Unchartered Territory C&C

[ChevyBaby]

For my latest piece I'm creating a 'staged narrative' based on the TV show 'Supernatural' and other such paranormal, gorey horror scenes.

Today I done my first test and this photo is exposed wrong but it's my favourite because the sort of lighting I'm looking for is supposed to look as if it's light streaming in from outside through a window BUT i want to elliminate as much shadow as i can, how can I do this without using the technique of over exposing the background? I want the background to be part of the focus of the picture - I'll have to 'backlight' my models won't i? How do i do this?

My contact sheet is included too - it's not very inspiring mind you, my next test i'm gonna try using tungsten to get a warmer glow as if the street lights from outdoors are causing the light...?

 

[ChevyBaby]

No takers on that then? Lol am i just being dumb?

 

[Derrel]

I think you're on the right track to using a side-by-side comparison, contact sheet type of approach to help you determine what is actually needed to get the effects that you want to have. The key is that you must determine,exactly,and specifically, what the final result is supposed to look like.

If yuo are striving for a window-lighted approach, you might wish to try using a light source that functions much like a window, like a softbox, or a window-sized frame with one or two flashes shot through it, and placed 10-20 feet away from the subject. Also, the background's color will determine how bright or contrasting the shadopw appears, in relation to the man. ALso, the SIZE/Distance combination of the light source will also determine how the shadow is rendered. A larger and or closer light source will make the shadow softer-edged, and less-dense. A smaller/more-distant light source will make the shadow appear denser, and harder-edged.

 

[Blake.Oney]

Supernatural is one of my favorite shows. What type of shot are you aiming for that would be inspired by it?

 

[ChevyBaby]

OK, i just done my second test shoot and i used a redhead with barndoors, which acted mush like a window, tried it with and without daylight balance filters to see how nasty the orange would look with tungsten light (it was gros) but the ones where i used a filter over the light as aposed to over the lens looked perfectly lit, moody and cold turned out to be what i was looking for.

The sort of shot i'm after is much inspired by the scenes of Sam being locked up when he was craving blood or the scenes in abandoned [mental] asylum - the episode where i think a guy had been buried in a wall and in the end they trapped him down with a skipload of salt and concrete. That grimey sort of place.

 

[ChevyBaby]

little bump. was hopin for more insight