A lot of the time when we look at a well executed image we think about how it was lit. And a lot of times, the strobes and softboxes and other light modifiers photographers use have a huge impact on the final photo.
But sometimes having a good natural light source and a good understanding of light is all you need.
I saw this photograph by photographer Maxim Guselnikov and was surprised to learn it was all natural light.
Maxim told DIYP how the photo was made:
Here`s breakdown of shoot I did back in May. It was 100% improvised because of the rain so outdoor shoot became indoor one. I use available natural light most of the time so this one is a good example of how you can use available natural light even indoors in impromptu situation.
This one was quite easy thanks to huge, I mean HUGE windows of bookstore in St Petersburg. I tried a few different angles and then finished by placing my model against the window to make her perfectly lit by soft window light. I used Sigma 35/1.4 there and it helped a lot to nail that perspective. Bookshelves lines created great leading lines to Brina while having them as a symbolic wings (which reminds us of the times when books gave our fantasy wings).
So it is a one light setup with a large 5x5m window as a main light at photographers back (my back). You can see the place in additional images.
NIKON D750, Sigma 35mm Art. 35mm ƒ/1.4, 1/250s @ ISO 200
The photo was processed in Lr, ON1 Effects & PS, but really kept to a minimum, here a quick before/after comparison:
To help you get the setup, I threw in a selfie which model, me & MUA made there with the same “setup”
If you want to follow Maxim’s work you can follow him on Facebook, visit his site or follow his 500px stream.
Great pictures, thanks.
Is there any information on his gear / EXIF data for the above pictures ?
So, there were no reflectors etc, just the window as a main light?
Right
What a beautiful face…
which PP to make skin smoother & lighter ?
My guess would be that he used the frequency separation technique for smoothing the skin (google it if you’re unfamiliar) and desaturation of the oranges (or skin tones anyway) to lighten the skin.
Yeah but which did he use to make her chest larger?
I assume just the lens distortion slider in LR, I use this a bit to emphasise the centre of a wide angle image like this otherwise the subject can seem to fall back into the image.
Me too) A little bit of liquifying was involved anyway.
No frequency separation or desaturation of oranges involved. A little bit of DnB and apply image via blue channel
Indirect light with a big window. Something everybody should utilize when they can.