Lynne: A Portfolio of Images

Lynne is a figure skater and coach. I met her in 2000 but it wasn始t until 2006 that I had the opportunity to shoot with her.

These images are the result of many shoots through the spring, summer and fall of 2006.

Don Giannatti www.dongiannatti.com

Left: Studio shot with umbrellas. Main and hair light. White 54” umbrella for main, and zebra umbrella for back light. Canvas background. medium zoom lens at f8.

Right: 80-200mm Canon lens at f8. Very large softbox to camera right, fill card close to Lynne on camera left. Bottom fill is placed very close below neck. This gives maximum fill from one light.

Left: Shade light on east side of building. Fill is from a large building behind me and in front of Lynne.

80-200mm Canon lens at 100mm, f2.8. I liked how the muted colors around her made the red shoes and top seem to ʻpopʼ.

Right: Lingerie shoot in studio. 35-105 Canon zoom at 80mm. F8, studio strobes, 2 umbrellas; 54” main white and 36” zebra hair / backlight.

Shade light on east side of building. Fill light is from a large building behind me and in front of Lynne.

80-200mm Canon lens at 100mm, f2.8. Shade with fill from building in front of Lynne.

Shade on north side of building, fill from buildings behnd me. Additional fill from small white fill board to camera right. Canon 80-200mm zoom at 150mm, f2.8.

Left and right: Shade on east side of Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix. Fill is from open sky and some reflected buildings. Contrast added in post processing. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8.

Image on right was turned to sepia in post processing.

Left: Bright patch of reflected light made Lynee stand out. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8. I look for areas like this, with somethng the model can interact with, long depth behind her and some reflected light.

Left: Lynne is standing in the dappled sunlight within a curved wall area. Light is bouncing everywhere and care was made to make sure her face didnʼt have any dappled light on it. Exposure for shade.

Right: Shade on east side of Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix. Fill is from open sky and some reflected buildings. Contrast added in post. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8.

Studio: single large softbox to camera right, only a little fill from cards on camera left. A 35-105 Canon zoom at f8 was used to make composition easier.

Studio: Single large softbox placed high above Lynne. I am standing on top of a small box and shooting down with 35-80mm Canon zoom at about 50mm, f8. Care in placing the light to allow the fall off in back as well as providing a smooth light for the skin. Small fill card below her face to keep the contrast under control in the dark side of the face.

Left: Lynne is sitting on a bench with lots of natural fill, and a bit of dappled direct sun coming through a tree above her. I am standing upon a wall and shooting with an 80-200mm Canon lens at about 180mm, f2.8 Right: 35-105mm Canon lens at f8. Very large softbox to camera right, fill card very close to Lynne on camera left, and a bright zebra umbrella to camera right, behind and above her.

With a large softbox to camera right. Very large V-Card (white) for fill and a silver umbrella carefully placed above Lynne, slightly to the back of her and dialed to match the main light. This seperates her from the background very well, and still gives the feeling of directional light.

Beauty light: Large softbox very close to Lynne on camera right, V-Card very close to Lynne on camera left, and a bright fill card on the table in front of her. All cards are tuned to cast maximum fill on her face. This total fill results in beautiful skin tones, and whites that aren始t blown out. Canon 100mm at f8.

Large softbox with only a little fill. Careful use of bright fill cards to keep seperation from the background. Shot on left is same light as right, I just changed position so the light was nearly next to me as I shot the image

Left: Shade and natural fill from bright buildings. Small, directional fill card added for a little punch.

Canon 100mm, f2.8.

Right: Backlit with sun, Lynne is front lit by bright buildings and natural fill in front of her (to my back).

Canon 80-200mm at 200mm for maximum seperation and limited depth of field. Additional lens shading needed to prevent flare.

Left: Lingerie in studio. Very large softbox with small zebra for hair / back light. Back light and main light are set to 1/2 stop less on back than front. Canon 35-80mm, f8.

Right: Lynne is standing in a bit of backlight. Fill is coming from a very bright building in front of her and in back of me. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f4. Additional scrims were needed to prevent flare.

Great old building in downtown Phoenix offered this grape colored door. Lynne is in diffused, direct sunlight (high cloud) and additional fill is added with shiny card to her front. I am across the street, shooting with a Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8. As you can see, I prefer very shallow depth of field, even when shooting something like this which is on a single plane.

Left: Very large softbox to camera right, V-Card (white) to camera left. Fill card is placed farther back to allow for more contrast and drama in the shadows. Canon 35-105mm, 50mm, f8.

Right: Beauty shot with large softbox, very close V-Card fill and below face fill. Keeping the fill in close creates a softer, gentler light. Also, keeping the model to the back edge of the softbox lets the light wrap around the her and provide a natural looking fill for smooth contrast.

Left: Direct sun, no additional fill. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8.

Right: Using the V-Card as the background and fill, the large box light is moved in very close for a single light source with soft, yet directional light.

Both shots taken in direct, late day sunlight. Clouds moving in and out presented lighting challenges, but the look of the direct light seemed perfect for these shots. 80-200mm Canon at 100-120mm, f2.8.

Northlight headshot. No additional fill added, just the natural fill from open sky and large, cream colored building behind me. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8. Tight crop makes for intensity in the pose and the loose strand of hair gives the image a bit of sexiness.

Left: Direct sunlight, Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f2.8.

Right: A large V-Card was used for background and fill. Lynne is very close to the background, and the softbox is brought in extremely tight. This gives a soft, yet directional light.

Left: Open shade, natural fill. No added light or fills. Canon 80-200mm at 140mm, f2.8.

Right: A V-Card is used for background and fill. The main light is a large softbox in very close.

Additional fill is added toward front on camera left. Lynne is awash in soft, directional light.

Large softbox to camera right. Fill cards set at a point to allow fill at 1/2 stop less than main.

Hairlight is medium white umbrella, behind and above and set to equal main light. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f8.

Left: Open shade with natural fill. Large cream colored buildings behind me. No additional light modifications. Canon 80-200mm at 140mm, f2.8.

Right: Full directional sun, natural fill and no modifiers. Canon 80-200mm at 200mm, f4.

Taken at a workshop, the lighting was a single Pan light with modifiers and Gobos to keep the light directed toward Lynne. We added no additional fill so the fall-off would be dramatic. Keeping her face to the light, she worked with the pose to keep it somewhat moody, mysterious and sexy.

All images in this book were produced with a Canon 10D and Canon lenses. My lenses are 21-35 f2.8, 50mm 1.4, 35-105 f4, 100mm Macro f2.8, and an 80-200mm f2.8.

When on location I use natural light as much as possible, adding modifiers when it makes sense. In studio equipment includes large 4ʼx6ʼ softbox, 54” and smaller umbrellas, a zebra umbrella (alternating white and silver) and lots of fill cards, both silver and white. Strobes are Profoto and Norman.