Portrait lighting situations

[john_and_hanaa]

Bulding a studio out of my garage is challenging. I have a window I am planning to use to project natural using reflectors. I want to be able to take good quality portraits and in this same studio take pictures with a more romantic appeal. Sometime shillouettes. Also going to work with candles. Wondering if anyone else has any ideas for good lighting sources. Also has any worked with the romantic theme and have any good ideas for pictures or props? I have enough room but not a lot of room. I will almost exclusively be working in black and white and only will use color when someone asks me to. Thanks to everyone ahead of time. Special thanks to all those photographers with galleries. They have been very helpful in setting up new ideas for my own work!

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

For natural light, I think one of the neatest things I've seen is the rotating stage that Peter Gowland built early in his career on a rooftop studio, so the model could always be easily turned to the optimal orientation toward the sun. There's a picture of it toward the end of this page--

http://petergowland.com/Studio1.html

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I have a black backdrop which faces north. (I am in the southern hemisphere, so the sun travels across the north of the sky.) The window faces east, so the morning sun shines directly through it. By about 10.30 am the sun has gone far enough towards the west that I get a nice even diffused light. This lasts until about 2 or 3 pm. So far, I have just used the diffused light as the principal light source.

 

[jmdavis]

Gowland

For natural light, I think one of the neatest things I've seen is the rotating stage that Peter Gowland built early in his career on a rooftop studio, so the model could always be easily turned to the optimal orientation toward the sun. There's a picture of it toward the end of this page--

http://petergowland.com/Studio1.html

David,

Thanks for reminding me about Gowlands site. Everytime I go there I love it. Interesting photography and very cool ideas about light, and space.

Mike

 

[bjorke]

Such rotating rigs were common in movies before dependable lighting. The most famous example was Edison's "Black Mariah"

 

[removed account4]

north(ish) facing skylights and heavy drapes work well ...