It is all in the light. Yes, you need the focus and the exposure, the composition and the subject matter, but it is the light that really makes or breaks the final image. Outdoors you are relying to a certain extent on the weather. However you have to set out to create the shot you want, even if it means waiting for the right conditions and going back to your location when all of the elements are right. This picture was taken just inside a wooded area with the sun shining down through the leaves of adjacent trees. The biggest challenge was to control the contrast. Don’t burn out the highlights but keep some detail in the darker areas. This was shot on film, however these days you can choose to turn down the contrast on your digital camera if you are shooting jpegs or shoot raw and control the contrast as you process your files. Don’t forget to check your histogram to make sure your exposure is spot on.
Girl on the Red Couch was shot in the studio, were you have full control over the lighting. This means that you must also take full responsabiliy for the lighting. The direction of the light, the lighting ratio and the contrast and exposure in your picture. Here I placed my main light behind the couch lighting the wall, but spilling over onto the models back. I then used a fill light in front of the model, adjusted to just give me some detail in the blacks and I used cards to limit the spread of light. Leaving the corners of the picture to darken and keeping the main focus of attention on the model herself. This shoot was planned and I took very few pictures to achive this final image, but often ideas present themselves during a shoot, so keep shooting and develope your technique. Colin Mac Arthur
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