Ingmar Bergman - Portrait Lighting and Cheapest Alternative

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Ingmar Bergman portrait frames are legendary and I am sure he was using daylight or may be different kelvin lighting in his photography. When that light on the portrait subjects , the skin looks so fresh and lively , hairs are wonderful and tonality is so long. When the light slide for a second , image was grainy and dull.

What is the cheapest fluerescent or bulb light for this kind of lighting ?

Umut
Istanbul

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I have just found to mimic cinema lighting is to find General Electric or Osram Photoflood electric bulbs , I found 500 watt and 250 watt option can cost is around less than 25 dollars including shipment at ebay.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I suggest you get all the information you can find on Sven Nykvist. He's the one who did the cinematography for Bergman's most celebrated films, such as The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, Persona, Cries and Whispers, Automn Sonata, Fanny and Alexander, and many more.

Nykvist also did the cinematography for Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice, an amazingly beautiful movie to watch.

There are a few videos about his cinematography on YouTube, but nothing that will give you the precise information you're looking for.

Interview with Nykvist about his work with Bergman



This one is a general overview of his work



This is more specifically about light, but not in Bergman, in Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Its a great life lesson in photography how they composed lighting in a such complicated way and two or more geniuses spends hours or months to find the correct light. And it was suprising for me how they built homes in studio with windows have printed landscape photographs and we foolishly believe how the house was very beatiful. I dont know how they find the light in istanbul beatiful or ugly in this winter time. I say myself follow the light but I am too lazy , I finish my film roll in inter continents ship ride - istanbul : asia + europe -
Lesson learned I have to spend 100 times more time to take a photograph. I use film like a tourist and spend a roll in half an hour. And I have to find pyro developer and staining is a must and the tanning. I have no finance to obtain photoflood bulbs but I will resolve that. Honestly talking watching a bergman film with always perfect light , no shadows is bit non realistic and not natural. Its a forcing the light and our eyes always sees a shadow every second. I will enforce the pyro developer up to n+3 and get high contrast dark pictures. This is my style and I am starting newly.