light them... but don't light them.

The incredibly talented Monique Parent

There is a trend going on that runs by the motto "light everything but your talent." What they really mean is indirect lighting.  The photo on the left of Monique Parent was taken with a soft source on the left as a key, and a window providing soft fill on the right. Despite using a very soft lighting setup, the photo still is able to produce rich shadows, while the key is able to softly wrap around the talent. Although this photo is still directly lit, I feel it falls into the indirect vibe.

Monique Parent

For an even more dramatic look, you can utilize back-lights to bounce and fill your talent. This photo (also of Monique Parent) uses a strong back light. The bounce from that light is indirectly filling her face, and giving a great edge background separation. The background material is actually 1 stop brighter then Moniques face. Motion picture Gaffer Ama MacDonald once told me that as long as something in your shot is properly exposed, the rest of the shot can be under or overexposed (including your main subject). This seems like a simple concept, but after years of setting the exposure to the talents face, it took a bit of getting used to for me. However, the dramatic look of this indirect lighting can be quite compelling.

Regina Bailey

In this next photo, I used two back lights to light Model Regina Bailey. I then used a bounce card in front of her to fill in her face. The back lights give a wonderful edge to her face and hair. The bounce provides beautiful glow to her skin. If you do not have the option to use professional lighting instruments to light your subject, this same effect can be used with sunlight. As you can see in the below photo (also of model Regina Bailey), I used the sun as a back light, and positioned the model next to a post that was being directly hit by the sun (on the side we can't see). The bounce from the post gave a beautiful warm bounce to Regina. The bounce is, of course, very soft. The intensity of the back light is also able to give a great separation between the background and the subject.
So next time you are looking for something different in your shots, try indirect lighting. Use back lights and bounce for fill. the effects can be very dramatic.

Regina Bailey

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