It’s a wonderful time of year, with summer vacations, beach time, and barbecuing. It means photographers have to contend with the harsh shadows, bleached skies, bright highlights, and the uncompromising superheated orb that resides in the sky. This is all part of being a photographer. How can we make friends with light that doesn’t seek accommodation and does not take prisoners?
The banner photo above is just going with the flow. Raw sun, raw flash. Match the quality of what is available, and hope that the gesture in the photo will give you a free pass for the harshness of the light.
There is another way. It is hard to believe that a simple silk, which can be compared to a bedsheet in photos, could control the sun and make the summer sun’s bloody screams into gentle whispers. It does.
The photo of Fefa (a talented model and muralist) in Lima, Peru, was taken in the darkest of lighting. The 12′ silk tamed the freight train of intense sunlight into a gentle photon bath. Giveaway? You can see the shadow of the silk frame in the upper left corner. It’s not something I would mind retouching. I increased the under-thesilk light quality by using a Profoto B1X and a shoot through umbrella. Fefa’s art work glows quite brightly.
The same technique I used to photograph Winona Ryder years ago. She has been featured in the news lately, claiming that directors find her unattractive. I disagree. Years ago, on a Maryland farm, the summer sun was beating a loud drum. I simply leaned a 12″ silk frame against the barn wall.
Or Andrew Weill, natural medicine doctor, out in the scorching Southwestern sun. I drove the minivan rental to where I wanted to photograph, and attached a 12′ length of silk to the luggage rack. We were done!
Silk is not an easy task. With a 6′ scrim frame and frame, I was able to work by myself, but with a 12-foot frame, it is much more difficult. You can add a low bounce to create silked sun, an overhead fill pop and an underlight. Sigh. It goes on. But…..
If you don’t have a crew or a truck to help you, a large umbrella will do the trick. You can make things simple and effective if you use judiciously and have a well-placed subject. The stunning Francesca vilogron transforms from pensive light (above), to exuberance along the desert highway. Different scenes, different lighting, different feeling.
A large silk is not advisable on this highway. The umbrella is on a pole with three Speedlights at full power. This fills the brolly with soft, but directional light. This light is quick and portable for occasional traffic. This umbrella-quality light has enough power to reach the top of her hat.
It’s a puzzle to the summer sun. This is a game that we will continue to play for the next few weeks.