- Back lit
- Natural Light
- Window Light
- Window
- Sitting
- Rule of thirds
- Rim Light
- off center
- Natural
- calm
- Moody
- Leading lines
- Indoor
- Harsh Light
- full body
- Dark
- window sill
The story behind the image
We quite often aim for a chiaroscuro look with our internal portraits, so we were paying attention to how the light spills over the body, and the contrasts and micro-silhouettes created between the highlights and shadow. It’s not an easy technique to master, or specifically, to process well, especially if the light source is too strong.
We knew the space in which we were working was very dark, so the potential for a strong contrast between light and dark was a little bit of a worry. However, we were very happy when we captured the first few frames using this window as a light source, as we knew we’d be able to make it work nicely.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had asked the bride to just lean against the wall, next to the window, and feel the light on her face. Then just to relax into the moment. We kept communicating with the bride, give her lots of positive affirmation about how beautiful and soft the light was and how atmospheric the shot was looking.
What did you say?
“Please just gently lean against the wall to the right of the window and look towards the mirror” [there was a mirror opposite the bride, situated within a tiny alcove]
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
We positioned the bride in a portrait orientation, as this allowed us to capture her full body length. She was positioned just to the right of centre, vertically, however, the edge of the wall that formed the right edge of the window bay ran along the right-hand vertical third of the image. This created a compositional bridge between the right of centre and right-third, which just sort of worked. The window occupied the top left quadrant of the image, which actually wasn’t ideal, but we felt that we needed to see the whole window, rather the crop part of it out.
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
For this image we had actually focussed on the bouquet, as we loved the way the individual flowers were being picked out in the light. But we also loved the serenity on the bride’s face, to which a very slight soft focus added value.
Focus Mode
Continuous Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
bride's bouquet
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/250 @ f/2.0 ISO640 WB-Auto
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
Light & Weather
We worked primarily with natural light, though some artificial lamps were also on within the room, which added a little warmth to the dress, though the natural light was vastly the stronger light source. We were, in essence, backlighting the bride.
We enjoy playing with chiaroscuro in our internal portraits, which helps create a sense of tonal depth, so we are looking at how the slight spills over the body, and the contrasts and micro-silhouettes created between the highlights and shadow. We shot a series of images using this lighting, but from different angles.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Indoor
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
We used our own Lightroom preset that we designed for use primarily in interior settings. This has relatively muted tones. It also uses a relatively shallow tone curve, raised blacks and low contrast to keep elements within the image quite soft.
We used an inverted radial gradient mask centred on the upper body of the bride to drop the surrounding exposure by two stops, adding emphasis to the bride. We also used a linear gradient vertically on the right third of the images as that wall was catching some annoying orange light from a lamp elsewhere, so we used this mask to reduce the temperature to the same temperature as the rest of the image. There was also a rather brighter highlight patch on the bride’s right shoulder which we also reduced using a radial gradient mask.
Following export from Lightroom, we took the image into Alien Skin Exposure and used the IR tool to add a little additional halation to the light, primarily to diffuse the window itself, as we didn’t find that a particularly attractive window itself. It also softened up some of the contrast between light and dark on the bride’s face.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
The Caryls - Interior
Challenges
We were essentially shooting in a very dark interior space! So light (or lack of) was the main challenge.
Solutions
The dark backdrop of the castle interior really lend itself to the evocative chiaroscuro style or portraiture that we really love. So we just positioned the bride in the best window light available and ran with it!
Location
Location Name
Kilmartin Castle, Argyllshire
Location aDDRESS
Kilmartin Castle, Kilmartin, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RQ
Loation Type
Castle
Country
United Kingdom
The key to creating this sort of look is really being able to control the light. It would be pretty much impossible to achieve this shot in a light, bright (lots of windows) interior space. So if you’re looking to create this sort of chiaroscuro portrait, look around the venue for the room that allows you to create a dark space (perhaps by closing all curtains, blinds or shutters) and position your subject in a soft pool of light that you can control…and work from there!
