feet from the strobe was f/32). A gel(see page83) was alsotapedaround the
flash tube to create a warm coloration. Because of the heat produced when
firing the flash, you should not place anything directly in contact with the
flash tube. Buy only heat-resistant gels from a camera store or theatrical sup-
ply house. This method of lighting the background can be used on a flat wall
or seamless paper, but I prefer a little more detail to break up the back-
ground—as you can see in this image.
For the next image (3-12), only the hair light was fired. This was a para-
bolic (see page 76) placed above and slightly behind the model on a boom
arm. Like the background light, it had a warming filter attached. The hair
light exposure was f/16. You can see how this light adds highlights to the
model’s hair, and even to her shoulders, but does not spill down onto her
face.
In image3-13, you see the effect of firing only the fill flash. This was a
softbox placed to camera left and metered at f/8.
Image3-14shows the effect of the main light alone. This was a softbox
placed to camera right and set at f/11. I chose to place the light on this side
of the model because, in some poses, her hair covered the other side of her
face.
The final headshot (3-15) was shot with the coat pulled down around her
shoulders, because the model wanted to show her chest and shoulders a bit.
As seen in the setup shot (3-16), a gold reflector was also placed just beneath
her chest to add fill and an overall warming effect. (Note:If you are using
variable-power light sources, you can quickly modify the effect from all the
lights in a setup like this. Experiment with different ways of lighting so that
your results are predictable. This is how you begin to create your own style.)
LIGHT PLACEMENT 533-16.Here, you see an overview of the
final setup.
You can see how this
light adds highlights to
the model’s hair, and
even to her shoulders