He used the same technique to tone down lighter areas that were closer to the
main light and would record too bright in the final photographs. This kind of
previsualization and control is what it means to be a true professional photog-
rapher and a master of your craft. Guys like this produced results in their orig-
inal images that many photographers today could only re-create in Photoshop.
When I work with a parabolic as a main-light source, I typically use a flash
for fill. With the added contrast of this type of lighting, reflected fill isn’t always
sufficient to open up all the little shadows in the nooks and crannies of the face.
If you are like me, you will also find that your fill needs to be powered up a lit-
tle more (producing a lower lighting ratio) than it would be with a softer source.
As you test this type of lighting, be very careful about getting proper lighting
on the eyes, using your fill light to soften and control the contrast.
While some younger photographers might think this style of lighting has an
“old school” look, in this business you quickly find that what was once old be-
comes new again very quickly. As a result, many of my younger clients find this
style of lighting very “classic Hollywood.”
Spotlights.The next main-light source we will discuss is the spotlight. Be
it a snoot, a spot attachment or a grid, it produces the hardest lighting of all andLIGHTING 49A simple spotlight can create a dramati-
cally lit image.