Kimberly

[Mike Dodson]

I took this photo of my niece last night. The inspiration for this type of lighting came as a result of studying some of Henry Raeburn's work recently. I wanted to do a painting with strong lighting against a dark back-ground. What do you think?

[Marvin Mattelson]

Hi Mike.

Very interesting. beautiful color and clarity. What camera did you use and what type of light?

However, I think that if you are trying to emulate Raeburn you might want to rethink a few points. The shadows are too dark. Remember the Raeburns you see reproduced are far more contrasty than the originals due to the photo process. I have seen many originals so please take my word.

Secondly, he never would have the nose shadow so extended as to touch the cheek (and never the upper lip either). Very unflattering in the case of a young girl. In fact he often had the shadow plane on the side of the face turned away from the viewer.

See some examples below.

[Mike Dodson]

Marvin,

Thanks so much for the response. The camera I use is an Olympus C-4000 4.0 mega-pixel. The lighting I used is a single fluorescent screw in type bulb. I used a reflector on the shadow side but didn't light the shadow side quiet as much as I desired. I may try some things in photoshop to see if it can be improved.

Thanks for the Raeburn references. We have one here in Birmingham that is simply stunning. The soft, glowing effect his paintings have are quite breath-taking.The shadow side on the painting is quite dark but not as dark as I have here. The point you make concerning the nose is a good one and one that didn't catch my eye. I may try shooting another photo and see if I can lighten those shadows a bit. I may also try the lighting from the opposite side and throw that shadow back the opposite direction as you have mentioned.

[Linda Brandon]

Mike and Marvin, I will be watching this thread carefully, as I am also a big Raeburn fan and have played around with his lighting setups.

Mike, please ask your gorgeous niece to lose the t-shirt and find something with a wonderful neckline, scoop or v-neck, that will reflect skin (or fabric) color up under her chin. As long as you're doing this exercise, make this a fabulous painting where you can show off your talent to its utmost.

[Mike Dodson]

Thanks for the input Linda. I'm going to photograph her again this week-end. We will certainly work with different clothing to see what looks best.

[Mike Dodson]

My gracious model came by for another photo shoot. Here are the latest:

[Marvin Mattelson]

Mike, much better, and I think this would make a fine painting.

However, now the shadows are too light for Raeburnesque values. The fill light is too powerful and/or too close.

In the same vein, he wouldn't have the shadow cast by the nose intersect the head's side plane shadow.

[Mike McCarty]

Hi Mike,

I'm a fan of the second one.

Certain little things catch my eye, and it might just be me so disregard if they don't strike you the same way. I rounded off her closest shoulder just a bit. On the bottom right I shaved an inch or so off her blouse, and more less completed the "V" neck. She looks a little thinner and streamlined to me. Small matters.

[Mike Dodson]

Marvin,

Thanks again for the response.

I think the shadows on this photo may be a little closer to the first Raeburn painting you posted. I think I can darken the shadows a bit once I get into the painting. I think I should be able to shorten the cast shadow off the nose also. I really am going for that soft edge, glowing effect of Raeburn's. I am going back to the museum in a few hours to study and take a few photo's of the Raeburn painting here in Birmingham.

As far as the two photo's, I must now decide which one to use. I'm leaning toward #1 due to the face being brighter on the lighted side. I let to get some input as to preference.

[Mike Dodson]

Mike,

I like the modifications you made. Those subtle changes make a powerful impact on the overall composition. Now I'm totally undecided!