Fully Lit: Illuminating Dynamism in Detail

Pollution Plight Plunge

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico had just happened when I thought of the concept for this image (part of a series called “Into the Fray”), when I was feeling frustrated and upset by the destruction. I decided to work with dancers in the studio, using various materials that could simulate water, oil and petroleum products. The dancers were instructed to move while holding onto the fabrics; I wanted them to go through graceful movements, but also to play with how it might feel to struggle and be weighed down with pollution or petroleum in the water, so I asked them to feel what it might be like to suffocate. The visual results were powerful.

When thinking about water and the way light filters down from the surface, I wanted my light to wrap the subject in a similar way. I chose a medium Chimera strip box over the dancer, as well as a Broncolor Lightbar to camera left. I chose both lights, positioned slightly behind the subject to give a wrapping feeling of light, because of their softness and directness in quality. The main light was a Broncolor Hard Satellite dish—an amazing light that is extremely direct and efficient—which was placed approximately 8 feet above the floor, behind the subject, to the right of camera. I wanted to give the dancers a lot of room to move, so I kept it about 15 feet from the center of the set. All three strobes were powered by Broncolor Scoro and Grafit power plants, set to minimum flash duration. The last light was a Broncolor HMI, whose color temperature matched the strobes; I hadn’t used this light before, but I knew I wanted a continuous source that would allow a subtle amount of movement to the fabric and body. It was placed directly under the hard satellite fixture to keep the main light coming from one direction. With all the lights coming from slightly behind the dancers, I placed two white V-flat bounce boards on either side of the camera. There was just enough light bouncing around the set to give a little fill to the subject.

CAMERA: Hasselblad H2 with Phase One P30+ digital back LENS: 35mm EXPOSURE: 1/15th sec at f/8 ISO: 100 LIGHTING: Broncolor, Chimera

Luminous Leap

The elements that came together for this project (which I made in collaboration with dance company The Seldoms and stylist Maria Pinto) created the perfect storm. We chose to shoot in an empty storefront in Chicago—a large, raw, industrial space. It allowed us to have numerous backgrounds that were textural and gritty. The juxtaposition of the graceful dancers, colorful wardrobe and the raw warehouse space worked perfectly. I wanted to keep things moving fast, so I chose a simple lighting setup that could easily be moved around for quick changes.

The main overhead light was a 6-foot Octabank with a 1/2-CTB blue gel, positioned out of the frame, approximately 11 feet above the floor. The strobe head in the Octabank was connected to a Broncolor Grafit power source, set to minimum flash duration to stop the forward motion of the dancers. In addition to the Octabank, I used a small 6-inch globe with another Broncolor strobe head, about 1 foot off the floor under the camera. I kept this as an un-gelled fill light to help with the color clarity, and it was set one stop lower in power so as to only fill in the shadows and not over-light the dancers. The final light was the 2000W Arri Fresnel at the back of the frame, giving me an edge to my subject, as well as a lens flare to add dimension and interest to the photograph; it created a point from which the talent seemed to emerge, and the warm color added to the composition.

CAMERA: Hasselblad H2 with Phase One P30+ LENS: 35mm
EXPOSURE: 1/15th sec at f/10 ISO: 100 LIGHTING: Broncolor, Arri

Headphone Hustle

The concept for this one—shot for a campaign for JBL Audio Electronics with the Detroit-based ad agency, Doner—was to create a series of images showing the use of JBL’s new earbud headsets. The location was downtown L.A. on a rooftop that gave a pleasing view of the city at night, and also an illusion of a bridge or elevated walkway. We created images showing the various stages of running or jogging. Between takes, I created this portrait of one of the models, and I really like the power of the pose and direct gaze into the camera.

The main light was a 600EX-RT Canon Speedlite rigged next to the lens. I set the zoom on the strobe to twice the focal length of the lens (in this case, about 100mm) to give a bit of vignette to the subject. On camera left, I had an assistant handholding a Broncolor flash, with a 105 tough spun piece of diffusion covering the strobe to soften the light a bit. This strobe was connected to a Broncolor move pack and was set to match the power of the on-camera flash. It gives dimension to the subject and product. I use the move kit because it is battery-powered and portable, eliminating the need for a generator and cords on my set.

CAMERA: Canon 5D Mark III LENS: 24-70mm EXPOSURE: f/6.3 at 1/200th sec ISO: 800 LIGHTING: Broncolor, Canon Speedlite

Brian Kuhlmann is a portrait, lifestyle, commercial and sports photographer. To see more of his work, check out his website.

INSTAGRAM: @BKUHLPHOTO