# Reverse engineering this light - how do I get it?



## DocFrankenstein (Oct 7, 2006)

Jill Greenberg and a few others have achieved this look. 

I want similar/same stuff. The light looks like a bunch of small silver umbrellas to me with rimlights every which way. Sometimes two brollys on the subject level to the right and left of the camera.

What's your take on this?


----------



## Azuth (Oct 7, 2006)

On most, it looks like a brolly either side and not too high, plus something coming in low from right in front with a pretty beefy light from behind.


----------



## hobbes28 (Oct 7, 2006)

From the catchlights, it looks like there are three umbrellas on top with the largest being in the middle, all above the subjects' head.  Then there seem to be three smaller rectangular softboxes below the subject.  All of them seem to be in a straight line and pretty narrow in the spread.  There is probably an umbrella or two or a snoot lighting up the background too.  (Just my thoughts)


----------



## DocFrankenstein (Oct 10, 2006)

Does anybody else want to hazard a guess?

Thanks


----------



## Flash Harry (Oct 11, 2006)

Doc,why not send an email asking for a lighting plan and that you admire her work and want to replicate the effect.H


----------



## DocFrankenstein (Oct 11, 2006)

Flash Harry said:
			
		

> Doc,why not send an email asking for a lighting plan and that you admire her work and want to replicate the effect.H


I'm sure she wouldn't give it out... for one.

For two... she wouldn't reply. She shoots covershots.
http://www.manipulator.com/


----------



## ladyphotog (Oct 11, 2006)

It is a high key lighting setup, umbrella or softbox on each side of the subject, reflector or fill flash in the middle and instead of the background being lit she has turned it around toward the subject for the halo effect, that one needs to be between a stop and a stop and a half over. Pretty easy to do just need lots of power and at least 3 heads. Hope that helps.


----------



## darin3200 (Oct 11, 2006)

Overuse of photoshop


----------



## Jeff Canes (Oct 11, 2006)

darin3200 said:
			
		

> Overuse of photoshop


:stun:


----------



## craig (Oct 12, 2006)

She slightly spoke about the lighting in American Photo(June or July I think?). Yes a lot of photoshop. Clearly she has a lot of watts per second kicking.


----------



## Flash Harry (Oct 12, 2006)

> I'm sure she wouldn't give it out... for one.
> 
> For two... she wouldn't reply. She shoots covershots


 
She's a pro photographer, guess what, we all like a bit of flattery. I'v had answers from DB, he's shot covers for forty years, he's also just another human being, communication is a big part of this business, another major player is confidence, having yours boosted by someone in the game admiring the work and inquiring about technique is a compliment to which I reckon most normal folk would reply. Besides, photography is a very lonely occupation.


----------



## fmw (Oct 12, 2006)

ladyphotog said:
			
		

> It is a high key lighting setup, umbrella or softbox on each side of the subject, reflector or fill flash in the middle and instead of the background being lit she has turned it around toward the subject for the halo effect, that one needs to be between a stop and a stop and a half over. Pretty easy to do just need lots of power and at least 3 heads. Hope that helps.


 
She has the background lit as well.  Perhaps with a bare flash head to get both the background and the back of the subjects or perhaps with a couple of heads back to back.  There is also an additional hair light overhead on some of the shots.  The main subject lighting is pretty straightforward as Ladyphotog mentions.  I think the set uses 4 heads but I think it would work ok with three and a couple of silver reflectors on the shots without the hair light.


----------



## W.Smith (Oct 12, 2006)

Since a picture paints a thousand words:
you can make your lighting setup advice visible with Kevin Kertz's excellent, FREE, special tool LightingSetup.psd.


----------



## fotogenik (Oct 22, 2006)

hey thats a pretty neat little tool.  Thanks for posting.


