers I know just want to cover their ears and run away. Car- toon style. With a cloud of dust behind them. They will say things like they are “all natural- light” photographers, or that they have no desire to learn more about how to use their flash because they just don’t like the way it looks. And I know exactly how these photographers feel, because I used to be one of them. However, if there is anything that shooting somewhere around 200 weddings in the last five years has taught me, it’s that natural light cannot always be counted on. Show me the wedding where the photographer was planning on shooting all natural light, and I’ll show you the wedding where it all went wrong. In our busi- ness, Justin and I have seen everything from rainstorms to sunset ceremonies that ran late to getting ready rooms that had no windows at all. And the simple fact of the matter is that if we didn’t have our “one-light” setup to fall back on, those pictures just wouldn’t have happened. So today I want to challenge you to make it your goal to study and understand off-camera lighting, first because I believe it is our respon- sibility to have a back-up plan for our clients when Plan A isn’t working out. Furthermore, I believe if you have that working knowledge of your flash and off-camera lighting — even if you don’t end up using them — you will go into your shoots more confident and prepared. I would challenge you to re-think what off-camera light can do for your photography and how it can elevate your work dramatically. Because if you’re anything like me, you might start off by learning your flash because you know you need it, but come to find out you actually really love it. I for one, think it’s time we shine a little light on the matter.

76 myclickmagazine.com The light

Ambient Light

Bounce Flash

One-light Setup

The getting ready details The first time we break out our one-light setup is during the getting ready period when either there is no live by when it comes to lighting is that we like natural light to work with (hello church basement!) or when the ambient light is too tungsten, there is our light to be directional (coming in left to right mixed light, or we are picking up undesirable color casts from the walls. or right to left across the subject) because it cre- The advantage of the one-light setup is that it allows us to both create our own light as well as ates a dynamic pattern of highlight and shadow cut out that undesirable ambient just by lowering our ISO and using the highest our throughout the image, and shows off a depth and flash will allow (in our case, 1/200th of a second). However, we will often use the one-light setup for dimension that would otherwise be lost. So when getting ready details in a room with great ambient light, just because we feel that some details deserve we brought in our one-light setup, we positioned a little more drama. To illustrate, we’ve first shot the shoes using the two most common approaches it off to the left of the shoes while I remained photographers take: 1) we shot just using the ambient light and 2) we shot bouncing our flash straight positioned directly in front of them. Thus, from up to the ceiling. You can see from the images that the ambient is really casting too much tungsten my point of view, the light poured in left to right, light into the image and making our shadows muddy. In the second case bouncing straight up is giving creating that dimension, and really showed off us a better exposure, but it’s also creating really flat, uninteresting light. In our work, the No. 1 goal we every detail of those awesome shoes.

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“Show me the wedding where the photographer was planning on shooting all natural light, and I’ll show you the wedding where it all went wrong.”

is that the smaller the light source is relative to the subject, the harsher the light will be. Instead, our third option, our one-light setup, will create a very large, soft light source because of the addition of a modifier and it is also giving us that rich pattern of highlight and shadow from being positioned off to the side that creates a more dramatic, iconic black and white. portraits Living in New England, we have found ourselves on more than one occasion coming out of a ceremony at 4 p.m. and finding it’s already pitch dark outside. We of course do what we can to educate ourselves beforehand about doing a “first look” in those situations, but sometimes it’s really important to our couples that they The ceremony not see each other until the ceremony and we Another point in the day where we really love breaking out the one-light setup is during the ceremony, always respect that. In those cases, and count- especially during the processional. Using the one light during this portion of the day not only allows us less others including time lines that run late or to create that dimension in our images that we talked about earlier, but the use of the flash helps us to bad weather, we need to have a go-to back up stop the action of the processional which is often coming at us very quickly. plan where we can still get gorgeous portraits For the ceremonies, if at all possible we will place our one-light setup in a balcony and off to the right. without the benefit of the sun. This couple gets If the church we are using doesn’t have a balcony, we just set it off in the corner and as high as it will go. one chance at their day, and we have to come Shots using just ambient light tend to pick up color casts coming in from any stained glass windows, equipped ready to rock it out no matter what. in addition to the tungsten lights in the room. The on-camera flash shot straight at the subject will As you can see in these portraits that we create that harsh, flat light most people think of when they think of using their flash. This is because did with our bride for the day, Erin, our first the light source (the flash positioned on our camera) is very small and harsh. A good rule of thumb approach with the ambient light was just too

