AlienBees: One Source Lighting by David Brooks

A big slick coffee table book caught my eye some time ago, but only recently did I decide to spend the $60.00 it cost. It’s simply titled SCAVULLO, and covers examples of his fashion and portrait photographs done over the last 30 years or more. One of the more striking aspects of the collection is the diversity of highly expressive and softer powerful images of people. This is surprising because they are illuminated much the same way. The majority of Scvullo’s work, much of which you will recognize as the definitive and more frequently published portraits of famous people, is created with one straightforward light source on the subject. As well, most Scavullo photographs of people have just a simple mid-tone gray background.

This technique exemplifies a principle, which characterizes the work of some of the greatest modern artist, including Picasso. If anything general can be said of his technique, it is its simplicity and economy of execution. Many more examples of highly renowned artist and photographers of today and the recent past support this principle. Regardless of our level of photographic experience, I think we can all learn from this principle, when it comes to lighting.

THE SINGLE LIGHT SOURCE

Although mimicking nature using a single source of light like the sun is basic, it can be carried too far when applied to indoor portrait situations. The harsh, hard-lined shadows created by a single source like the sun are rarely conducive to good film portraits. A softer light produced by a large source (relative to its distance from the subject) is more flattering and has characteristics, which complement the sensitivity range of film. A shoot-through umbrella, using a translucent rather than a reflective most easily and inexpensively produces this kind of light. Overall, the shoot-through umbrella is more efficient and effective for its size. This is because the convex (outer) surface faces the subject and can be positioned closer than an umbrella used in a bounce mode.

A rule of thumb is to choose an umbrella size in relation to subject size. If you are doing just head and shoulder, a 36-inch diameter umbrella is adequate. A 52-inch umbrella should be used for half figure compositions, and a 72-inch diameter size is needed to illuminate a full figure effectively with a single source.

As I noted, soft light is the function to the size of the source relative its distance from the subject. So place a 36-inch umbrella three feet from your subject, or a 72-inch umbrella no more than six feet from your subject. This is of course effective only is you set up the umbrella with its light source illuminating the entire surface with even light.

Although pros usually employ studio electronic flash to shoot through an umbrella as I’ve described, medium and large sized portable, battery powered flash units or photofloods and quartz-halogen floodlights also work effectively. If you adapt a handheld flash to a shoot-through umbrella, you will also need a source for modeling light. I have found a 150-watt reflector flood lamp in a simple clamp-on socket available at most hardware stores quite adequate. Larson Enterprises makes a 100-watt modeling light with a bracket designed to secure directly to an umbrella center shaft, which should be available through many camera stores. When using a hand held flash unit, a wide-angle lens adapter is necessary to obtain sufficient light spread over the entire umbrella surface. In lieu of the wide-angle adapter, diffusion material is a fair substitute.

LIGHTING TECHNIQUE

First, it is necessary to be aware of the character of the light produced by a large single source (like a shoot-through umbrella) if you are to control its effect on subject and background. The center portion of the light beam should be an even, equal intensity which then falls off in brightness to the outer edges of the beam. The lesser amount of light produced at the outer limits of the light beam is referred to as the feather edge. It is useful to light the background behind your subject evenly; usually with just one light from a shoot-through umbrella. I will use it with the center shaft just above head level and about half the umbrella’s radius to one side of the camera or the other. Thus some of the umbrella surface is actually on the opposite side of the lens axis and acts as a fill light for the shadows cast by the slightly angled light.

With the umbrella positioned just to one side of the camera, I angled it a little to the opposite side of the subject. In this way the featheredge is used to direct a lower intensity of light to the side of the background. This can be fine-tuned easily with a handheld flash meter measuring each side of the background at its front surface. Shooting a Polaroid is also a good way of testing the effect of the lighting. If neither is available, use your eyes. Squint to lower the perceived light level of the background to visually judge the evenness of light falling on it from the modeling source. Regardless of the method used to set up, you will find a little experience is needed to obtain perfectly predictable results with even background tones.

Another option is to use a large soft source like a shoot-through umbrella in a sidelight positioned at a 90-degree angle to the camera axis. Place the source so the back edge of the light is in line with the subject parallel to the background. Again you should angle the light’s direction so the featheredge of the illumination lights the background evenly. In this configuration the most intense light from the source will actually pass in front of the subject. This provides opportunity to use a reflector to bounce light back on the subject to fill shadows and lower the lighting contrast. A large piece of poster board or foam-core will work fine attached with duct tape to an upright like a light stand. The reflector should be opposite the light source and as close to camera as its field of view will permit. Then angle the reflector to direct light on the subject by observing the shadow side of your subject. A bounce fill like this can affect the evenness of light on the background so check it again after setting the reflector fill.

Finally choose a film in respect of the light intensity your source produces on the subject to provide an optimum aperture sitting (f/5.6 to f/11). Measure the light incident at subject position. Lacking a handheld meter, you can use your in camera meter to read four gray cards mounted on a 16x20-inch board held facing the camera by your subject. This is of course assuming you are using tungsten light in conjunction with your camera’s built-in meter or a dedicated TTL flash and AE lock.