Rangefinder Magazine
September 2004

Taste the Flavor of Garlic... by Peter Skinner
And Other Lighting Techniques

Veteran portrait photographer and educator Don Blair offers this succinct and valuable piece of advice on portrait lighting, especially when placing those subtle but important accent lights: Treat them as if you’re adding garlic to a recipe. “Too little and you can’t taste the flavor; too much and you overpower everything else.”

Blair, who has instructed thousands of aspiring portrait and wedding photographers during his career, covers the gamut of lighting in his new book Portrait Photography: The Art of Seeing Light (Amherst Media), but when asked to offer one key tip, it was this: Keep your lighting as simple andunderstated as possible.

Because of the size and depth of the state capitol rotunda in Salt Lake City, UT, Blair was able to use an 80mm lens and still have adequate depth of field. A parabolic light with the barndoors pinched down was placed on the left and used for the main light, while an accent light, close by but higher, outlined the subject’s shoulder to give background separation. A broad umbrella light behind the camera acted as fill. The shutter was dragged to illuminate the rotunda in natural light.

“One of the lighting mistakes I see most often when photographers use artificial light sources is overlighting. Many photographers make the mistake of literally blasting their subjects with light, which immediately draws attention to the light, and not the subject,” he says.

“Perhaps this stems from photographers feeling they need a lot of light—and complex setups—to make good portraits. That’s not the case. If there’s one basic goal of good lighting it’s this: Someone looking at a portrait should not be aware of the lighting. Our job, as portrait photographers, is to create good portraits—not draw attention to the lights used. If the lighting makes more impact than the essence of the subject, then we have failed. A good rule of thumb is to use the minimum number of lights to make a pleasing portrait. Often, something as simple as light coming through a window and a simple reflector is all that you need. Keep it simple, and it will be easier to control,” he says.

This well known image was created outside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a 40mm lens on a Hasselblad. With an abundance of light from the hotel entrance, Blair was able to shoot at about 1⁄8 second. The supplementary light was a barebulb flash balanced with the background lights and placed to camera left. The barebulb is feathered to produce good highlight brilliance on the bride and dress. Two gelled mini lights behind the couple added a touch of red and blue under the bike and to the edge of the dress.

Another common mistake happens when photographers place lights so they create more than one shadow on the subject’s face—this results in an unnatural portrait. “In nature there is only one main source of light—the sun—and as a result, there should only be one direction that shadows fall. To have any more than one shadow direction immediately makes the photograph look unnatural. In my opinion, the most successful photograph is the one where the average viewer is not even aware of the lighting that was used to create it. I say ‘average’ because photographers, whose vision is trained, will be able (or should be able) to determine the lighting by scrutinizing the photograph,” he says.

Blair emphasizes another rule he drums into his students: the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflec-tion. “This simply means that light bounces off a subject at the same an-gle at which light hits it. If you under-stand and apply this angle of incidence/ angle of reflection rule when you light your subject, either with artificial or natural light, your portrait photography will improve by leaps and bounds. Keep this rule in mind at all times when you are setting up a portrait session, regardless of whether it’s in your studio or on location,” he says.

A small softbox, called a punch panel, was used at a 45° angle from the left side of camera. This was the main light source. An accent light, parallel to the dancer, highlighted her arms and gown. The shutter was dragged to allow the ambient light level to record naturally. The way this is accomplished is to first meter the ambient light—say 1⁄15 at f/5.6—then set the strobes output to f/5.6 or f/8. The final exposure is 1⁄15 at f/5.6 or f/8.

And accent lights should be so subtle that their presence is barely noticeable, especially when a viewer first looks at a portrait. “I call this my garlic lighting technique,” he says. Accent lights are used to introduce near-white specular highlights into the highlights of the image, adding depth and three dimensionality.

One piece of equipment and tech-nique that Blair uses often in his quest for natural and pleasing lighting is the tried and true barebulb electronic flash, a tool that is versatile and multi-faceted. “We can create simple, effective lighting using the barebulb but it seems to be a technique that photographers tend to overlook. I have made the barebulb one of the most important tools in my lighting arsenal. It can be used on location as a main light, an accent light, a fill light or simply as an overall supplementary light to brighten the entire scene. Used correctly, the barebulb gives a very natural look to the photograph and it adds specularity and punch—an extra burst of light that could be described as an explosion of light—that can turn a nice picture into a beautiful portrait,” he says.

Among the advantages of using the barebulb is that it helps avoid dark shadows under the eyes—what Blair refers to as “raccoon eyes.” Blair says, “This is something to be avoided, and the touch of light from a well placed barebulb will solve the problem very easily. The key is not placing the light too high, just high enough to add light under the subject’s eyes. If you use modeling lights, you can see the effect.”

