Properly using background lights and backdrop lighting techniques are often the keys to setting the desired mood for the final images. So many people focus on lighting their subject perfectly that they completely forget the importance of lighting the background! Of course, it easy to go overboard too. Take a look at the three side by side images below:
All three unprocessed/unretouched images were taken with exactly the same camera settings on a Canon 5D Mark II: f/5.0 and 1/80sec at ISO 200 with auto white balancing. As a result, the subject is roughly exposed the same in all of the images with the main difference being the “color” of the image. This is due to the sensor detecting different amount of various colors in the image and selecting the white balance settings it thinks is “best” to average out the scene. Your eye can clearly tell the difference which is why professional photographers adjust the white balance in the images during their post processing workflow. But, that’s the subject of a different tutorial.
The lighting setup for these shots was extremely straight forward. We used two Elinchrom strobes on the subject: a large Octobox as the key light on the right and a smaller soft box for some fill on the left. We then used two additional Elinchrom strobes with reflectors (to help “flood” the lights) pointed towards the background. Since the backdrop in this case was actually a glass wall surrounded by water, our main concern was positioning our subject to block the strobes from reflecting off of the wall and back at the camera. Here’s what we did:
What we’re trying to show with all of this is the drastic difference adding lights can make. Here are two more unprocessed/unretouched images for comparison from the same session:
It is impossible to say the lighting in one of the images is “right” and the other is “wrong”. They are all similarly exposed yet each one is able to portray a different mood. Which one do you prefer? Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts!
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In the second set, I prefer the no lights shot. The richness of it is more appealing to me.