Iain Browne Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Shot this mostly as an exercise the other day. I really like the look of it, but I think I need just a little more light in his eyes. How would you do that without really introducing any shadows or changing the contrast too much? It's just two lights, a 500 watt bounced from the right, and a 250 watt bounced from the left. The windows made for a nice back light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted May 29, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2013 Small very dim bulb right in front of his eyes. Something I may do would be a tiny little 150 w dimmed down bouncing into a white card. The thing is eyes are very reflective, so you often just need a white thing in front of them which they can reflect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 29, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2013 You just need a good angle of reflection for the eye light, it doesn't have to be bright. Often I put something right under the lens like a 1'x1' Litepanel dimmed way down, or a Litepanel Micro. But anything would work, a bare light bulb even, it just needs to be next to the lens, and if the person has a heavy brow and tends to look down, you're more likely to get the reflection if the light is under the lens rather than over the lens, though on a long lens from farther back, it matters less whether the eye light is over or under. A larger source like a bounce into a card creates a bigger reflection but it also tends to spread around more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted May 29, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2013 You know, it may just be me, but I am never really happy with the way a bare bulb looks in the eyes especially on digital. I always feel it's too small of a point most of the time. China ball can be nice; but of course, as mentioned spread becomes a problem especially with digital which tend to dig more into the shadows or so I observe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 29, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2013 Yes, a bare bulb is a tiny reflection but in a tight close-up, that may be enough. This is one reason I like the 1'x1' Litepanel, the reflection is large enough to be seen, but not too large, plus it can take an egg crate grid and can be battery-operated. Plus is flat-enough to fit under a lens without sticking out too far, unlike a Rifa, which I also use sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adrian Sierkowski Posted May 29, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted May 29, 2013 I'll have to try an LED sometime. Before the move I had build a little box; maybe 6" long and 4" high out of foamcore into which I'd put a small 25W bulb with some diffusion on the front, whatever scrap I had handy which I'd tape onto the matte-box on occasion. Obviously rather delicate hence it didn't make the trip (and I had to make a few of them here and again) but i always liked it. Never went to make it battery powered though-- perhaps time for a v2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 30, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted May 30, 2013 Here are two frames that show the use of the Rifa 44 under the lens for an eye light: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franz Salvatierra Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 You can also put up a silk and shoot through it away from set(hopefully out the window or something). The big bright spot will be in there, not the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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