Special Techniques.
Mirrors. Reflections can be really cool. Often, we get two views of the face
(and sometimes of the body) in the same image. Bear in mind a critical les-
son from Photography 101 when creating these portraits: the angle of inci-
dence equals the angle of reflection. When shooting on a mirror, it’s also
critical to make sure the mirror is rigid or is placed on a hard, flat surface.
Otherwise, the reflected image will be distorted.
Usually, but not always, I’ll use a white background as the starting point
for this set. That was the case in this image of Michelle (above). A second-
ary fabric background was then added and gelled to match her outfit. I se-
lected a low camera angle that was slightly above eye level to produce a full
view of her face in the main image and a two-thirds view in the reflected
image. Michelle is not large breasted, so the lower camera angle was also
helpful in giving her breasts more roundness (a higher angle would have
made them appear flatter).
Window Light. Window light will produce some of the most beautiful
images you can create, and it’s remarkably easy to work with—just keep your
reflectors handy. Like shooting with hot lights, what you see is what you get.
It can be frustrating if you’re not used to it, because it doesn’t move. In-
stead, you must move your subject to get the correct angles.STUDIO AND INDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY 67Michelle’s reflection image was lit with a large
softbox as the main light, placed to produce a
butterfly lighting pattern on the subject’s face.
A slight turn of the softbox to camera left
would have given us a loop pattern. A slow
shutter speed was used to pick up the candle-
light in the background.