FULLY LIT

VISION OF YOUTH THREE APPROACHES TO CUEING UP INTENTIONAL, ARTISTIC LIGHTING IN KIDS PHOTOGRAPHY.

BY KELLIE BIESER

The Sparkler

PHOTOS AND DIAGRAMS © SHUTTER & GLASS PHOTOGRAPHY

The real reason I first picked up a camera? I had five kids at home who I thought were the most adorable humans to ever grace planet Earth. That’s oftentimes the reason I still pick up my camera today. And even though my kids are now eye-rolling teenagers, moody tweens and ornery preschoolers, so much of what I do with photography and lighting has to meet the needs of my role as the historian of my family.

The first criteria is that my setup is light, portable and intuitive. The second criteria is that the choices I make with my light and camera speak to the emotions behind the moments I am capturing.

In this photograph of my youngest enjoying the wonder of his first sparkler, I wanted to use the light to isolate him in the busy scene of our cookout and make it look as though the sparkler, rather than an off-camera flash, was illuminating his face. I had a friend hold the Profoto A1X at camera right and aim it straight at his face. By underexposing the scene in-camera and using the power of the flash to properly expose my subject, I was able to eliminate any potential environmental distractions and make it seem as though my little guy was the center of the universe with his prized sparkler.

CAMERA: Nikon D850 LENS: NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4 EXPOSURE: f/4 at 1/160 sec. ISO: 500 LIGHTING: Profoto A1 and Air TTL remote

The Painting

PHOTOS AND DIAGRAMS © SHUTTER & GLASS PHOTOGRAPHY

I was a history major in school with a special focus on cultural and visual history, which is just a fancy way of saying that I like old stories and art.

In interpreting Johannes Vermeer’s famed painting Girl with a Pearl Earring, I knew that more than anything, the light would be the key. Vermeer and his contemporaries were known for their use of light in portraiture—and I didn’t want to do them wrong.

To recreate the soft yet dramatic light, I used a Profoto B10 with a Profoto OCF Beauty Dish and a diffuser at camera left. I bounced a Profoto A1X into a white V-Flat to fi ll the shadows just a touch, without losing the drama that I so love in the original artwork.

As I dialed in my lighting setup, I was looking to see not only the quality of the shadows that add so much atmosphere and mystery to the subject’s sideways gaze, but also that perfect little glint of light on her earring that gives it a starring role in the title of the painting.

Artists of the past, long before photography was even a craft, used and shaped light masterfully, and it is so much fun to be inspired by them in my work.

CAMERA: Nikon D850 LENS: NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4 EXPOSURE: f/7.1 at 1/200 sec. ISO: 100 LIGHTING: Profoto B10, OCF silver-lined beauty dish, A1X and Air TTL remote

The Experiment

PHOTOS AND DIAGRAMS © SHUTTER & GLASS PHOTOGRAPHY

As a working photographer who has to meet the needs and desires of my clients, I have to be intentional in carving out time to experiment. It’s in these moments of leaving my comfort zone and trying new things that I see the most growth in my photography.

Recently, I had the chance to spend a week experimenting with a bunch of incredibly skilled photographers, and I was in heaven! We each took turns developing a vision and then working together to make that vision happen.

In this scenario, I wanted to utilize a discarded fan to create movement in the subject’s hair. I had an assistant hand-hold a Profoto A1X on the other side of the fan as it spun.

Depending on where the blades were in their rotation, we found varying degrees of success. When I saw this photo on the back of my camera, I knew we had nailed it. The fan blades created a lined pattern on her face that looked like blinds or bars on a window. Combined with the drama of the darkened room, her serene expression and the movement of her hair, it gave the impression of a woman so close to freedom.

We were just in a hotel meeting room with a fan, but that’s the power of photography: When we open ourselves up to using our cameras for more than just pictures, we can create images that tell stories.

Kellie Bieser, of Shutter & Glass Photography, is a child and family photographer in Columbus, Ohio. Don’t miss her WPPI class, “Light and Emotion: Utilizing Technical Concepts for Greater Emotional Impact in Your Photos” at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Tuesday, February 26, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.

CAMERA: Nikon D850 LENS: NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4 EXPOSURE: f/8 at 1/200 sec. ISO: 125 LIGHTING: Profoto A1 and Air TTL remote