Considered the leader in photographic education, Dean Collins has been teaching advanced lighting
theories and techniques to photographers around the world for over a decade.
This program is designed to provide some fundamental theories and techniques that can enhance your
understanding of the science of photographic lighting.
Most people think about photographing beach wear down at the beach and that's fine but
it's too difficult to shoot down there.
It's a private, it's a public place so you have to have permits, you have crowd control
problems, it's just a terrible place to work at.
So we choose to use private pools, you can rent those or maybe a friend of yours may
have one.
The only problem with working with pools is that people plant large trees for both privacy
and wind breaks so you have to become very proactive with your lighting.
Usually you want to be reactive when you shoot this type meaning that you just record what's
there, the very natural look but around a pool the lighting is very bad because the
only time you have direct sunlight is when it's directly above the trees.
So proactive is the control of panels and mirrors to take any light situation and turn
it into exactly what you want for that particular situation.
Now proactive control is the identification of three major categories of control.
That is the diffused value which is the true tonality of the object, keeping it consistent,
the specular highlight which is the shine or the moisture which is the mirrored image
you might say of the direct source creating the diffused value such as the sun or a strobe
or even a panel.
And then the control of the shadow, the area under exposed in the diffused and creating
most shape and form on lighter objects.
The categories of control are basically five, keeping the diffused consistent, keeping the
proper exposure placed, controlling the contrast of the diffused to the shadow, controlling
the contrast of the diffused to the specular and the edge transfer between the diffused
and the shadow and then the edge transfer between the diffused and the specular.
Several methods of outdoor light control were used to control the harsh sun of mid-afternoon
for this poolside swimwear shot of Mariah.
To begin the setup, a Bogan ball head is set in an upright position and Collins camera
system is then attached to the tripod with the quick release system.
The makeup on the model has already been completed and the finishing touches are being added
to her hair.
With the elements in place, Dean Collins then begins working with Mariah for the first images
of the day.
For this photograph, Collins has the model positioned at the edge of the spa and to increase
the size of the light source and soften the light quality on the model, a light form P-22
frame with translucent fabric is placed between the sun and the model.
To provide separation for the model from the background, a large flexible plexiglass mirror
is used to bounce raw sunlight back onto the model's hair and body.
The large diffusion panel is placed as far in front of the model as possible to provide
a natural wraparound light quality.
As Collins captures his final images, we can look at a diagram of the setup to better analyze
the light control methods that Collins used.
To control the raw sunlight illuminating our model, a 6 1⁄2 foot by 3 1⁄2 foot diffusion
panel was placed between the sun and the subject.
The diffusion fabric is illuminated by the sun and the panel then becomes the main light
source for the subject area.
Also, the panel was placed as close as possible to the model to maximize the effects of the
large light source.
To provide separation from the background and to reintroduce the feeling of raw sunlight,
the plexiglass mirror was used to redirect the raw sunlight onto the shadow side of the
model.
Our first image reveals the effects of raw sunlight on our model Moriah.
Contrast is relatively high between the diffused value or true tone of the model's skin and
the shadow area.
By introducing the diffusion panel, a softer, more natural light quality is created and
contrast between the diffused value and the shadow area is reduced.
The use of the plexiglass mirror provides better separation between the model and the
background and also adds to the feeling of a sunny afternoon by the pool.
Dean Collins talks about the light control used for the photograph.
When working with a panel in this situation where it's 3 1⁄2 feet wide by 6 1⁄2 feet
tall, it covers the entire length of the subject but when you work with the panel you have
to bring it forward as much as possible and you do that by just keeping an eye on the
subject of the camera, bring the panel forward until the sunlight hits it and then drop it
back.
That guarantees the panel is as far forward as possible, wrapping a light around as much
as possible to create that natural effect.
Mirrors are important because it's a sunny day and it's supposed to feel like a sunny
situation so somebody in a bathing suit without sun, it kind of has an odd feeling to it so
we always pump a mirror back in just to give a sunlight hitting them to create that sunny
feeling.
Working with the 300mm 2.8 on the Nikon gave me that very narrow view so I could pick up
many, many backgrounds in this pool so by this pool side I could have hundreds of different
backgrounds because of that narrow view.
