How to achieve a warm glow

[sb700ca]

This is a test shot while I experiment with external lighting. My wife sews and this is one of her favorite sewing machines. I want the darker feel to show her introspection and warm glow to show the quiet.


I'm using two bare bulbs: one on the sewing machine to light up the hands and one under the table to light up the subject.


Several problems:
1) I want to see the detail on the front of the sewing machine.
2) Tooooo many shadows in my face
3) Yes, dissimilar light, but I can handle that.


I have, but am not using, an external flash with umbrella.

Suggestions for how to approach this?

 

[KmH]

1 and 2 can be addressed by having a flash unit near or on camera to provide some fill.

I would likely use 2 lights set to a low power setting - one for the face, and one for the sewing machine. I would control where the light goes with custom snoots made from cereal box cardboard or black cinefoil.
The snoot for the sewing machine would be a horizontal narrow oval, and the snoot for the face would be round.

Strobist: Lighting 101: Snoots and Gobos and Grids