78 myclickmagazine.com The light

tungsten and the light was quite boring. To im- prove on the situation, we brought in our flash, again bouncing straight up into the ceiling. How- Ambient Light ever, when the subject we’re working with is a person, it really shows off why bouncing straight up is not ideal. What goes up, must come down. What that means for an image is that not only is the light is flat and directionless, the shadows Ambient Light fall straight down under the eyes and nose in a way that is really unflattering. Instead, when we bring in our one-light setup off to the left of where I’m standing (again using our soft box to create a more focused, dramatic light) we are able to create a really beautiful portrait, with clean, color-balanced light that is even more dynamic than what the natural light or on-camera flash was doing. Bounce Flash

the reception details Usually by the time we get to a reception, the natural light is already gone and the only option is to bring in our own lighting. In this case, how- ever, we had just enough natural light to show what the ambient option was doing. From there, we brought in our flash bouncing straight up and Bounce Flash down, and you can see how that light is doing nothing to show off the true dimension of those flowers that the florist worked so hard on. In our third approach, we brought in the one One-light Set Up light this time using the umbrella as our modi- fier because we wanted to cast a softer light on a larger portion of the table. The umbrella Tip creates both a larger light source and tends to If you find yourself in a pinch with only a few minutes have more “throw” with the light because it is to shoot the details and no time to setup the one light, a not blacked out on the sides. In that image you quick fix that is one step better than bouncing can really see how the light is going to work for straight up and down is to bounce your flash straight off to the side and angled up at 45-degrees. This will us, pouring in from the right and creating that cause you to capture the clean white fill of the ceiling, pattern of highlight and shadow throughout and it will also come back in from the side creating that every flower. (An image the florist and bride are directional light we’re going for. It won’t be as ideal as the going to love us for!) And hopefully you can see one-light setup because it will be flooding the whole how even just that quick change in light makes room with light and giving you less control; but it will definitely be better than bouncing straight up and down. those linens, table details and flowers look so One-light Setup much richer than when they are shot either of the other ways.

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reception moments In the same way, we love what the directional light of the one-light setup does for key reception moments {Behind the Scenes} like the first dance and toasts. Where the ambient is too dark (or flooded with color cast from the uplighting) and the bounced flash is too flat and boring, the dimension of the one-light creates that iconic, nostalgic “Old Hollywood” look of those key moments by showing off highlights and shadows throughout the image. If you want to create really rich black and white images, directional lighting is the key. In addition, I will add that the one-light setup has also saved us when we were shooting in locations like a barn or a building with a black, wooden, mirrored, or high-vaulted ceiling where bounc- ing our flash just wasn’t an option. It has even saved us when were shooting under the stars and had nothing to bounce off of at all! And yet what we’ve found is that even when bouncing off the ceiling is an option, we still prefer the more dramatic, interesting light that the one-light setup gives us. It’s a perfect example of how you can start using flash because you know you need to understand it as a professional, and what you find out is that you actually end up loving the results it can give you! C

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Justin and mary’s lighting gear The gear needed to create dramatic light is not as extensive as you might think. Check out these must-haves that Justin and Mary use at all the weddings they photograph.

PocketWizard Plus II

Profoto 1.3x2’ RFi Softbox, Rectangular

Nikon SB-900 AF Speedlight

PocketWizard MiniTT1

Westcott 43” White Collapsible Umbrella

Profoto RFi Speedring Adapter for Canon/Nikon Speedlights

Justin and Mary Marantz are internationally traveled destination wedding photographers, who call New England home. This past year they photographed close to 40 weddings, taught their “Walk Through a Wedding” Workshops worldwide and took their “J&M Lighting Intensive” Bowens 13’ Black Heavy Duty Light Stand Tour to 10 cities across the country.

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