When you do light the subject though, you're bringing it as close as possible but you still
have to have the panel far enough away to create what we'll call light depth of field,
areas where the subject can move because the movement and the motion of the model in this
thing, it really creates the mood, not to the lighting but so much the attitude of the
model.
An attractive figure is not the only factor that a talent agency looks for in a model.
As agency director Tony Long tells us, it takes more than looks for a model to make
it to the top.
Dean, what you find is one of the biggest misnomers in our industry for, specifically
for swimwear models, is not that you just need a good body, a 34, 24, 34.
That's not the only thing that you can have.
In our industry, you have skills like any profession and for models in our industry,
what they really need is to have flexibility in front of the camera, the ability to bring
life and spirit to a particular product.
It could be a bathing suit, it could be a beer with a girl in a bathing suit but it's
important for the model to have the ability to give a particular client a number of different
ways to look at the product or actually the audience that they're gearing that particular
product for.
So some of the best models and the models that last the longest in the industry are
the models that you'll find have the ability to move in front of the camera.
Light control is the key to producing stunning swimwear fashion shots like this image of
Suzy.
Before the shoot begins, Collins has our model sprayed down with water to increase shine
on the chest and face.
For this shoot, Collins mounted his camera system on a board pod.
The small Bogan ball head attached to a piece of plywood provides a stable platform for
low angle shooting.
With the model positioned in the pool, a Lightform P-15 diffusion panel is used to control the
sunlight in the subject area.
To provide separation for the model's hair, a small plexiglass mirror from Bogan is used
to redirect the sunlight back onto the model.
Because the model's body is in the water, the small mirror is sufficient to light her
hair and shoulder.
After establishing a proper exposure with an incident meter reading, Collins captures
several images of Suzy in the soft, diffused light of the panel.
A look at the diagram of the setup reveals that the light quality in the subject area
was controlled by using a 3 1⁄2 foot by 3 1⁄2 foot Lightform frame with translucent
fabric.
The panel was mounted on a stand and held in position next to the model by an assistant.
To create separation between the model's hair and the background, the small plexiglass mirror
was used to bounce raw sunlight back onto the model's hair.
By looking at the photographs, we can first see the effect of raw sunlight on our model
Suzy.
Light is high between the diffused value of the subject and the shadow area.
By placing the diffusion panel between the sun and the subject, the intensity of light
was reduced and the quality of light was changed to a soft, wraparound light quality.
Because the intensity of light on the model was reduced by using the diffusion panel,
a new incident meter reading was taken in the subject area to reestablish a proper exposure
for the subject's diffused value.
When the camera is reset to properly expose for the lower light level, the key or overall
brightness of the image is raised.
Finally, the addition of the separation light from the mirror gives the image a feeling
of a bright, sunny afternoon.
Collins talks about the making of the photograph.
In this particular photograph, it had a unique quality to it because the lens was so close
to the water.
It was actually just touching the water almost, firing right across like the water was a big
mirror surface in front of the subject.
So when the panel was dropped between the sun and the subject, it lowered the subject's
brightness.
When we readjust the exposure for that loss in the subject, the background got brighter.
Well, since the water in front of her was like a mirror of the background, the foreground
then got brighter too.
So it picked up this entire light key, foreground and background.
And when the background and foreground got brighter, it actually forced more attention
to her because she was now the darkest portion, the darkest part of the entire overall photograph.
One thing that when you work with panels and you bring them in close and you work with
panels on stands like this to where they're locked onto a stand, it'll cast a shadow from
the stand onto the panel before it illuminates the subject.
A lot of people are concerned this is going to cast a shadow on the subject.
It doesn't because the light is actually a large, soft wrap around bank and it doesn't
affect the subject whatsoever.
But if she had something shiny in her hand or maybe a very shiny earring maybe in the
specular highlight of that panel, you would see a dark line running through it.
But as for a lighting effect, that would be the maximum.
In another example of outdoor light control, Collins utilizes the technique of negative
fill for this image of Mariah.
With the model seated on a bench near the pool, Collins uses a large P-22 diffusion
panel to control the light quality in the subject area.
To reintroduce raw sunlight into the photograph, a large flexible plexiglass mirror is used
to bounce the sunlight onto the model's hair and shoulder.
By using the large diffusion source as the model's main light, contrast on the model
between the diffused value and shadow area is reduced.
