The Concept
The ConceptMommy's Lingerie is an image taken last year of my favorite child model
- my 4 year old daughter, Karah. The concept originated because Karah loves
to play "dress-up". So much so, that my wife Ka'Sandra has a hard
time keeping her out of the dirty clothes hamper. Karah's assignment for
this shoot was to do what she normally does and to have fun doing it.
The background for the set was satin material. I store the material rolled
on a wooden dowel between uses to minimize the ironing necessary. Even so,
more that an hour of ironing and steaming was necessary to remove the wrinkles.
The wicker chest is a prop from Pier 1 Imports. My wife was responsible
for selecting the lingerie (clean) and other accessories.
In the case of the lighting, less is more. By design, the lighting was
simple so not to interfere with the creative effort. The set was illuminated
by a single Norman head diffused by a 78 x78 inch diffusion panel placed
at camera left. A 42 x 78 inch reflector was placed at camera right to provide
fill.
Use of the 78 x 78 inch panel as a main light source provided even illumination
of the set from corner to corner. Meter readings of the background did not
vary more than a half stop from corner to corner. An additional benefit
is that the exposure reading would not change much if Karah moved around
the set.
Large panels provide even illumination. They emit highly diffused light
with minimal fall-off when placed just outside of the camera viewing area
(remember the inverse square law). Specularity is controlled by the distance
from the subject. Want more specularity? Move it back!
Equipment:
Mamiya RZ67
180mm lens
Minolta Flash Meter IV
Davis & Sanford Airlift Tripod
Lighting:
Norman 2000 with 1 head (set at 2000 w/s)
1 - Calumet 78 x 78 inch diffusion panel
1 - Calumet 42 x 78 inch reflector panel
Film:
Kodak Lumiere 100 120mm