Flashback: Recently, my wife and I were having lunch and I told her I was having trouble coming up with a new theme for my Tuesday blog posts and she suggested “Tricky Tuesday” as a way to share some of the different tricks, tips and techniques I’ve used over the years in the studio. Here’s another try at this new theme…
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish… but that’s only if it’s done properly.”—― Banksy
Backdrops may not be the main focus of a studio portrait but they not only enhance an image but can improve it in many ways by placing the emphasis on the subject while enhancing the overall look and mood of the portrait.
There are lots of options when it comes to choosing a backdrop for portraiture, starting with the ubiquitous seamless paper, which is a subject of a previous post. But a background can also be as much an important part of the photograph as the person standing in front of it too. Then again, using that same background, unlit and barely visible, the subject becomes the main focus and the background is reduced to a supporting role.
Backgrounds may not be the actual subject of a portrait but you’ll need to light it appropriately. For a portrait of a woman sitting on a Victorian bench in an environment created entirely using a backdrop and props, the background can become almost be as big a part of the image as the subject and by using that same background, unlit and barely visible, the subject becomes highlighted and the background is reduced to a supporting role. That was (or maybe was not) the case with today’s featured session with Dahlia…
How I Made this Photograph. For this portrait of Dalia, I placed a red Paul C Buff DigiBee DB800 monolight with Westcott’s 16 x 30-inch (40 x 76cm) Apollo Strip soft box mounted at camera left. A Paul C Buff Alien Bee B800 monolight with Paul C Buff’s 18-inch (46cm) Omni reflector attached is at camera right. Dalia was photographed against Lastolite’s two-sided Distressed Paper/Graffiti Urban collapsible background with the Graffiti side facing out because she felt it worked best with her retro attire and fun pose. This background, for some reason, seems no longer to be available although I did see one Web site still selling it. Maybe it’s because photographers, like me, have beaten this background to death with overuse. If that’s true, I apologize.
The portrait of Dalia which, I think straddles the genres of boudoir and glamour, was shot using a Canon EOS 60D with EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens (at 57mm) with an exposure of 1/125 sec at f/6.3 and ISO 200. The Image was retouched using my standard techniques with some burning and dodging was added using the layers created by PhotoKit 2.
If you’re interested in learning how I shoot portraits and how I use cameras, lenses and lighting in my in-home studio and on location, please pick up a copy of Studio Lighting Anywhere which is available used from Amazon.com starting around fifteen bucks, as I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital format.