To allow Collins to control the density of the shadow area on the model, a light form
P-15 frame with black fabric is held opposite from the main light source.
The black fabric actually absorbs or subtracts light from the subject area.
This negative fill increases the density of the shadow area on the side of Mariah's face.
After establishing a proper exposure of the subject area with an incident meter reading,
Collins captures a variety of images of our model.
A look at the diagram of the setup shows us the different techniques of light control
that Collins used for the photograph.
To control the harsh sunlight, a P-22 diffusion panel was placed between the sun and the subject.
The use of the panel produced a much softer light quality on our model and reduced the
contrast between the diffused value and the shadow area.
To increase contrast again, a black negative fill panel was held on the shadow side of
the subject.
And to provide separation between the model's hair and the background, a large plexiglass
mirror was used to bounce the raw sunlight back onto Mariah's hair.
Our first photograph shows the effects of raw sunlight on our model.
The hard shadow edge transfer produced by the sun is indicative of the effects of a
small light source.
Also, contrast is high between the subject's diffused value or true skin tone and the shadow
area.
By introducing the large diffusion panel, the shadow edge transfer dramatically increases
in size and contrast between the diffused value and the shadow area is greatly reduced.
To reintroduce raw sunlight back into the photograph and to bring out the texture of
the model's hair, the flexible mirror was used to bounce the sunlight back onto the
model.
And finally, to increase the contrast between the diffused and the shadow, the black negative
fill panel was placed on the shadow side of the subject, just outside of the image frame.
Dean Collins talks about the use of negative fill.
When working with the translucent panel outside, placed in between the sun and the subject,
when you do lower the diffuse and create that very soft wraparound quality, it's gorgeous,
but sometimes you raise the shadow too much in contrast or in brightness.
Because when that diffuse lowers, the ambient light and the light bouncing off the walls
raising that shadow area can flatten out the face.
So by bringing a black panel, in this case a black Lightform P15, in very, very close,
almost within the photograph but not quite, we've stopped that ambient from getting into
the shadow and then created a nice shape to the face and actually narrowed the face down.
In exposure, when exposing this film, even though I believe I can get my exposures dead
on, sometimes I like to arrange the exposures very, very light to normal because the mood
actually changes.
And so we don't really call this bracketing, we actually call it mood selection to where
you're really creating an exposure which might look better in this particular instance,
so it may be at the stop or half stop hot.
That's not over exposed, technically it is, but actually it just creates a nicer mood.
The understanding of light control is not the only factor that is critical to the success
of a fashion shoot.
Proper makeup and styling is one of the keys to obtaining professional results.
Stylus are an integral part of a photo shoot involving a model.
One of the most important things that you have to keep in mind is that you have a complete
composition and the stylist add to that.
You have a clothing stylist and then you have a hair and makeup artist and these are two
particular specific professions that will provide something, a mood or a feel that a
particular photographer is trying to convey, be it in clothing or in hair and makeup.
It's kind of a third eye when you have a hair and makeup artist there, photographers
focusing on the big picture, the stylist, the clothing stylist and the hair and makeup artist
are there to provide the fine detailing and to make sure that all things are correct.
And always we find that when you have that on the set, the photographs are far better
as the end result.
Sarah Letick, a professional stylist with Nouveau Agency, had some valuable makeup and styling
tips for shooting swimwear.
Well first of all, when the model is booked for a job, you're hoping that the photographer,
the client will kind of screen out the models that are too pale or don't have the right
figure, don't have the right cup size or whatever problems that involves as far as filling the
bathing suits.
But you hope that they also book a model who's already tan.
And if you have enough time ahead of time to be able to have the model go to one of
the sun booths or tanning salons or whatever, that's really helpful because the idea of
having to do a body makeup and if you're on a couple of days shoot that really becomes
quite time consuming, full body makeup could take up to 45 minutes and that's setting aside
what it takes to do makeup on the face and also hair.
So if the model could do her job and get tan ahead of time, that is quite helpful.
There are little things that you have to deal with which are strap marks and things like
that and that the makeup artist can handle quite well.
As far as making up the face is concerned, you'd need a pan stick such as Max Factor
Shiseido, any good quality product would do.
The eyes, you'll need an eye pencil that you blend with a brush as opposed to using a powder
shadow because obviously powder shadows will run in water.
