Have You Considered the “Arc of Beauty” in your lighting?
(Image by Tracy Sutherland)
We are going to take a high-level view of lighting today and discuss what I call the “Arc of Beauty“. And while no lighting scheme is going to be directly discussed, what we are to think about is a general tone of the light and what it does.
The “Arc of Beauty“
The Arc is backlight from side to full back. This lighting is one that I think of every time I get ready to do a still life, food, tabletop, or product shoot. It is a go-to lighting at the highest level.
What that means is I haven’t thought about whether it will be a softbox, or an umbrella, or a grid spot… I just want to get the benefits of back / side-back lighting established first.
And I do this usually with a boom or grid-held light instrument that allows me clean vision below it while keeping the light itself above and or behind the subject. While it can be done with a stand, the boom allows me to get the stand out of the picture from behind and not have to limit my angle in order to not see it.
Full on side light is also part of the arc of beauty. And remember, top down lighting is also side lighting since it is oblique to the camera.
Full Side Light is also within the Arc of Beauty and can provide some stunning textural and dimensional presentation.
The arc also extends vertically from lower than the subject to directly over top (also a ‘side light’ in angle from the camera.
From a full on back light oblique to the camera to top down light from above, the arc is also a vertical tool that can help with dimension, texture, color definition and more.
Why do I start here?
Because the tendency of front lighting is to make things flat. Dimension falls away, shadows fall away, and the overall texture is diminished as well.
Here are two shots to show you how it works from a small, intimate image to a large scene.
The pear and grape still life was shot on an 8 x 10 Deardorff and 14″ lens with Ektachrome 64 Transparency film. Light is from camera right and is a 24×36″ softbox shot through a 48×48″ scrim. The light is above the set.
Shot on Canon 6D / 24-105 MM at 30 MM. The back light gives texture to the sand, the wall and the sidewalk. It also creates a much more interesting set of shadows and shapes. Dimension and texture.
Bob Knill used a grid spot from the back.
Billy Walker chose side light to lift the details off of this head of lettuce.
Lisa Narduzzi chose a large soft light to bring out the texture and shape of her farm fresh beets.
Maciel Blaszczuk used a window light directly behind the bowl of onions for this iPhone shot.
James Kern uses light from the back right side to sculpt the texture and dimension of the assorted objects.
Soh Fong chose a diffused side light for her bananas in a corner of a small box.
Are there exceptions?
Absolutely. Shiny objects, liquid, situations where you WANT a flatter, less textural light. Of course there are exceptions and there are also some very talented photographers out there who choose front lighting as a stylistic difference for their work. They make killer images because they have worked with the technique long enough to know where and how to absolutely use it.
However that might be, we are talking about the bulk of our shooting approaches here.
To see it for your own self, set up something as a still life and move your softbox all around it as you make the photographs. You may have to add a little fill to the front (large white card perhaps) but shoot one with side light, back light, side/back light, low back light, high overhead backlight.
And shoot some with the light up front.
I believe you will see the difference and may help you think about your light in a bit of a different way.
Summer is here, and this is the time for more shooting, more portfolio building, and more list building for potential clients. This PROVEN system will help you on your way. These modules are free and there is a premium version on sale for a super deep discount you will read more about on the site. Build a great portfolio while you are building a client list that makes sense. Find Photo Clients NOW
This is the Portfolio Build Class for mid-level photographers. This is not a class for beginners, or for the more experienced photographers. This is a class for photographers working on their portfolio to make it more appealing to art directors, editors, and designers. More information and enrollment.
Your portfolio will be evaluated before acceptance. If you are not accepted, you will be instantly refunded the enrollment fee.
Have you wanted to take a look at the Project 52 workshop without committing for a year?
Well here is your chance. An 8 Week Project 52 Pro Membership is ready for you to get into – NOW. And it is the full deal. All of the resources, assignments, reviews, webinars and more are there for you to work with. This is NOT a truncated offer, but a full opportunity for you to take advantage of the most unique photographic workshop on the internet.
Bret Doss’s “Fallen Leaf” Series
Bret Doss is a photographer and an engineer in Seattle, Washington. He and I have traveled the PNW together on occasion and he was my assistant on the Creative LIVE workshops. He is a talented photographer with a wide range of interests. From fashionable portraiture...
Gear List / Links for the UDEMY Portrait Class
Class: Portrait Photography with Simple Gear Link to the Class Page. Stand (even better a stand and a boom) Umbrella Holder Umbrella (shoot through and bounce) Flash (the kind that goes on the camera, but also has the ability to set the power manually) A trigger set...
Facebook Slams the Door on Photographers
As photographers, Social Media takes a hit on all of our time. We do it for various reasons. Because it is fun. Because it is a good way to reach people who are otherwise not reachable. Because it is certainly a powerful part of the lives of all of us in business....
It Costs What It Costs
I purchased a car yesterday. I haven't bought a car for a while, always getting the wife's hand me down... heh. But with the new business, a new ride is imperative. It was pretty painless. I told them straight up that I had no time or energy for haggling (and they...
Project 52 PRO – Works
At the Project 52 PRO group, there are an astounding group of photographers all helping to boost each other into professionalism. Most of them have gotten a paying gig this year, and we are well on the way to making that happen for all of them. The point of Project 52...
On Style: Personal Take
This morning I followed a link on Twitter to a website devoted (supposedly) to helping photographers learn to be better photographers. The name of the post was something along the lines of "12 Super Awesome Ways to Make Epic Images" or something similar - and no, I am...
Instagram… it is Not the Devil (or is it?)
Instagram was a tiny app that grew at an amazing rate. Hipstagram is another app that has grown faster than most, and Snapseed was just purchased by Google. What does that mean? Is it, as one of the articles below suggests, the end of photography? Or is it a new, and...
The Secret Is…
... that the secret doesn't exist. There is no secret. Has never been a secret. Lately I have been noticing a lot more "Secrets to Successful Whateverthehellitis-ness". Secrets that are so secret that you can buy them in a book or an ebook or get them for a buck on...
Cameras Are Tools. Vision is Photography.
I love this article on communication, photography and the distractions of gear and platforms. Photographer Jon Stanmeyer hits the nail smack on the head with this post on the distraction of the medium over the substance of the image itself. "Now here is what’s key...
My UDEMY Class on Portraiture is Live
The good folks at UDEMY.com asked me to create a course for them. Portrait Photography with Simple Gear I chose doing a sort of overview for portraiture. Not your typical headshot stuff, although we do look at traditional beauty. In this course we look at using...
Yes, You Can Trust Your Professional Photographer (Essay Nine)
I don't have a photograph to run with this article. I wouldn't want to even think about what photograph I would run here. And, by the way, this is me being pissed off again. So if that sort of thing makes you uneasy, and you are all fine with an industry leader...
Does Vison Trump Gear? (Essay Eight)
Recently an article caught my attention over at TIME. "Last Launch: Dan Winters and the Shuttle Program. TIME had commissioned Winters to photograph the final launch of the Space Shuttle and they showed a few of the images that will soon be in the book. The images are...
Trees, Roots and the Artist (Essay Seven)
Photography at its best can be a reflection of the world in ways that we have never been seen before. It is the photographer's vision that makes the image become more than it could have been. But at the heart of the photographer's vision, there is a deep foundation of...
Keith and the Kudzu (Essay Six)
Keith was a photographer in Atlanta, Georgia. A dedicated artist and all around fun guy, he nonetheless harbored a deep and unrelenting anger toward the Kudzu that grew all around his studio. (For those unenlightened souls, Kudzu is an Asian plant brought to Georgia...
The Big Camera (Essay Five)
My Deardorff is still one my favorite cameras. Starting to shoot Tintype with it, but it is a bit slow going. I don't have the time I need to devote to the learning curve of tintype exposure. I shoot some black and white with it as well, and will be taking a box of...
Pop’s Wallet. (Essay Four)
My dad passed in 2000. He lingered on in a kind of a funk for so long, and got a little... well... uncharitable toward the end. When we finally talked him into hospice, he was so thankful for their kindness and really enjoyed his time there. After he passed I was...
Roots. (Essay Three)
When I was in my early teens I happened upon some photographs by Weston, Cunningham and Adams. I had been making photographs for a few years. Just casually, no real intent in the work other than to have a keepsake of the place. Many of us start out taking images that...
My First (Real) Camera – Essay 2
I am not a camera geek. I don't get into all the machinations of new this and new that. Not a part of my DNA it seems. I tend to find something I like and stick to it as long as it works for me. I watch other cameras with shiny this and awesome that and think "wow,...
“Coming Home” – Essay 1
Today is August 8. An interesting day for me. It's some sort of milestone that people celebrate, but I usually spend some time to look over the next 12 months and make some plans. Recently someone told me about an '30 essays in thirty days' project. I have no idea if...
New “Magnum” Strobes from Aputure… and They Rock!
Remember Dirty Harry... he had a Magnum too. And when he pulled it out and asked the punk if he felt lucky, he created a legendary phrase that lives on and on. And now it is your turn to get lucky... with these pretty damn cool strobes from Aputure. Full disclosure:...
Anatomy of a Shoot in the Middle of Nowhere…
"Well, ya'll could ride with me if you want..." He was walking toward us from his pickup truck in the cold, early morning light of Florence, Arizona. Wide brimmed cowboy hat and real cowboy boots. And he was all smiles. Florence is a very small town southeast of...
In Tall Trees
I spent a couple of days in the forests and mountains around Seattle a few weeks ago. I hope to go again. I am a desert guy. Lived in the deserts most of my life, and I find them fascinating - maybe due to my design predilection for minimalism. Not sure really, but...
Increased Client Interaction is Better Than The Alternative…
Think about it... the more you interact with your clients, the more your clients see you as a part of their business. No, I am not talking about stalking, or going overboard with emails, mailers, phone calls, texts, tweets and facebook status thingies... I am talking...
On Workshops, Scams, Manners and Foolish Ideas
My friend Seshu, a photographer and owner of the Tiffinbox.org website, recently posted this article: "Gary Fong Wonders If Photo Workshop Instructors Can Handle The Truth" (link) (An admonition to the gentle reader - this is a very long post. There are some points...