Big, Simple Light

Had a great time last weekend at Unique Photo in Fairfield. Nikon sponsored a takeover, and we spent Saturday talking pictures and demonstrating lighting. Unique had a backdrop up, so we just did some plug and play. Had a couple of lovely models, and one in particular was a character. (How could you not be with a name like Oakley Boycott?)

She came out and her lovely, lanky frame filled the vertical, and I noticed a bit of historical reference in her comportment. I queried her whether she knew the name Dovima, Avedon’s famous muse. The above picture was her answer. Great shoulders, and wonderful attitude.

Now to light it. Kinda pushed a couple of lights into place and we were done. First was the Profoto XL umbrella. It’s so big and soft you can just about put it anywhere. In this case she’s facing off with it, and it is slightly deeper in the set than she is, feathered back towards camera. That left her opposite shoulder, on camera right, in shadow, so I opened the shadow side of her profile with a Profoto RFI 1×3 strip soft box, coupled with a fabric grid. And that was that.  I mean I don’t know whether she embraced the light or it embraced her, but they did a wonderful dance up there in front of the crowd. I shot seven frames and we moved on. Both light shapers were fitted with Profoto B10 Plus units. Dead bang simple and reliable. First time I used them and the performance sold me.

Fun! Dovima was known for her limbs and grace, and Oakley obviously had a point of reference. Which is always good to give your subjects. Allows them to focus on a mood, or a character.

The above were shot with the Nikon Z7, coupled with the new 85mm f1.8 for the Z mount. Fun to do, especially with an easygoing crowd like the one at Unique. Many thanks to Nikon for sponsoring, and to Unique for hosting the whole shebang.

More tk….