Lights, Camera... Nude!: A Guide to Lighting the Female Nude for Photography (4 page)

Hard, very wide light

Some light is harsh and some is soft; the softness or harshness of light is called its quality.

With a bare tube light (no modifier) the entire studio is lit with light bouncing in almost every direction. The light on the model is harsh, produces deeper dark shadows and has a quick falloff at the edge of the light. The un-flagged light also causes lens flare in the image.

Photo 16: Seven inch reflector

Model: Elizabeth W.

Hard, narrow light

A 10-inch on-strobe reflector added to the light head narrows the angle of the output, creating a more dramatic effect. However, the light is harsher. This image, too, is just for comparison. I don’t like the harshness of a light with reflector pointed directly at the model. If I do use a strobe with a reflector, it will be to bounce the light off a wall or ceiling when working on location.

Photo 17: Softbox

Soft, controlled light

A softbox gives a more diffused effect and also keeps much of the light off the background.

As in portraiture, many photographers prefer diffused light for photographing nudes. Using softboxes, umbrellas, or other diffusers can give a softer edge to shadows and reduce hot spots. In general, larger diffusers placed relatively close to the model are better.

Photo 18: Shoot-through umbrella

Soft, wide light

Similar to a softbox at a fraction of the price, but with less control of the light, more stray light spills on the background and the floor.

Compare this shot to the final shot in the series (beauty dish with grid) and you will notice that the background and lower legs are not at all lit in the final shot.

Little light reaches the legs, compared with the next shot (bounce umbrella).

Photo 19: Bounce umbrella

Soft, very wide light

With the umbrella positioned to bounce the light, a broader pattern of diffused light is produced.

Although the lit area of the figure is bathed in a generous and pleasingly soft light, the uncontrolled light bouncing around the room creates quite a bit of fill light as well as background light. If this isn’t your intention, choose something other than an umbrella.

Photo 20: Beauty dish and grid

Soft, controlled light

A beauty dish affixed with a grid produces a diffused light focused at a narrow angle. Quality of light is a subject to which you can devote much study. The factors that affect the quality of light include type and size of diffusion material, reflector shape and size, and distance to subject.

Softer light can be pleasing, and direct light can be dramatic. Mixing the two can yield a wide range of results; some attractive, and some unattractive.

As the quote at left suggests, I treat equipment merely as a means to an end. The concept is paramount to the image, but photographic equipment is a necessary evil, and knowing your equipment is part of paying your dues. For this reason I specify equipment throughout the book.

If you don’t have the equipment listed feel free to experiment until you find something that suits what you aspire to do. And you can make some of your own modifiers if you wish. Once you’ve captured an outstanding image, nobody will know if you paid a lot or a little for your equipment.

Digital image sensors capture much more information at the brighter end of the scale.

Your camera’s sensor has a limited range. Under expose too much and you lose shadow detail, over expose and you blow out the highlights—this much is common knowledge.

Figure 4: Histogram

What is not commonly known is that highlight and shadow information are not equal.

You can use a slight overexposure,
then correct later with software
. This yields better overall detail. Don’t over expose with high contrast lighting. This is significant when shooting nudes because of large highlight areas on the body.

Be careful not to underexpose your image then lighten it with software, this will result in pixel noise and banding in the shadows. Keep an eye on the histogram to check exposure. To recap, the two main enemies of your image sensor’s limited range are: too much contrast in the light and under exposure.

Before you begin photographing nudes you need to equip your studio with light and the various implements that help you aim and modify the light. Since many of the readers of this guide may not have amassed a huge inventory of equipment, I’ve refrained from including shots that require a large investment to reproduce.