There are two things about this picture that I don't care for. The dark fold of cloth directly behind her head. They almost look like antenna. And I will never use a brand new necklace again. No matter how much I tried in the darkroom to even out the exposure, I couldn't bring the detail back. It was just too shiny. Hmmmm, maybe a matt spray on the jewels to bring down the "heat"
Ray you achieved a rather close effect to a snooted light in the darkroom very well done....I think however the hotish nose is exagerated by the deep shadow on the right side of her nose.....however not a big objection there especially since its so nicely framed and the overall lighting effect is very good...... SideBar: your descritption to Phillip is very good and glad you took the time and energy to share your knowledge with him...I'm sure he appreciates it and other members here that have not read it your comment should..... well done Ray....
Phillip, I did that in the darkroom, not with the lighting. When I went to print this photo, I found the light a bit too flat. So, I tried experimenting with long exposures and dodging the girls face. If I remember correctly, I did a 45 second exposure on the enlarger, then dodged the light in a "T" shape just over the eyebrows then down the nose. After several tries, I got this result. The hard part is to dodge without losing contrast in the eyebrows and eyes. But, if you don't do your own work in a darkroom, I have read about how to achieve the same affect with lights. I have a great book, titled "Painting with Light". It is an old instruction manual for movie lighting published in the 1950's. They show how to add or subtract light using "cookies". Small scrims that you place between the light and subject with cutouts in the shape of the light pattern you want to cast. Experiment with the distance to increase or decrease the edge sharpness. I have also used an extra fill light with a grid or snoot on the face to bring up the light a bit. When shooting black and white film, you can use just about any light source without worrying about color shift. When I first started out shooting portraits, I couldn't afford studio lights, so I worked with several small desk lamps (clip on style) with homemade diffusers using needlepoint hoops and thin t-shirt material. Total investment: About $20.00. Anyway, I'm getting a bit long winded here. Hope this helps.
Ray, would you mind sharing how you kept the light on the models face from spilling all over. I've tried to place just a tad of light on a face, but cant figure out how. I have plenty of lights with barn doors and a snoot, but still can't seem to get it right.
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{K:1792} 8/8/2001