One of my favorite techniques involves putting the subject before a dark background and hitting them with a single soft light source.  I will usually setup this key light at about 45 degrees to the right or left of the subject and about 45 degrees up from the subject’s head.  The 45/45 position.

Your key can be a shoot through umbrella, softbox, window, closet light, or open refrigerator door in a dark kitchen.  It really doesn’t matter as long as you get the effect of a soft area of light about 2-3 feet wide.  And you don’t want this to spill over too much, or at all, onto your background.

You’ll have to experiment with your particular setup, but using a flash or strobe with a shoot through or softbox will get you good results if it’s angled in such a way as to provide a little light over the subject’s head while covering her face and most of her torso with nice even light.

Next is the rim light, which serves the dual purpose of separating the subject from the background on the shadow side, and provides a nice sense of texture and contour to that side.  This type of rim helps pop her into a more three-dimensional world.

This second light source should be harder and often brighter than the key.  The rim light can be positioned more or less opposite the key and behind the subject.  Think of it as the rim light pointing at the key with the subject in the middle.

For my shots of Rachel Loy, I used a 2×4 softbox for the key light.  Rachel is about 7 feet from the black backdrop.  The rim light is a strobe with 7″ reflector about 6 feet behind her at about 45 degrees to her right shoulder.

You’ll notice how the rim subtly details hair, cheek, and even the fingers.

More examples from Rachel’s session, plus some performance shots here.

Lighting Setup

A few things you might want to check out:

Drew Smith has been getting lots of good reviews lately.  Here is an article by Tamara Dwyer, and an excellent review by Danté Dominick both at Austin.com.

Speaking of Austin.com, they’ve got a neat new feature that allows you to upload photos and create your own videos to music, called Animoto.

Check out their ACL photo contest and win free admission to ACL 2009!  Also, check out my photos of this year’s ACL Music Fest.

Vanessa Lively is having an art opening at Paciugo Gelato (241 W. 2nd in Austin) on Oct. 5, 2-4 P.M.  It’s her first showing in Austin since returning from South America.

I bumped into her while I wandered around between sets at this year’s ACL and mentioned how I enjoyed her song, “Dignificada” off her CD, A Chain Unbroken.  She sings it beautifully, in Spanish.

Well, I recently posted a blog on MySpace where I vent about something that I think is a real shame:  “Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) & Beck Don’t Respect Visual Artists’ Rights.”  You won’t believe what they and Mars Volta wanted photographers to sign at this year’s ACL!

Basically, if photographers individually signed their contract as a condition to photographing them, those bands get ALL RIGHTS to the photographs, own them, and the photographer loses even his/her copyright “throughout the universe, in perpetuity,” and they get to make money off said photographs without the photographer ever being compensated.

Please, read why this is so incredibly anti-artist, and never believe anything these bands have to say about artistic integrity again.  I love their music, but have lost a little respect for them after this.  And, no, I did not sign this stupid agreement, nor photograph, these bands.

Finally, an amazing set of portraits by Platon for the New Yorker.  He spent some time with men and women of the military for the series, Service.  Really beautiful work.

From a recent shoot with our new friend and client, Erica.

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