©frankmarchese.com
Portrait photography on location can present some challenges. Mixing up your lighting from different sources can be a challenge for any photographer especially for a professional who wasn’t afforded the time to scout or pre-light. In these types of cases, a professional photographer needs to rely on his years of experience to not only get the lighting balanced correctly, but do it in a way where his subject, the main focus for his portrait photography shoot will stand out.
Three light sources were used here. One is the natural light pouring through the windows. The second was an HMI positioned off to the right side facing the pool, and the third was an on camera flash pointed at a 45 degree angle which bounced off a white reflector. The swimmer was positioned to take advantage of the window light reflection on the water, giving her a nice natural light glow behind her head. All the lighting is daylight balanced.
Most indoor pools I’ve encountered are evenly lit. Quite the opposite at this location. The natural light coming through the windows was only effecting part of the pool. The rest of the pool area was dark and because I wanted the atmosphere to feel so much like the indoor pools I had been to, I needed to fill the space with more light. I could have let the light on the right side of the pool fall naturally darker to create more dramatic lighting on the swimmer, but that didn’t feel realistic. So I filled the space with light.
Okay, so now the lighting is the way I want it. What next? Make a good portrait. So what defines good portrait photography? Good composition, an eye for detail, lighting, an interesting subject; body language, attitude, are just some of the things to think about. Is the photograph telling a story? As a viewer are you intrigued?
