acmesnaps.com has added a photo to the pool:
Tonight's exercise was purely technical. Even though we are half way through a double-Thursday sorta week with the 4th sandwiched in the middle, the day job has been a creative-energy drain.
I've been wanting to try and recreate a Brad Trent image because it has to do with creating and managing the depth of shadows. (BTW, Trent chimed in on the flickr strobist thread. It is worth a read. Check out Trent’s Damn Ugly Photography blog too.) Shadow control has been top of mind recently because I enjoy using a seamless background with a ‘shinny’ floor, but have not really been pleased with the shadow depth on the floor, so my homework assignments have been shadow control.
See the setup shot
Inches matter in this snap for the position of the BD. Move the subject directly under the BD (or too close to the camera) and it does not put any light on the face, which means no shadows. Move too far back from the center of the BD (away from the camera) and again, no shadows because everything gets light from the BD. Just have to play with it to get the shadows right.
The inverse square rule figures in big time here. The distance from chin to forehead is probably 37.5% of the distance from chin to the light source. Without having to show my work, if this were taken somewhere other than a living room, the BD could be way higher and the exposure difference between forehead and chin would be unnoticeable because the distance from chin to forehead would be a much smaller percentage of the overall distance from chin to the light.
Salt to taste with the ring flash for shadow control. For my taste, I was using the detail around the eyes to set the ring power.
strobist info
Paul C Buff Einstein E640 @ 8.1WS in a 22" Mola Demi 18" up from the nose.
Paul C Buff ABR800 Ring Flash with a 20-degree grid @ 13.2 WS 3' on axis.
ISO 125, 1/250, f/11, 70mm
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