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Would like your tips for lighting dark complexions
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That link is close to what I do now, so at least it gives me some affirmation I am on the right track here. I’m surprised though that nobody is giving up any more detailed tricks. I promise to take the Magician’s Assistant’s Oath if it will help. 😉
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I’ve had to do things like this. Worked for a while with an on-camera talent who was a medium-complected black guy who shaved his head. Had to do things like lighting him in rooms where lots of the room was lighter than his skin tone, and it usually worked out OK.
Large sources are the first thing. You already knew that.
A tiny bit of warming doesn’t hurt. And maybe just a hint of cool in the backlight. Think squeezing your dynamic range, really, and maybe using subtle color shifts for shape. Smaller differences between key and fill, stuff like that.
The wardrobe thing is critical. Darker solid colors are best, of course. Someone showed me a clip of a black guy wearing a white shirt (no jacket) standing in front of a white wall, and someone just decided that pouring more light in on the guy was the way to go – and you could tell the poor guy was cooking.
And if he does shave his head, as my colleague did, have him not shave it on shooting days. Helps with the pings off the pate.
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Follow-up to this job, you’ll appreciate this: The shot I was so worried about went off fine, using two Rifas, a backlight, and some cutters.
Then they sprung a bonus problem on me, without any advace warning: In the twelve minutes we had left before the speaker had to leave, they wanted me to light the speaker standing right next to a white projection screen, with a powerpoint slide show projected next to him. To be shot by a consumer mini DVD camcorder. “You know, like the weatherman does on TV”. Can I light it so he casts no shadow, he looks good, and the powerpoint is readable? In twelve minutes?
…I’m not charging enough.
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[Mark Suszko] “…I’m not charging enough.”
Are any of us, really?
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