Page 25 - The Color Issue

When it comes to lighting I like to take a very open minded “grit, spit and duct tape” approach. This creative, organic, and sometimes janky, method was developed through many years of making due with the resources available to me.
Most of my experience has been in the context of theatrical lighting at Eastside Theater Company, a local non profit performing arts company. When working with a low (or sometimes non existent) budget, one has to really push themselves to think outside the box to achieve their desired effect.
I had the opportunity to put my methods to use in Synergy Design Firm’s recent collaborative photoshoot with Popina Swimwear. Synergy’s artistic objective with this shoot was to create an underwater environment. Just as Synergy’s creative team got innovative with their available resources to create the physical aspect, I had to find a way, through light, to create the illusion of the entire set being inside of a fish tank.
So how does one create water... with light?
A “wash” is a general “fill” of light and color evenly across a subject through the use of lighting fixtures, and colored using colored lighting gels. It’s also known as a Fill
“WHEN IT COMES TO LIGHTING, I LIKE TO TAKE A VERY OPEN MINDED ‘GRIT, SPIT AND DUCT TAPE’ APPROACH.“
Ah projections!” I thought to myself.
So of course I went straight to google and searched for “water reflections”, found the closest thing I could to my vision, and spent a little time getting it dialed to perfection through a bit of editing. While troubleshooting this projection method, I grabbed two lights and a fog machine I had on hand and put it all together in my own room. I then sent Amee (who was skeptical about the idea of using a projector) a few test shots, to which she responded...
“Fan-freaking-tastic!”
I had to get a bit creative for the final studio setup. We were operating in a relatively small space, with limited ceiling height. This made displaying the projection onto the models no easy task. I realized that in this space I would not be able to get the projector far enough away to fill the whole frame. To get past this hiccup I stood the projector on its side on top of a step ladder, and secured
it with a tie down strap. (Grit, spit and duct tape.) The rest of the lights used for this shoot were RGB LED wash lights that we found on Amazon in a set of 2. I used 5 of these lights to create an underwater color palette, and one warm white light on a stand, which I moved around throughout the shoot to accent faces, props, and of course, the Popina swimsuits.
Now... You may think to yourself, as I have many times, “I don’t know how” or “I don’t have a big enough budget to get the look right.” But I believe with a good vision, lots of tenacity, and a willingness to try things that are outside the box you can make any kind of scene look stunning through the magic of light.
Now go out there and get “lit”.
- Isaiah Johnson
test SHOT SENT TO AMEE
AMAZON WASH LIGHT