Studio Lighting After-the-Fact

by Jim Zuckerman

It’s impossible to carry studio lighting with me as I travel, and yet there are many portraits I take that could benefit from the creative application of directional spotlights and other types of lighting that enhance and dramatize a subject. Photoshop has an excellent lighting effects dialog box that allows me to simulate studio lighting after-the-fact, and it’s quite realistic. In many cases, it is indistinguishable from lighting that would be used in a studio with thousands of dollars of equipment.

The pair of photos below shows what applying a spotlight on the model can do. This looks like the narrow beam of light when a snoot or barn doors is placed over a strobe head. Notice how the background has been darkened and how all the attention is focused on the model’s face. This young lady is a Javanese bride I photographed in Indonesia. The white flowers coming down from her headpiece are hand-woven live flowers.

Comments

[Tom Bell]

Jim,

Do you really believe that you have improved
this image?

Tom