 Tony Corbell's Portrait Lighting on Location: Lessons in Simplicity from a Lighting Master
One of the downfalls of many books and training DVDs on portrait
lighting is that they tend to make lighting seem like a
hopelessly complicated subject. You sometimes walk away feeling like you know less than you knew going in. That is exactly why Tony Corbell's Portrait Lighting on Location (Software Cinema)
is such a welcome learning tool: rather than complicating location
lighting, Corbell's DVD teaches great methods for simplifying lighting.
And the results of his lighting techniques (you get to see a gallery of
the shots from each segment) are brilliantly and creatively lit
portraits. I am as impressed by the beautiful quality of his images as
I am by his simple, straightforward method of teaching.
The DVD is divided into five distinct lighting lessons, including in-depth tutorials on: Controlling the Sun, The Daylight Studio, Portrait of a Physician, Amber & Abbey (photographing a mother and daughter at home) and Ambience and Flash Together
Outdoors. There is also an excellent tutorial on image enhancing where
Corbell shows you how he puts the finishing touches on his portraits
(much of which involves Nik Software, for whom Corbell consults).
Each
of these tutorial situations is a real shoot and you get to accompany
Corbell on location and watch as he works with his models and creates
his lighting set ups. His method of teaching is very one-on-one and
feels very much like a personal workshop. Some of the tutorials are
shot indoors using either flash and daylight or just flash (both
portable and studio systems are demonstrated) and several of the
outdoor shoots are created using just the sun and diffusion screens. In
addition, Corbell demonstrates the incredible usefulness of acrylic
mirrors in creating highlights and hair lights--something I've been
trying to encourage students to use for years. (continued)
In the Controlling the Sun
segment, for example, Corbell takes a model to a beach in San Diego
where the ambient light is harsh, direct overhead sunlight--not the
kind of lighting you'd use for any portrait. But by adding a single
diffusion screen (I wish he'd mentioned what brand it was) and an
inexpensive scrap of acrylic mirror, he manages to create a soft,
dreamy quality of light that is absolutely beautiful. Using just two
assistants (and you could use friends for this work, it's not
complicated since there is no lighting gear) to hold the diffusion
screen and mirrors, Corbell is able to exploit the brightness of the
sun and yet control its intensity. The images you'll see him create are
fantastic.
In the segment called the Daylight Studio he
uses a similar set up to take portraits of a musician but also includes
a painted backdrop--I love the idea of taking a painted background to a
beach location. By using a huge diffusion panel (Matthews) Corbell is
able to gently light both model and background and then uses the
mirrors to add interesting highlights.
In the segment called Portrait of a Physician
he takes a corporate-style portrait of a well-known physician in a
hospital environment using a location flash outfit that consists of one
softbox (as the main light) and a pair of accent lights for separation.
It's a simple, elegant lighting solution that takes only a few minutes
to arrange and minimizes the time the subject has to be in front of the
camera. Again, the quality of the portraits he makes shows just how
well a simple set up can light a very sophisticated portrait.
Corbell
is a born teacher and throughout the lessons he comes across as a
patient, very knowledgeable teacher who really wants to share his
creative and technical skills. If you're looking for a very
approachable series of lessons in portrait lighting you can do no
better than this great DVD. And if you're a photo teacher and want a
great guest instructor, just pop this DVD into player and your students
will love you. The DVD costs just $99 (most of us would spend that on a
filter without thinking twice) and it's worth many times that price and
can be ordered directly from Software Cinema.
After
watching this DVD several times, I've been inspired to get the
diffusion materials and mirrors out and head to the beach with a
willing model and I think you will be inspired to do the same. Corbell
has created some simple, elegant lighting solutions that can be adapted
to almost any portrait subject (or creating an outdoor still life
studio for that matter) and you'll watch the lessons over and over
again.
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