Goth

[maddog01]

My first attempt at studio Goth. Alot tell me my light is flat. Please explain more. I don’t understand flat but want to change it if there is a problem. Should there be more shadow? Depth I suppose, but how do I do that?

Yes, a small touch of diffuse glow again. Sorry, but I like the dreamy effect it gives.

Thanks
Mark

 

[maddog01]

Here is the original without the glow if that will help explain my lighting.

 

[Chuck Gardner]

I like this one. Its all about shape and color, and the clothes and dark hair frame the face perfectly.

Flat light from the front on a white background isn't a bad thing. On white the eye is attracted by the contrast of dark colorful things against the white. That's why this shot work so well. Without the orientation of the pose and the mantle of dark hair surrounding the face, it would have gotten lost agaist the white; here it contrasts and pops out.

What you might consider to add some dimensionality to subjects on a white background is to add backlight "kicker" lights on one or both sides to add some edge definition to the subjects. You see this technique a lot in glamor shots and even in movies and TV when a person is shown against a light background.

CG

My first attempt at studio Goth. Alot tell me my light is flat.
Please explain more. I don’t understand flat but want to change it
if there is a problem. Should there be more shadow? Depth I
suppose, but how do I do that?
Yes, a small touch of diffuse glow again. Sorry, but I like the
dreamy effect it gives.

Thanks
Mark

 

[Fujicamfan]

Here is the original without the glow if that will help explain my
lighting.

Maddog01:

I like the shot, it works for me. Flat refers to the lack of shadows and their use to add depth to the photo. By the gradual falling off of the shadows the subject appears more 3 dimensional. I'd like to see other photos from this shoot, as I like the outfit and the model is intriguing.
FCF
--
--Now where did I put that extra set of batteries?

 

[Chuck Gardner]

Forgot to clarify that I was talking about lights positioned behind and to the sides of the subject, like hairlights to create specular, nearly blown out highlights.

You asked if you needed to add shadows. No, just the opposite. Bright specular highlights on the edges of the subject, like they were back lit by the sun and from the front with fill flash is the look you should try for.

CG

Flat light from the front on a white background isn't a bad thing.
On white the eye is attracted by the contrast of dark colorful
things against the white. That's why this shot work so well.
Without the orientation of the pose and the mantle of dark hair
surrounding the face, it would have gotten lost agaist the white;
here it contrasts and pops out.

What you might consider to add some dimensionality to subjects on a
white background is to add backlight "kicker" lights on one or
both sides to add some edge definition to the subjects. You see
this technique a lot in glamor shots and even in movies and TV when
a person is shown against a light background.

CG

My first attempt at studio Goth. Alot tell me my light is flat.
Please explain more. I don’t understand flat but want to change it
if there is a problem. Should there be more shadow? Depth I
suppose, but how do I do that?
Yes, a small touch of diffuse glow again. Sorry, but I like the
dreamy effect it gives.

Thanks
Mark

 

[maddog01]

Thanks for the explanations Chuck. I have tried the Kicker affect before but blew it out too much. I’ll have to work on that.

Thanks again
Mark

 

[maddog01]

Thanks FCF.

This was my first time shooting this style and I really didn’t know how to pose her. I pretty much let her do her own thing.
Here are a couple more. My attempt at a head shot and attempting black on black.

 

[alphajim]

Thanks FCF.

This was my first time shooting this style and I really didn’t know
how to pose her. I pretty much let her do her own thing.
Here are a couple more. My attempt at a head shot and attempting
black on black.

The black on black is great! good pose, you didn't lose detail in the darks, and the light coming off he shoulder has a great look to it!

 

[maddog01]

Thanks Alpha. Was my first attempt at this and did not know how it would turn out. Used black seamless paper for background and she is sitting on velveteen. Figured the paper would show up to much but worked out ok i guess. also was using a hair light but think i had it postioned incorrectly.

Thanks again for the comments.

Thanks FCF.

This was my first time shooting this style and I really didn’t know
how to pose her. I pretty much let her do her own thing.
Here are a couple more. My attempt at a head shot and attempting
black on black.

The black on black is great! good pose, you didn't lose detail in
the darks, and the light coming off he shoulder has a great look to
it!

 

[WR1000]

I like the diffuse glow look. There is a shot on my site that looked great the way it was, but I liked it even better with diffuse glow.

http://www.exchrome.com

WR1000

My first attempt at studio Goth. Alot tell me my light is flat.
Please explain more. I don’t understand flat but want to change it
if there is a problem. Should there be more shadow? Depth I
suppose, but how do I do that?
Yes, a small touch of diffuse glow again. Sorry, but I like the
dreamy effect it gives.

Thanks
Mark

 

[ewencameron]

Nice photograph, Maddog. For me, flat lighting (if it is that - looks fine to me) is far more tolerable than dull composition.

Thanks to Chuck for explaining kickers. I wondered how you did that. I can see we are going to end up with more lights than Blackpool pier (Read "Coney Island" for our American friends)

Regards

Ewen Cameron
Kent, UK

Goth joke (not that good, but how many jokes are there about Goths?);

What do you call a fat Goth?

Answer;

Vampire the Buffet Slayer

 

[Andrew64673]

if you are acheiving the look you are after. I think it works well with the white bg, reduces it to shapes and colours, taken out texture and form. I am not a big user of white and high key myself, but when I do, for some reason I think the flat approach is more apealing to me.
nice shots.
a.

My first attempt at studio Goth. Alot tell me my light is flat.
Please explain more. I don’t understand flat but want to change it
if there is a problem. Should there be more shadow? Depth I
suppose, but how do I do that?
Yes, a small touch of diffuse glow again. Sorry, but I like the
dreamy effect it gives.

Thanks
Mark