Now, the real importance of this principal comes into play when you meter
your light source in comparison to the subject you will photograph. Almost
every meter, flash or in-camera, is based on the old standard of an 18 percent
gray middle tone. While many skin tones are reasonably in line with this stan-
dard, I have yet, in the thousands of people I’ve met and photographed, to
find someone with 18 percent gray skin—and I keep that in mind when I take
a meter reading in relation to my subject. If my subject is darker than 18 per-
cent gray, I will open up my lens aperture (increase my exposure) by^1 / 3 stop.
If my subject is lighter or fair-skinned, I will stop down my aperture (reduce
my exposure) by at least^1 / 3 stop. Remember, a light meter is only a starting
point for evaluating our light source and where the light falls.
Clothing Selection.I use this same principal when a model asks me what
she should wear for her session. If she has very light skin tones, I don’t mind
if she wears light-colored clothing. If she has darker or mid-toned skin, I tend
to stay away from light-colored clothes, especially white, because in digital
photography you will end up with blown-out highlights in the clothing if you
expose for your subject’s skin tone. As noted previously, though, darker cloth-
ing is not a problem, because you can capture more detail in the shadows in
digital photography.
Separation.The 90 percent principal is great when the model is wearing
white and you have a white background. To create separation, just take two
sheets of black foamcore board and place them on each side of the model to
reflect black-toned light back onto your subject. You would do the opposite
with black on black, employing a white card.
Adding Detail.If your subject is wearing black lace, you can capture more
detail on the clothing by placing a white card nearby to throw some light onto
the fabric. If, on the other hand, your subject is wearing white or light colors,
use a black card to bring out the detail in the texture of her clothes.
Composition.The human eye always goes to the lightest spot in the
image, so if you have a white pillow behind the model in a boudoir scene, this
will draw attention away from the model. For a better image, just change pil-
lowcases. The same applies to the bed sheets or covers.
108 LIGHTING FOR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOVE RIGHT—Juxtaposition is a photojournalism technique where you have at
least two elements in an image that help tell the story. In this case, the location
and windmill help illustrate that Playboy Playmate Holley Dorrough is more of
a country girl than a city gal. Her outfit adds to the story, as does the warmth
from the lighting. (CAMERA:Leica M8 Digital Rangefinder fitted with a Leica EL-
MARIT-M 21mm f/2.8 ASPH lens. SETTINGS:28mm effective focal length,^1 / 250
shutter speed, f/4.0, white balance at 6000K, ISO 160)