Lipsticks are always waterproof so that's great because you don't have to worry about
that at all and obviously waterproof mascara.
As for hair dos are concerned, I would say that probably it's recommendable to keep the
hair wet for the shots.
It works well with the bathing suits and also it's very manageable.
You don't have to worry about the hair flying all over the place if the wind picks up and
there is a product called Fido Plage or any kind of oil if you want to use on the hair
and it keeps the hair looking wet but at the same time it stays looking that way.
It doesn't dry out and you don't have to keep wetting it.
I've always heard people talk about makeup being different for black and white than it
is for color and to tell you the truth, I've never done anything differently.
I just do the most beautiful makeup that I can do and it seems to work for both black
and white and color.
And one more tip, just remember to always make up the model in the shade that way you
can get her to keep her eyes open so you can make up her face and not have tears all over
the place.
Controlling the sunlight with two different types of reflectors, Collins created this
late afternoon poolside shot of Mariah.
To establish a proper exposure for the subject area for this photograph, Collins asks for
an incident meter reading in the subject area.
When using an incident light meter, always point the dome of the meter toward the main
light source.
In this instance, although the sun is behind the subject, the light bouncing off of the
white reflector panel in front of the model is the primary source of illumination for
the model.
Therefore, Collins has the meter reading taken with the dome of the meter facing the white
panel.
The shutter speed and aperture reading that the meter provides tells us what to set the
camera at for a proper exposure of the subject's skin tone or diffused value.
Any professional incident meter, such as this Gossan Lunastar F meter from Bogan, will provide
accurate exposure readings in almost all circumstances.
With the camera set, Collins begins working with the model's pose and with assistant
Derek Bailey to angle a light form P-15 with soft silver fabric to create a reflection
of the sunlight on Mariah's stomach.
The lighting is set and Collins begins capturing the images.
In this setup, the model is backlit by the sun and a P-15 with white reflective fabric
is used as a reflector main to provide a soft quality of light on our model.
The soft silver reflector creates a highlight that adds definition to Mariah's stomach.
As Collins continues to work, he records a variety of different poses and exposure settings.
By looking at the diagram of the setup, we can see the way that Collins used two different
reflective surfaces to illuminate our model.
To create a soft frontal main light for the subject, a P-15 white reflective panel was
held close to the model to bounce diffused sunlight back into the subject area.
To add separation and provide definition to the model's stomach, a second P-15 with soft
silver fabric was positioned to create a highlight on the wet skin.
Our first photograph shows the initial effects of having the model backlit by the sun.
The lack of any frontal light source leaves the model and her figure in a flat ambient
light.
The addition of the large white reflector panel raises the intensity of the diffused
value of the subject with a soft directional light quality which helps to add shape and
form to her face and figure.
And the use of the soft silver reflector panel creates a highlight on the stomach that further
reveals the model's figure.
Dean Collins talks about the control of reflected light.
When you work with a reflective panel outside, you can work with it one of two ways, reflector
main or reflector fill.
Reflector fill is when you use a panel to bounce light back into the shadow area controlling
contrast to the diffused value.
The reflector main essentially becomes the main light.
You bounce the sunlight directly back into the face, it raises the subject's diffused
value, you take an incandemeter reading and expose for that.
I use a white panel in this case because I want a very wraparound, low specular quality
of light.
Some people will use a silver.
I don't choose to do that because it creates a very specular quality, shiny quality in
the skin and it's very hard on the model's eyes so I don't choose to use the silver at
all.
To create a separation quality showing the definition of the stomach and the tension
of the skin, I will use a silver panel but I do not use it as a fill.
I actually bring it about two feet behind the subject and bring it in to where you can
see off the stomach the highlighting or you might say the reflection of the panel from
there but it is not a fill light, it is actually an edge lighting but it's just like you're
just picking up the highlight, the skimming highlight from the panel off the stomach and
creating that actual definition to the tummy.
Working in the shade doesn't have to mean a lack of light control.
In this segment, Collins redirects the late afternoon sun to produce the look of direct
sunlight.
With the model positioned in the shade, Dean Collins begins working with his crew to utilize
the light of the late afternoon sun.
By using a large plexiglass mirror to redirect the raw sunlight toward the model and a white
reflective panel, Collins can recreate the feeling of direct or indirect sun in the shade.
