Analogue Lighting and Shooting with Red Head & Arri
Analogue lighting techniques
I have always used this type of light it has a unique effect if you know how to use it effectively. Hot lights are still used even though more and more production use the cold LED lights including us these days. Benefits are that when shooting in delicate environments where heat can cause a problem ( Period homes etc ) LEDs are great however I always prefer to use film lights or hot lights where I can
How to use a hot light
One little secret is to take the reading from the light hotspot and also make sure the make up artist goes in a little heavier with makeup and this will result in clean and beautiful skin complexion and tones. O=When I get booked sometime to cover shoots during and after advertising film shoots ( Latest James Villas) the production often want a photographer who can work within their lighting set ups and often in between their live shooting, therefore learning some hot light techniques is a good thing to have
How it all mapped out on the day.
The shoot featured here was a pitch for an ad agency wanting to shoot some jewellery and diamonds for the company DeBeers. It did happen but more towards the business end of the process in diamond selling. The idea for the shoot was to focus in on one shot which is the girl sitting bottom left and this was the shot went with but the others were all book work for JNP. The good thing with film lighting is that as long as you can control the light then you can actually see what you are getting in real time. The look and lighting you set up for is often the result that you get. The other good thing about using this light is that you don’t overlight ad can often use ambient light readings to make the shot look great. With flash you just blast these away or have to spend time balancing this but I suppose the downside would be that you could be working on a timed exposure and this is often best to give rich saturated colour and balance.
How it all mapped out on the day.
For the shoot we chose the Gore Hotel, this is based in South Kensington and is a luxury Boutique Hotel which is perfect for photo shoots. It has some super rooms with great food and a great bar. Its just on Queens gate and a few photographers use this over the year. We first used it when shooting for a new brand called Versatile Apparel.
All of the rooms are individually furnished with hand-picked pieces, period pictures and ornate feature beds, whilst providing full Wi-Fi access which can be useful for firing off images to clients on the day.
In the shot above you can see one of the image we loved and added to the portfolio, the girl is a Dita Von Teese look alike that we have used on various shoots but as you know now from the blog we did photograph the real and authentic Dita Von Teese whilst on our European tour with Lambertz late 2013 for their Calendar The image above at the Gore has just a little diffusion but if you look at the shot you can see minimal retouching to the skin and it has a glowing quality given to it by use of the hot light.
The real Dita Von Teese as shot by me and Teamnader for Lambertz Germany
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Some shots from the session – the rest can be seen in the main website www.jamesnader.com
TECH SPEC for this shoot
- Hasselblad H3D11-39
- Hasselblad 55-110mm
- Nikon D3X Nikon
- Nikon 24-70mm
- Shutter: 1/15
- Aperture: F4.5 & F8
- Any Problems: cramped and hot again
- Model: Millicent Binks
- TeamNader
- Lit by Arri and Red Heads
- Styling – lizzie!
- Makeup – Katy Bird
- Processed in – Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop CS6