Thank you Pgriz... I appreciate it.
I love lighting. No really. It's something I look at all day long whether in the studio, or walking into a store, down a city block. I'm always looking at things and how their lite differently. Lighting for people is really quite simple. What I think most folks don't have, and this is merely my opinion is
"vision" for a shot. I very seldom comment on images, because it's all quite subjective. If I don't like an image, that doesn't mean the shot was a failure. It just didn't tweak me ....
The photographer that shot it, surely had some notion of what he/she was trying to do, which I don't have a clue about.
I think if you can see the shot in your head, prior to moving any gear, picking up a camera, or what ever, then the lighting is just secondary to that vision of the shot. I've given workshop's in the past, and I would always preference, the session saying, "Light is Light", you have to decide whether you want more, less, or what ever.
If you were to get in your car right now, and decide to take a trip to Yellow Stone, wouldn't you first off figure out where Yellow Stone is? If your flying what airline? If driving, what route? To me shooting people and using lighting, either natural with a reflector or using supplemental with strobes or hot shoe flashes, is just part of the equation.
For the girl in the house, here is what my thought process was.
1st: I went to a thrift store and bought a 3.00 dress, and a doll for 2.00.
2nd: I wanted it to look bad, so I actually threw it in a pond, and left it in there overnight [the dress, not the doll]. I then drug it across some mud near the pond, then hung it out to dry for 3 days.
3rd: I bought the little box she's sitting on for 5.00 at a yard sale, because I didn't have anything that I could see using.
4th: I sent her to a salon for hair styling.
5th: The lighting was to be a small off camera light. Soft, but small. So I used a 550 with a small softbox by Photoflex.
You see. The lighting was at the end of all this. I had this "vision" of something spooky and creepy, and pulled all the pieces together to get to the goal.
I'll always be happy to tell anyone that wants to know what the lighting was in any image. If they have any questions and want to chat, they can PM me, and I'll be more than happy to talk with anyone on the phone as well.
But for me, it's more of the thought process and visualization of the concept or shot, whether it's a spooky kid shot, or a senior in a field...
Of course, the retouchers did their thang too, which was just a bonus.
Posing I find very easy. Keep things broke. Arms, legs, hips, heads, etc... I love posing girls. It comes quite easy for me. There are some little things that when it all add's up, makes a big difference in how a shot looks and feels. I often, ask the girls to get out in front of me, and I show them what I want.
There are no secrets to any of this. I'm not building rockets to Mars. It's just photography.
Hope this helps some.
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