Lighting a model using the sun
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008Not far from Los Angeles is Agoura Hills. Very few fashion photographers make their home here. A beautiful rural town with green rolling hills and a pioneering spirit embedded in the locals that have lived there since the towns inception.
When I look at this shot I feel something good and warm. The model’s face isn’t even toward the camera however, just by her body position, the tilting of her head and hair flowing back closing her eyes enjoying the sun she evokes a feeling of being free, young, and happy. What is interesting about this shot is it happened by accident. It was VERY windy and cold so the model closed her eyes and dropped her head back to get warm from the sun. I clicked the shutter and thought that it would be a trashed shot. When I looked at it on my monitor at home I was stunned. The green hills, yellow flowers and blue sky together with the blanket and Ugh boots just makes this photo come together.
Your model does not always have to be looking at the camera. Remember as I have said before that a photo that evokes an emotion is a successful photo. Even if something technically went wrong that just cannot be fixed in Photoshop it doesn’t matter. As humans we FEEL. We crave FEELING. Your most successful advertising photos ooze emotion which in turn penetrates us inside our hearts causing us to go purchase that product.
On the technical side, I faced the model into the sun on purpose knowing the viewer would only see the right side of her face. I filled the slight shadow with my Metz 54z on camera flash at a very low power setting just to add a little pop to bring out the colors of the blanket and green grass. Out of all the shots where she was looking at the camera, this one where she was not looking at the camera was the one that “hit” me right away. I will be happy to discuss camera settings, flash settings etc. **PLEASE ASK OR COMMENT **
