Warning : this picture changes dramatically if you view it against a black background, at night, with no lights on !

I know, you must be thinking now that I am a bit crazy�. but it's true:  the lighting in this picture is so subtle, that any ambient light reflecting on the screen of your computer takes away from it ( even the light from the screen itself ).

Try opening another window and view it on the Portfolio page, which has a ( almost ) black background; much better, isn't it?

I love the mood of this image, I think it's quite intimate ; and it's because of the lighting - and in part because of the " rustic " / " homely " look of the props used.

I have made a lighting diagram that shows exactly how I worked my light source to create the dramatic mood of the image:



You can see that I only have one light source, the stripbox, coming from camera left; and then I used a couple of mirrors ( pretty small ones that you can buy in craft shops) to fill some shadows and to create a rim light on the cork screwer.

That's it, pretty straight forward; but there is an important concept to be understood here, and it's the concept of feathering the light : there is a gradual fall off of intensity toward the edges with any lightsource. To feather a light, instead of just aiming the center of the light at the subject, basically means to just " graze " the subject with it; case in point, the stripbox is at table level ( very low ) and it's aiming pretty high at the wall in front ( camera right ) , approximately at 60º angle.

The long shadow on the right side of the cork gives away the low position of the light source. And you can note how the left hand side of the frame is pretty dark too: there is no much light falling there.

I am one of those photographers thinking that, sometimes, less ( light ) is moreâ?¦. and you?

Dario Milano, professional food photographer , Sydney.

Posted in Food, Photography, techniques

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