“In a world gone mad… …three young people… …stood for justice..” is the kind of approach that photographer Joe McNally would use to tune models into the right position and capture the look he has in mind. On set with notorious Daniel Norton and Adorama TV, Joe shares some tips and tricks of how to shoot with the window light only, using V-flats and duvetyn as a reflector and background.
For camera setup Joe prefers to shoot in an aperture priority mode, using +-EV constantly. For this shoot, he chooses to be in the overexposed, the + range. Since the light is hitting the model from one side and then goes behind her, he needs to overcompensate in terms of exposure and brighten the picture a little bit. However, one always have to be careful of not going too far and blowing out the image, since the V- flat on the other side from the model still gives that extra reflection and brightness. So to sum up – check the highlights.
The rest is pretty simple. In Daniel’s studio in New York there is lots of beautiful natural light filling the room. A sort of natural light our FD stages are famous for as well. So a beautiful light adorned by a beautiful model, a v-flat and a camera is your complete toolkit for amazing window light portraits.
During the set Joe McNally points out a difference in approach while shooting with natural light as opposed to a strobe lights. When shooting strobe, your light is very precise, properly angled and tilted, geometrically thought through. You shape it with a high detail on the model. With the natural light however, there is a massive light source that evens out all details and really lets you shoot a little loose and fast with fast position changing and improvisation.
In this setup V-flat becomes a very versatile instrument, serving as a reflector in first setup, and as background in the second setup. Since the surface of v-flat’s foam is a bit reflective, the photographer decided to use duvetyn to completely eliminate and bounce back and create even deeper contrast between the model (front) and the v-flat (back).
The last thing to keep in mind is the ever-changing nature of the ambient light. Across the time the direction and the intensity of the light changes and so will the dynamic of exposure.
Watch the full video of Adorama TV here: