Portrait Lighting Intensive
© Bobbi Lane
Understanding and controlling studio lighting and applying it to portraits is one of the greatest challenges that a photographer faces. This weekend workshop is designed to give the emerging photographer a strong foundation in all the elements of lighting, from esthetics to hardware. Lighting has many aspects that need to be addressed individually and then combined to create a meaningful portrait. The use of strobe lights, how they work, and the step-by-step lighting set-up is the first layer in the foundation. Participants will have hands-on experience shooting models in the studio all weekend, working with the strobe power packs, umbrellas, boxes and grids. Metering techniques, stands, C-stands, booms, use of flags, diffusers and reflectors are covered in great detail.
The three main elements of lighting are: direction, quality, and depth. Bobbi Lane explains the intricacies of lighting patterns and how they define the face, as well as appropriately choosing quality through the use of light modifiers and combining both of these with lighting ratios to set the mood. The most important element in portraiture is the photographer’s interpretation of the subject. All the aspects from lighting, posing, tonalities, mood, expression, and camera angles to backgrounds must harmonize to create an effective photograph.
Bobbi Lane (www.bobbilane.com) is an award-winning commercial portrait photographer with 30 years of experience. She shoots environmental portraits for corporate and advertising accounts as well as photographing “real people” and locations for stock. Her extensive client list includes Warner Bros., PricewaterhouseCoopers, Samsung, Bose Corp., Neutrogena, Charles Schwab, and the Morro Bay Natural History Museum. A dedicated educator, Bobbi teaches photography at ICP in New York City, the Santa Fe Workshops, the Maine Photographic Workshops, and the Julia Dean Photo Workshops. She is a Contributing Editor for Photo Techniques Magazine and the author of “Creative Techniques in Color Photography” and “Advertising Photography” with Lou Lesko. Her instructional DVDs “Portrait Lighting Techniques” and “Portraits Unplugged” are available through Calumet. Bobbi is the proud recipient of the Education Award from Advertising Photographers of America.
