Getting Moody and Dramatic photos with simple set up!

Gill's Window 3, originally uploaded by Charles Saulters II.

Continuing with the Gillian Murphy set, I thought today I would explain the photos a little and how you can get some creative lighting without expensive gear.

Basically for this shot I started by positioning Gillian by the window. Windows are a great lighting source for photos especially around the early afternoon when the sun is very intense and bright. Usually if you are shooting outside this is problematic because it causes harsh shadows on your subject however since we were inside the winder just served as a giant diffuser providing beautiful light that wraps gently around Gillian's face. The light is soft but still provides some contrast and moodiness.

With the window as the primary light source I used a reflector (on the silver side) to act as a fill light which illuminates the side of her face nearest the camera and fills in some of the shadows. If you wanted more intense shadows you could

1. Get rid of the reflector
2. Use a different colored surface (white bounces less light back than the silver side) as a side note gold is good for warming up the color of the light coming back at your subject and bounces as much light back as the silver side.
3. You could also just pull the reflector further away from your subject, the farther the light has to travel, the more it will fall off and making it softer.

Beyond that its all about finding a pose which you think is compelling then then take the shot!

I'll stop there but hopefully that was helpful to someone and if you are interested in what you read let me know and I'll get giving a breakdown of the images I post!