The Story Behind the Photo

Shadows

by Jim Higgins

© Jim Higgins

© Jim Higgins

 
 
Setup.jpg

Set Up

In addition to what you see here, there was also a studio light with a 7” reflector and 10 Degree grid behind the camera to the left and about eight feet high.

I encountered several problems during this shoot and here they are with their resolution:

  1. The paper in front of my face was not white but easily corrected by increasing the power of the light.

  2. The eye holes in the silhouette and white paper were too big and had be redone several times so that I just got the eye.

  3. The edge of the shadow was fuzzy but by moving the light further away (6 feet to 15 feet) and moving the silhouette closer to the white paper it became sharper. Moving the light further away meant a need to again increase the power of the light.

  4. Getting the light, the hole in the silhouette and the hole in the white paper to line up correctly meant moving the light stand holding the silhouette in 1/8 inch increments and then taking a picture and going to the camera to check the results. Back & forth - Oh what fun!!!

  5. Then when you get the setup correct just try to get your eye in the right position. I would take several pictures and then go check them on the camera. Then repeat and repeat and repeat again and again and again until you get it right.


The post processing in Photoshop was straight forward:

  1. Increase the contrast to sharpen the edge between the shadow and the white paper. If you get too much contrast it starts to get a Ying and Yang symbol look, so just back off on the contrast to soften the edges and make it look like a shadow.

  2. Just a small amount of sharpening was added.

There is an easier way to do this type of photo.                            

If I could have used multiple photos in layers in Photoshop this process from setup, picture taking and processing plus tear down would have taken me about 3 hours.  Not the 2 days trying to do it in camera.


Camera Settings:

ISO: 100 for best resolution

Aperture: f11 for large depth of field (probably more than needed)

Shutter speed: 1/160 less than camera flash sync speed

Equipment Used:

Camera: Sony A7RM3

Lens: Sony 70 - 200 @ 200mm

Tripod and Ball Head

Radio Trigger for Strobe

Remote Shutter Release

2 Light Stands and 2 Arms to hang paper and silhouette

1 Light Stand for Studio Strobe with 7” Reflector and 10 Degree Grid

Clips to hold paper to light stand arms

Large White Paper

Black Construction Paper