Blair suggests using the modeling light on the unit and raising and low-ering it while watching the shadow ef-fect under the subject’s nose and eyes. The pitfalls of raising the light too high will become obvious. (Note: If you are on location and using a battery-powered light, be careful of flattening the battery as the modeling lights drain power quickly.) Blair says, “There are many other advantages to using a barebulb, and I always encourage my students to master the technique of using it. It really is a versatile light, and once you understand how to use it effectively, it’s also one of the simplest.”
Another major advantage of the barebulb is that it can be used in conjunction with different focal length lenses and thus is useful for environmental portraits with a pictorial approach, where the location sets the mood, or for a regular, traditional portrait.

Blair stood on a ladder to create this image. The primary light was window light and the background was positioned at an angle to reflect skimming light back onto the subject. The subject was far enough away from the background so the window light skimming off of it acted as an accent light. A touch of warmth reflector placed to the side of the camera helped wrap light around the subject. The No. 1 soft-focus Lindahl filter on the 80mm Hasselblad lens provided the zoom effect.

Blair says there are other things to be aware of, such as outdoor situations where the barebulb will be the main light and must be placed so its light comes from the same direction as existing daylight. “And please note,” Blair adds, “that I said daylight, not sunlight. Direct sunlight, unless it’s late in the day when it becomes softer, tends to be too harsh and unflattering. If direct, harsh sunlight is influencing the photograph, move to a new location or wait until the light is less intense.”

Blair pointed out that when using barebulb flash, have the flash tube vertical for one or two people but turn it horizontal for larger groups to take advantage of the wider angle of light coverage. After placing the barebulb—usually about 10 feet from the subject—and making sure it’s tucked away out of sight, spot meter the shadow side of the subject’s face. This will then become the desired exposure. The amount of ambient light will determine the overall exposure. For example, the ambient reading might be 1⁄15 at f/5.6. Then, using a flash meter to determine exposure, set the power on the barebulb for f/5.6. This is the key or main light and its purpose is to add punch to the existing daylight. Turn on the modeling light so you can see the effect created by the barebulb, but turn it off before making the exposure. With a relatively slow shutter speed, the modeling lights could affect the exposure. After you have checked all the above, finalize the subject’s pose and make the photograph.

The bright background, which read f/16, outlines the form of this model on a bench (an Off the Wall product). Light from a barebulb flash was balanced with the background light. A touch of warmth reflector provided an added highlight that completed the image. In this case, the barebulb flash acted as fill and the daylight proved to be the garlic light, adding specularity and highlight brilliance to the edge of the model.

The exposure mentioned above is just an example. In some cases, when you’re in a brighter location, the am-bient reading might be something like 1⁄125 at f/8, so your barebulb setting would be f/8 and your overall exposure would be 1⁄125 at f/8. The barebulb is very effective in brighter light, so don’t feel you have to limit it just to low light situations.

The barebulb is also ideal for synchro-sunlight situations, when ambi-ent outdoor light is to be balanced with a subject under a canopy or something similar. Take a meter reading of the ambient light, which might be 1⁄125 at f/11. With a flash meter read the amount of light being thrown from the barebulb onto the subject’s face and balance it with the ambient f-stop, i.e. f/11. But Blair says in this situation, where the subject is under a canopy, make sure the bare-bulb is positioned low enough to throw light onto the subject. “Use the modeling light to check that this is being done, and also to study the lighting pattern on the subject’s face,” he says. “Always keep in mind that it’s important that the light from the flash looks natural and is not overpowering.”

Barebulb indoors
Blair emphasizes that one of the great attractions of the barebulb is its wraparound effect, making it a very useful light for portraiture indoors, such as photographing an executive on location. “Usually for assignments like this, additional lighting such as an accent light will also be used, and often I will drag the shutter (use a slow shutter speed) to let ambient light set the mood,” he says.

“Setting up to use the barebulb in-doors is not too different from using it outdoors in an environmental setting, and it can be even more convenient because of a handy power source so you can use the modeling lights as much as you need,” Blair says. “Use the modeling lights to see the effect on the subject and then meter the light. If you are using a slower shutter speed—dragging the shutter—turn the modeling lights off as they will influence the lighting.”

However, while the uses for a bare-bulb exposure are virtually limitless, Blair offers this cautionary note—don’t become a slave to the technique. “I always warn photogra-phers against making it their principal lighting source for all occasions. In other words, don’t become a one-lighting-source photographer because all your photographs will then look the same. But, don’t hesitate to use barebulb flash to brighten up a scene or add punch to ambient lighting.”

This is just a taste of the advice offered in his new book now available from Amherst Media (www.amherstmedia.com).

Freelance writer/photographer Peter Skinner has more than 22 years experience in the photo industry in public relations, media liaison, corporate communications and workshop production and coordination. His magazine articles and photography have been published internationally and he has co-authored or edited numerous publications and books. He collaborated with Don Blair on the book Portrait Photography: The Art of Seeing Light (Amherst Media). Peter can be reached at via email at: prsskinner@bigpond.com/.