well when aimed in your subject’s direction. Tissue paper, napkins, or toilet
paper will even work in a pinch.
Positioning the Flash. You don’t have modeling lights on portable
flashes, so you have to approximate the placement, then check your LCD to
see if you have the right light pattern. This is a matter of learning by experi-
ence, but to obtain the default loop pattern, place the flash at about a 45-
degree angle to your subject’s face and about a foot above eye level.Locations.
We all have different surroundings, and you’ll probably have different options
than I do. In the following examples, I’ll show you how I’ve applied the
techniques I just outlined. I’m sure it
will stimulate your imagination.
Tire Factory. In nearby Eau
Claire, WI, we have an old tire fac-
tory. Built between 1895 and 1940,
it’s got the perfect rust-belt am-
biance. The complex, which is only
partially used, has a number of alley-
like light tunnels, which give excel-
lent direction to the natural light.
This attitude shot of Tarina (left) was
done in one of them—a dead-end
alley behind one of the factory’s
giant smokestacks.
Railroad Bridge. Near the tire
factory is an old railroad bridge that
once connected a shipping spur to
the factory. It’s now a pedestrian and
bike bridge. Jennifer and I had orig-
inally planned to make these street-
light shots black & white (next
page), but we later loved the
red/amber quality of the sodium
lights, and so decided not to convert
them. The factory is a visible, public
area, so nudity or seminudity is
pretty much out of the question.
Jennifer and I figured we could take
a chance on lingerie since it was
10 PM. We were wrong. A passing
bicyclist was apparently offended and
reported us—the police responded
quickly. The investigating officers
were good-humored about it andGLAMOUR ON LOCATION 75I posed Tarina in this doorway where the high
walls directed the light in from above and to
the camera right, just like a giant softbox. A
single 27-inch reflector was all I needed to
open up the shadows on her face.