My Oldest Concept

Day 187 of 365

"My Oldest Concept"

 

I came up with this concept about 30 years ago. I was looking through Annie Leibovitz's book of celebrity portraits, and this idea came to mind. Actually, the original concept had the subject standing on a wooden post, in the water at the pier in Sausalito. With that said, I just finished painting my second canvas background, and figured there was no time like the present to execute my decades-old idea! This is the result of exactly 60 falls. On to the lighting! My key light is a large umbrella with a diffusion panel, and it is located directly over the sad man's head. It lights his hair, the background, and most of his shirt. However, alone it would leave the eyes completely dark. Our second light is a beauty dish, just out of frame at camera-left. It only light's his mug, and you can see the catchlight in his eyes. It took some time to place it in the right spot, as he is falling during the exposure. Next, there is a deep octa at camera-left, and it is low and aimed away from the background. It is only used to fill in the dark slacks, which would otherwise vanish in the shadows. At the very last second I added a fourth light. It is a small softbox, is located directly behind his posterior, and is referred to as an "ass light". Actually, I may have made that up. Regardless, it is used to give some separation from the background. Thanks for leaning in and having a look!!

 

#leaning #falling #portrait #man #canvasbackground #background #slacks #dressshirt #sadman #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #tie #canon580exII #canon24105 #rawhide

Done