"Fountain Dance"

"Fountain Dance"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image I made during my Master Class last week.  The reason I’m posting this image is because I want you to see it as a lighting lesson.  Let me explain.  Everyone knows I’m a big fan of directional lighting – using the light’s direction to create a highlight next to a shadow to create detail, depth, and dimension on the subject.

When you go outside into the bright sunlight, that objective just might change.  Last week during my class I saw that a lot of the students were just “shooting away” at the bride.  I’m thinking, “Why is no one looking for the direction of light?” Heck, it’s the sun, but the sun could be set up to illuminate the bride giving me the flattering loop lighting pattern on her face.

That’s what I set out to do in this image.  I simply orientated the bride to the fixed light source, the sun, till I had created the same light direction on her face as I would have with an off camera flash.

Look too at the added detail in the gown.  We see that added detail because the light is “crossing” the gown, not “blasting” into it.  I think the result is worth it.  Sure, it’s fun “running and gunning” when you’re shooting, but a little more lighting sophistication on the image can add a nice polish to the finished image.

I tweaked the color, clarity, and contrasts in Lightroom 3 to enhance the image for this presentation.  I think it came out kind of cool.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens at 180mm, F 5.0 @ 1/3400 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David