Episode 7;      Lighting – Chapter 2

 

The topic of lighting the interiors and exteriors of hotels and resorts is a very large one. Every photographer does it differently, they use different equipment, and the images work out.  There really isn’t a “best” way of doing lighting, or the “best” lights to use, it all depends on your personal preferences.  What I will do here is explain how I do it in a general way.  Most of the time when I’m lighting scenes,  my decisions of what to do come from the inside, kind of like from my unconscious.  I see the scene, I know what the client is wanting, then I  just get the answers.  These answers are, most of the time, punctuated with bouts of serendipity where the sun comes out at the right time, or the stars, or a cloud when I need it.  It’s almost as if there is some one guiding me.  I know, I know, shades of  “Yoda.”

 

In the last chapter I wrote about colour temperature and how  incredibly important it is when you are shooting interiors and exteriors.  If you have a multitude of different coloured lights, the image will look horrible. I mentioned that when I encounter compact flourescents, I swap them out for regular incandescent bulbs.  So really what I try to do is make sure that all the lights in the room are of the same(or close) colour temperature. For example,  if a room has lots of windows, and daylight is streaming in, I will convert my lights to daylight colour temperature so the match the light coming in.  There are various ways of doing this

 

Photographic lighting fixtures.

 

All of use are familiar with flash on cameras.  We use flash when there isn’t enough light in the image.  We also know that this type of light is not flattering and can cause deep shadows. Professional photographers use as similar type of flash, but on a larger scale, and usually not on the camera.  They are called “strobes.”  The science behind how a flash works is to lengthy to get into here.  Basically, a glass tube is filled with argon gas, and when it gets an electrical charge, the gas produces the flash.

                         

Here is my preferred choice; the Speedotron strobe unit with fan cooled head.  Thus unit packs a punch and comes in a variety of power setting.  The flash tube shows the glass tube that contains Argon gas.  Once charged, the gas emits light in a very fast pulse. With this light in front of a reflector, it produces a powerful light for a split second.  The configuration and the quality of the light tends to be flat and mushy and very hard to control for interior photographic use.  Don't get me wrong, I have used these lights to great effect, but prefer fresnel lights.

Strobe lighting is very powerful and has been used to make some of the most incredible photographs.  Creative use of these strobe units can light almost any subject.  I personally have been using Speedotrons for many years.   They are rugged and have never failed me.  These daylight balanced lights work very effectively outdoors when I am photographing lifestyles or when I need  fill in shadows on buildings.  Many photographers use these powerful flash units when they shoot interiors. I have done this over the years and was never satisfied for one simple reason.  The light that these strobes produce is flat.  Yes you can get a nice shot using strobes for interiors, but the images looks flat.  All that you end up doing is “illuminating” the interior rather than “lighting” it.  So why is this?  Personally, I think that the main drawback with strobes is the design of the bulb and the reflector it’s in.  Once the strobe goes off,  it creates a “mushy” white light that is applied over the whole scene, thereby, flattening it.  There are all kinds of gimmicks used to prevent this, but you are still starting off with a mushy light.   Don’t get me wrong.  I love these lights, but they can’t be used for everything.  And I have been known to combine strobe lights with other types of lights when the situation called for it.

                          

This is an Arri 300 watt fresnel light. Notice the round lens that the light has to pass through.  The light can be spotted or flooded out simply by turning a knob at the back.  The barn doors are used to further modify the light.  The bulb configuration, the reflector is sits in and the lens all contribute to a very sharp and focusable light beam.

My preferred lights of choice for shooting interiors are “Fresnel” lights.  Most of us have seen these types of light used in the movie industry.  They come in all kinds of sizes and shapes.  The main difference between strobes and fresnels, is that fresnels have lens that actually shape the light. A Fresnel is a round piece of carved glass that is designed to shape the light into a narrow (spot) or a flood (wide one) pattern.  The light is actually harder and can be manipulated and shaped via the use of barn-doors.  Fresnel light is crisper and you can spot and widen the beam when you choose.  So with a few of these lights, you can create a very romantic feel in the room. The barn doors can be used to shape the light even further.  So in essence, you have way more control of light emanating from fresnels than you do with strobes.

 

In this guestroom, I have deployed 10 individual 300 watt fresnel lens with varying degrees of manipulation.  You would not believe this just by looking at the shot, but it's true.  The room has a very romantic feel to it.  The use of pools of light  leads your eyes into the shot.

The main source of light here was mainly from the windows.  I use some strobe lighting as fill light only.  This is a nice shot that shows what flat lighting looks like.  Sometimes flat lighting can be used to great effect.

This shot of a resort exterior shows the use of multiple fresnel lights set up in varying degrees of spot and flood.

Fresnel lights are usually rated at 3200 degrees Kelvin.  This is normally interior lighting temperature without daylight coming in from the outside. They can be adjusted to match most colour temperatures via the use of colour conversion gels.  If you want to soften the light they you can put soft-diffusion material over the lens.  Fresnels are extremely versatile. The great thing about Arri(and other makes) fresnels, is that I can use them anywhere in the world. All that has to be done is to change the bulbs(from 120 to 200 volts) and get the particular electrical plug for that country.  I love these guys.