panel on a softbox. Not only are the clouds closer in distance to us than the
sun, but the shadows soften and light becomes more forgiving of any imper-
fections. Also, when there are clouds in the sky, the contrast drops in the
image, making everything appear to blend smoothly.
Open Shade. Working in open shade (i.e.,any area away from direct sun-
light) is preferable to using an on-camera flash. This works great for all subjects,
54 LIGHTING FOR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
When you run out of locations or
ideas, place a model up against a
window and use the natural light
coming from the side or behind the
subject, as in this case with Elite
Agency model Jenni. We were work-
ing a glamour photography work-
shop at the Palms Casino when I
noticed the sunlight coming through
the master bath of one of the Sky
Villa Penthouse suites where we held
a workshop late in December. I had
just happened to go to the bathroom
when I saw the light. That is key into
finding great natural lighting loca-
tions: look for light, not just the
room light. I also thought about my
“Wide Aperture” working theme when
I saw this filtered light. So I pulled
Jenni away for a moment—just long
enough to capture this moody image
of her. I added more mood to the
image by converting it from color to
a more warm, desaturated tone in
Adobe Lightroom. (CAMERA:Canon
EOS 5D Mark II fitted with a Canon
85mm f/1.2L USM lens. SETTINGS:
85mm effective focal length,^1 / 640
second shutter speed, f/1.6, white
balance at 6000K, ISO 125)