By adjusting the flexible mirror, the harsh light from the mirror can be directed to illuminate
a large or small area on the white reflector or the light can be spread to backlight the
model's hair and illuminate the panel.
As Collins shoots, the mirror is flexed to provide a variety of different looks and intensities
on our model Suzy.
It is the flexibility of the eighth inch thick plexiglass mirror that allows Collins to achieve
this level of control in the shade.
A look at the diagram reveals that although the mirror was nearly 30 feet from the subject,
the direct return of sunlight from the mirror provided Collins with a great deal of intensity
and control in a shaded area.
The large size of the mirror enabled Collins to create a very large or small pattern of
light which directly affects the quality of light returned to the subject area.
Our first image of Suzy shows the flat ambient light of the open shade.
The swimwear appears drab and the eyes of our model appear dark and without color.
By bouncing the raw sunlight past the model to illuminate the large white reflector panel,
the soft light from the panel brings the image to life.
By changing the beam spread from the mirror, the model's hair and shoulder can be illuminated
with the feeling of raw sunlight.
Collins talks about the lighting technique.
This is the epitome of proactive control.
I mean the sun was almost gone, it was on the other side of the pool, but we still wanted
to photograph that outfit on the shadow side of the pool and we didn't want to have just
a translucent quality.
So what we did is fire the light on past the subject, hit a white reflector and bounce
it back into the subject as a main light and that actually became the main light.
We could control the brightness of the separation because at the same time we were illuminating
the panel, some of the light was hitting the subject so we got both the separation and
the main light in this one situation.
But we controlled the brightness or the contrast between the separation light and the main
light by how much light we would let strike the subject directly from the mirror or hit
the panel.
We could take it completely off the subject and only hit the panel, but we wanted both
the quality of the sun hitting her plus the actual main light quality.
Fire fashion is often part of a model's portfolio, but checking with the model's agency prior
to shooting is an idea that is often overlooked.
If you're a photographer and you're interested in shooting images for models for their portfolios,
the thing that I recommend highly is that you consult an agent or an agency to find
out what particular style they're interested in.
What is successful at getting jobs for models?
What style of photography?
Is it something that's very dark and moody?
Is it something that's very light and candid, kind of slice of life thing?
It's important for you to understand that because that's what's going to make a model
or make a model a lot more attractive to a particular agency or to a particular client.
In this final setup, Collins uses the flexible mirror to produce a wild hard light effect
on our model Mariah.
With the model positioned in the shade, Collins has the hard light from the plexiglass mirror
redirected toward the model from across the pool.
The large mirror is held high to avoid casting light from below the model's face.
As Collins begins to shoot, the mirror is flexed and moved to produce a variety of different
light patterns on the model.
Collins works with Mariah to capture several different poses as the afternoon shoot comes
to a close.
The diagram of the setup reveals the large mirror held high to avoid an unnatural lower
angle of light.
And although the model is in the shade, the use of the mirror allows Collins to produce
the feeling of a sunny summer afternoon.
The final images show a variety of different poses and the different light patterns created
by the mirror.
To give the imagery a different look, Collins allowed those areas illuminated by the mirror
to overexpose.
Dean Collins has some final comments on the use of mirrors.
In this particular shoot series, we're not out doing portraits, so we're not really after
just flattering light making someone look beautiful.
We're really actually selling clothes, fashion wear.
So anything really goes if it looks right and if it sells the clothes.
We wanted something of a very bright, very strong, kind of a wild feeling.
So we went over with a mirror, plexiglass mirror, flexed the mirror back into where
we got that maximum tension in the subject, raised the subject in brightness.
And when we expose for this light, normally when we took an instant meter reading and
this is what the meter said, we actually would see a lot of texture in the skin, any minor
blemishes or bumps or wrinkles because when the light is that small, it produces a very
hard shadow edge and those imperfections pop out.
It's like when you light somebody with a very small source, you're going to see wrinkles
very easily.
So we were working with a small source and small blemishes were showing up.
So by raising the exposure up to a very kind of a surreal look, about a stop and a half
overexposed from what should be, it created that effect that had that nice pastel skin
but all the imperfections, the minor shadow suddenly disappeared and created a very, very
nice skin quality.
Wh stupid micro view.