Liz - Portrait with fresnel lighting

michaelglenn

I was really inspired by some of the work produced by Marcin Wuu and his use of fresnel lighting. I loved the look so much I decided to purchase one myself and read more into hollywood style lighting. I was really happy with this one in particular.

michaelglenn

Here are some others from the session. It's a mix of softboxes and fresnels:

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Marcin Wuu

Hmm. Shots are ok, but not much really in the way of fresnel mojo going on there...

Edit: perhaps that's too short of an answer. When shooting fresnel, you have to be really careful about the shadows, both in the way of shape and size, and the degree of diffusion. For starters, try putting the light as perpendicular to the plane of the face as possible, and center the beam of fresneled light on the center of the face, not the side of it. Also, try to get the light as close to the face as you can, and keep the aperture of the rig wide open (if your rig has an aperture that is).
Try butterfly lighting, that's where Fresnel really shines (can't stop with these lame puns).
It's not a hard light to master (see the pun? horrible, isn't it), but it takes patience and precision.

michaelglenn

Marcin Wuu wrote: »

Hmm. Shots are ok, but not much really in the way of fresnel mojo going on there...

Still working on it! Definitely needs more mojo

Love what you produce. Just have to keep practicing until I get it right!

EDIT: Just got your longer answer. Thanks for shedding light on the subject! (get it?) I'll definitely take that into account for the next shoot. I noticed how easily those harsh shadows can fall where you may not want them (in this case on her nose). Sadly, I had about 20 mins to use the fresnel (I literally pulled it out of the box for the first time). I'll be posting more results once I get more test runs in. Thanks again for your advice and for being quite punny

reyvee61

Are you trying to emulate the style?
Or are you shooting for the lighting scheme?
I don't notice any harsh shadow lines in his work.
I'm not liking some of the skin tones overall but experimentation is always a good thing right?

Wiren

Fresnel lighting for that Hollywood look eh....?

I came across and was following a fellow for a while on the Fred Miranda site who was doing some excellent work with Fresnel lighting....

Here is his website... http://alterego.zenfolio.com/classichollywood#h270cfaac

I think one could learn a lot by looking at his work.

Cheers