"Alien in My Closet": Lighting Tutorial
By Ahmed Roberson
18 Aug 2008
First off, let me state that I AM NO LIGHTING PRO, BUT, I do feel that I am a Professional Photographer in the sense that I KNOW my craft!
I have spent the last 3+ years of my life dedicating ALL of my free time to the Art of Photography, and now feel that I can confidently share my experiences and findings with all who appreciate my work, and those who are willing to listen/read :-)
And with that being said, here we go.
For this particular practice Theme (although it's a practice, and I'd rather use a model/actor/ress, I kinda like it, and may leave it as is) my goal was to continue with my faux Pulp Fiction lighting.
I wanted to show a scene where someone was reaching into their closet for whatever only to find an Alien Being living there.
I can honestly say that in the beginning, I struggled with this set up. My first struggle was having only ONE speed light...a Nikon SB-600.
My second struggle was lighting the right side of my face/body, while at the same time showing a STRONG beam of light coming from high within the closet with only ONE speed light....D'oh!!!
Also, take into consideration as a "side struggle" if you will, the fact that this shot was taken around 11a or so, and all of the picture-less walls in my bedroom are SUPER WHITE.
Finding a way to make this scene dark enough for it to look as if I was rummaging through my closet at night was pretty difficult considering the above (11a, white walls). Also, increasing the sync speed of my speed light camera/combination beyond it's limits was going to be fairly difficult too.
My cameras of choice are my Nikon D80's, and as you know, my current speed light is a single SB-600.
The D80's struggle with high sync speeds proved to make a single shot project a small nightmare. I honestly took 25-30 shots just to get this ONE right.
The D80 can only sync up to 1/200th, but for this shot, I needed at least 1/250th.
Why, because 1/200th was too slow of a sync speed to darken the room/ambient light to give me the effect that I was after. So, I had to utilize the Nikon Auto FP sync speeds to lower the ambient light like I wanted.
Even setting my speed light to full manual, and adjusting the power to 1/64 was still too well lit and balanced at 1/200.
1/200th is perfectly fine for fill light, and shooting indoor and other events, but for lighting creativity for my needs, it was just not fast enough.
Also, by setting the shutter to 1/250th with an f-stop of f/7.1 (I think???), and setting the speed light to a beam of 50 or 70mm???? at 1/8th power (bare), I was able to create a short burst of STRONG light that pretty much reached my face/chest area just the way I needed it to.
My speed light was actually placed at my feet facing straight up.
The closet light and colors were added and saturated in photoshop.
In the original photo, the colors are very dull, if noticeable at all, and the face/chest light is very harsh, but with the magic of photoshop, and being able to balance curves, the photograph was brought to life.
So, to conclude this brief tutorial, here is my very simple, one light basic set up.
* Nikon D80 on tripod, set to timed remote sensing (for me to get into character/position). 1/250th, f/7.1
* Nikon SB-600 placed on the floor directly in front of my feet facing straight up, bare bulb (no diffusion or snoots). Slave mode, 70mm, Manual at 1/8th power.
* Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Post, and a little Lens Flare added to CREATE the Alien/Closet Light.
I am still awaiting my 2nd SB-600, but I am now wondering if I will need the more powerful SB-800....OR, should I purchase a Continuous Light for more controlled consistent dramatic light??? What to do....? :-)
Well, that is the end of my simple set up lighting tutorial. I hope I helped anyone wondering how I did this, and I hope it wasn't a wasted read.
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