----------



## Luke (Oct 25, 2006)

YEah her nickname is the manipulator, so I'm gunna say, a load of levels, burning, selective colour, saturation, contrast, all that crap.  She probably started with a basic lighting set up you described earlier though


----------



## W.Smith (Oct 26, 2006)

FWIW:

as for Jill Greenberg's light setup, I'm guessing she uses 3 umbrellas, one overhead and the 2 others on either side, slightly behind the subject, pointing towards the subject, 30 degrees forward. A smallish (2 feet diameter?), but bright, probably silver or gold, reflector in front and below the subject's face. A 2 stops stronger light with snoot illuminating the background, and another 2 stops stronger light behind the subject pointing towards the camera to create the halo.
And a loooot of PS indeed.


----------



## cosmonaut (Oct 26, 2006)

Pardon me, But if this lady is a world famous photographer, I think maybe she has run out of creative ideas. I find these images disgusting. Why would anyone want to take pictures like these? I wouldn't hang one of these on my wall if you taped a thousand dollar bill to it.  This must be her answer to shock radio, Which is also a dying trend... IMHO.....
            Cosmo


----------



## DocFrankenstein (Oct 26, 2006)

cosmonaut said:
			
		

> Pardon me, But if this lady is a world famous photographer, I think maybe she has run out of creative ideas. I find these images disgusting. Why would anyone want to take pictures like these? I wouldn't hang one of these on my wall if you taped a thousand dollar bill to it.  This must be her answer to shock radio, Which is also a dying trend... IMHO.....
> Cosmo


With all due respect - stay on topic please.

I do not want a science vs religion debate

if you wanna duscuss that - start another thread


----------



## cosmonaut (Oct 27, 2006)

Good enough. Consider the subject dropped. But my comment had nothing to do with science or religion , but photography. You are right in that this is no place for this comment...
Cosmo


----------



## Flash Harry (Oct 27, 2006)

Yeah, well why not try analysing the shots yourself, set up a lighting kit and try out a few different setups, its pretty easy to copy others work if you have the skills and equipment, anyone that has studied pro photography will have done this in the past as part of their course. No big deal. 

The real thing is to create a style for yourself, something unique then have others mimic your work.H


----------



## DocFrankenstein (Oct 27, 2006)

the thing is that I don't have much lighting exquipment, I have to rent.

So I am wondering find out as much as I can so that I don't rent unneded stuff.


----------



## bitteraspects (Oct 31, 2006)

almost looks like hdr


----------



## burtharrris (Jan 24, 2007)

What is it that makes the front of their faces "glow"?

You can see it on her celebrity portraits at http://www.manipulator.com


----------



## gizmo2071 (Jan 24, 2007)

Looks kinda like shes using hard diffused light rather than using a diffuser to soften. Like they used in the 50's~80's.
Maybe softboxes with perspex to diffuse.

Yousuf Karsh used lights like these and got effects where the highlights looked "shiny"


_Image by Yousuf Karsh_






So it looks like that kinda lighting to me and then some post processing work.


----------



## burtharrris (Jan 24, 2007)

Yeah it seemed like controlled hard light.  

It's funny how no one really invents something; it always seems like someone did it before them.


----------



## Christie Photo (Jan 24, 2007)

fmw said:


> Perhaps with a bare flash...




I wondered too about bare bulb flash...  parabolic reflectors at the least.


----------



## newrmdmike (Jan 24, 2007)

mike disfarmer routinely got that glow . . . so it can definatly be achieved without post, however, part of that may be that it was on glass plates.

before anti-halation backings there was a little more glow to alot of things.

however, it can also be emphasized on alot with diffused glow.

you can see softboxes reflected on some of the models skin, in the child portraits.  

i got this with no fancy light, just bounce off the cieling. then diffused glow in post, and highlights/shadows to cartoon it a little like she does.

however, the cieling i bounced off of was not flat, but angled toward the guys face.


----------



## newrmdmike (Jan 24, 2007)

speaking of mike disfarmer, sam houston state university owns a portfolio of his if anyone wants to see it,

as well as work by minor white,
brett weston,
ansel adams,
meatyard
and others i can't remember at the moment.


----------



## Digital Matt (Jan 24, 2007)

Ring flash, umbrella on either side, lots of rim lighting, and of course, local contrast enhancement via photoshop with combo of unsharp mask, and dodging and burning.


----------

