Portrait Studio Wall Color - Page 3

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-20-2005, 05:34 PM

After rereading through some of the very helpful threads on this forum, I have found a couple of bulbs I'm going to try on the site www.1000bulbs.com, a website that Chris Saper wrote about in a post. But I have a couple of questions and it's Sunday so I'll call tomorrow, get my questions answered and then order them. I'll report back when I get them.

Joan

Richard Monro · 11-20-2005, 06:50 PM

Joan,
The 1000bulb site 23 watt bulbs are only 2700K and will be very biased to the red. I would recommend 5500K fullspectrum bulbs from Sunwave which have a CRI of 93. I use 4 of these bulbs in my overhead fan light for when I want a lot of light in the studio. Two or three would probably all you would need for your work.

Cheryl Ellicott · 11-20-2005, 09:48 PM

Hello

This is a very enlightening thread, but I'm confused. Previously I had thought I needed a well-lit painting room, with the most north light possible. So I've situated my studio in a bright, north-facing room with a high value (slightly greenish) color on the walls and white on the ceiling to reflect the most light onto my work.

Now I read that a very low value room works better. Obviously the photograph looks incredible and I assume the model would be in a perfect setting for life-work with that color wall behind them, but if the whole room is this dark value, doesn't that affect your perception of the colors you're working with? I realize you're all using some artificial lighting to make up for this.
Sorry. I'm confused.

Would it not work just as well if the room were well lit, north facing, and just the back drop behind the model were the dark value? I'm certainly not arguing with your methods, just trying to understand how and why it works.

Thank you.

Cheryl

William Whitaker · 11-20-2005, 10:51 PM

Cheryl,

You will either have to come to one of my workshops or experiment on your own to see what it is like.

Remember that what we do is paint the light on a subject, not the subject itself. To see the light, we must have shadows. The only tools you have are colors and values. Our paints are limited in range. Therefore for something to look light, it has to be against a dark. Check out the portraits by the best old masters -- and current masters.

If you want to experiment, block out most of your north windows, starting at the bottom and working to the top. All you really need is a window opening as small as 3x4 feet and usually no bigger than 4x6 feet. All the other light must be blocked off completely. Then place a backdrop behind your subject and wrapping around it slightly like a trifold screen. This backdrop can be as simple as sheets of cardboard and should be covered with a mid to dark greyish cloth or paint such as the color of my studio walls. Move your subject around until you find the magic sweet spot where the forms really glow. It's magic.

Do this right, and your subject will have plenty of light on it, right up to pure white highlights. It will have lovely shadows too.

It looks like I will have to make a DVD on this. Either that, or you will have to come visit my studio.

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-20-2005, 11:26 PM

Hi Richard,

Thank you for all your help with this. On that website they advertise a 42 watt full spectrum screw-in bulb. The site says it's 5100 Kelvin. It also says
"Incandescent Comparison = 150 Watts
Color or Hue = Stark White with Blue Tint "
which sounds pretty good. Are you saying it's not really 5100 Kelvin? They advertise their 23 and 27 watt bulbs as 5100 Kelvin too. Now I'm confused. What do you think?

Oh, I was going to order one of the 42 watt bulbs and one of the 27 watt bulbs, but on the photo of the bulbs I'm not sure it's a standard screw-in neck, that's what I wanted to check. I want to be able to screw it into my light stand.

I pretty much have the situation Bill is describing for taking photos and painting at home. I supplement the north light with my 'weak' bulb and I am happy with the results. I usually don't attempt to paint after dark, though sometimes I just can't leave a painting alone and I make minor adjustments. What I'm looking for is a set-up that I can bring to someone's home. Maybe this isn't the smartest thing to attempt. When someone says "would you paint my son?", I would prefer to go to their house, just because my studio is not very professional looking. And I don't want relative strangers going through our masterbedroom on the way to my studio space. I can drag my big painted foamcore backdrops to a model's home without any problem. I do realize it's more challenging to attempt this at someone else's home because there are many variables: reflections, availability of north light, no north light, and many more I'm sure I can't even think of.

I guess one option is just to decorate the masterbedroom and get over it! Or . . . . find a spot downstairs where I can successfully take photos. But I still need a decent light. I'm beginning to think the White Lightning idea might be the easiest and most consistent. I can put that on my list for Santa!

Joan

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-21-2005, 12:01 AM

I posted some examples of my sad reference photography using a weak flourescent bulb and then natural light here:

http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...7433#post57433

thanks,

Joan

Cheryl Ellicott · 11-21-2005, 12:20 AM

William,

Thank you for the reply.

I understand how this would be incredible lighting for the model. Sorry if I wasn't clear at first.

I was confused as to whether the entire room needed to be this dark, or just the area or corner where the model poses.
Your canvas shouldn't sit in a well-lit area of the room?

I believe from your explanation that yes, the entire room would be rather dark. This explains the need for supplemental lighting on the canvas.

I still think my perception of colors would be distorted.
I guess I'll just have to try it!
Some day, when I'm doing a portrait other than my usual posthumous. Or when I can get a similar model to pose for reference shots.

And if you live nearby I'll be coming to see your studio.

Thank you.

Cheryl

Richard Monro · 11-21-2005, 03:17 PM

Joan,
We were looking at two different pages on the 1000bulbs site. I found the page you referenced and yes those bulbs will work for you at 5100K. A single 42 watter will throw plenty of light if a reflector is used. I suspect the problems with your reference photos are with the settup of the camera....shutter speed may be too fast, f-stop too low, iso number too low. Hope this helps.

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-22-2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Monro

Joan,
I suspect the problems with your reference photos are with the settup of the camera....shutter speed may be too fast, f-stop too low, iso number too low. Hope this helps.

Hi Richard,

I think you must be right. I need to spend some time over the Thanksgiving holidays reading my camera manual. I usually take lots and lots of photos and usually end up with some good ones, only having a vague idea why they turned out well.

I'll order one of those light that seems like it would be strong enough. I'll let you know, hopefully by way of a nice reference photo!

thanks again,

Joan

Michele Rushworth · 11-22-2005, 12:30 PM

Quote:

I usually take lots and lots of photos and usually end up with some good ones, only having a vague idea why they turned out well.

When I'm trying out a new camera or a new setting I make a list with the number of the shot I just took and a description beside that of what I did: "Used Incandescent table lamp light, White Balance set to Tungsten, model was sitting 10 feet from light," for example. Then I change one variable for the next shot: "Same setup, White Balance set to Indoor" or whatever.