Another portrait sitting in the Heritage Portrait project. This is Marilyn: mother of my dear friend, Randy. She was photographed with the capable assistance of my good friend (and voice-activated lightstand), Royce. We tried a couple lighting setups, but settled on the SB-800 Speedlight in the 3′ octabox. In the above image, we used a the SB-800 more or less directly in front of, and slightly above Marilyn’s head, with a Lastolight tri-grip reflector to the lower right to provide a little fill.
Here we tried to incorporate several mementos of special significance: the framed portrait is the last one of Marilyn and her husband, Bob, before Bob went to be with the Lord; the Guild was Bob’s guitar, and the quilt on the back of the sofa was made by Marilyn’s daughter, Cherry. Similar lighting setup: SB-800 Speedlight in 3’octabox, above, and slightly left, with the Lastolite tri-grip reflector out of frame at camera right.
For this image, we changed the lighting scheme slightly, using the classic “clamshell” lighting configuration: SB-800 / 3′ octabox pretty much directly in front of and slightly above Marilyn, with the tri-grip reflector below the key light. Shooting between the two provides beautiful wrap around light with soft shadows.
Thanks to Marilyn and Randy for putting up with us this afternoon! And special thanks to Royce for lending an invaluable hand with the lighting!
More to come…
J
