#10 - Subtractive Lighting for Portraiture Using a Gobo

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:01 am

This light is far out the nicest imho. I build a non ajustable gobo, but let the model be moveable, which gives basically the same effect. I liked the results very much and had difficulty in choosing which one to post, so I post two out of the seven shots I made (at two different distances from the gobo.)

Photos were taken at midday, full sun in the shade of an old olive tree, but not under the branches.

For those who are interested in the construction after our dog ran into the steps and the wind had played havoc with the plastic see
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k239/peninna/gobo.jpg
As my husband said "a quick and dirty solution, but it works"
It was fun to do apart from hitting my head on a concrete beam in the cellar when I fetched the black plastic to make the gobo.

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:02 am

A nice luminous light quality. It really brings out the eyes.

If you get another try at this, try to build the canopy much lower--so that it is just a foot or so above his head. Standing near the edge of this canopy you will get a more directional light source and it can make for a more interesting image.

Nicely done. This is one of my favorite schemes for outdoor lighting and I think you are starting to see why. It appears much more natural than fill light or a reflector would and you have a dynamic range within that of your camera's capabilities.

Also, your subject rarely squints in this light. A really nice effect.

Well done. I like the second one better--he seems to have mischief on his mind there. Very nice.

Is this going to be one of your more favored lighting set ups? If you want to have friends and family over and be able to take some nice shots of them, then a retractable canvas awning in the back of the house will work wonders. It also gives you a nice spot to sit out under.

In any case, if you like this type of lighting scout around until you have several nearby spots that you can use for this--naturally occurring or man made but already constructed sites work best for me. I just show up and shoot.

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:53 pm

Thank you for your comments Packard. This certainly will become my favorite lighting.

About the canope (non ajustable gobo), I don't think that it was too high, he was standing on the crate and the construction was about 20 cm above his head. Maybe he should have stand more to the front side, instead of in the middle. I also made some when he was standing on the ground, but they were, for my taste, for lighting not so nice as the ones I posted.

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:46 pm

The problem with him standing on the crate is that you will need to gain some height too.

Premium Member Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 777

An adjustable model! Now why didn't I think of that. Nice images. I agree that the 2nd is the best. Your model obviously is more cooperative than mine..

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:26 am

Thanks Pele, indeed my model is very cooperative as long he doesn't have to move away from the house and pose somewhere out under a tree or an other by me invented bad looking gobo sort of thing hahahaha.