Suggestions for Kicker/Skim Light, etc.

[Tom Swaman]

Please help me with some realistic ways of backlighting/separating dark animals from the background in studio portraiture. I am thinking of kicker lights, skim lights, etc. I need lighting that will not cause flare and please keep in mind that animals tend to move.

My normal lighting consists of a main, fill and hairlight with two lights on the background. I am truly open to suggestion including reflectors.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Tom

[Songman45]

How about these ideas:

Distance the subject far enough from the background 5 feet or so

Place the hair light behind and aimed slightly forward elevated enough as to not flare

If your background reflector is a shovel type, reverse it and keep it obscured by the subject

or remove the reflector from the background light placed behind the subject and reduce its output to taste.

Keep the tone of the background fairly even with the tone of your subject to avoid contrasty images.

I hope these are not cats. Its not uncommon to only get one shot with kitties.

Regards,
steve

[Tom Swaman]

Steve,

Many thanks for your help.

No, I am not photographing a cat, but rather a very thick-haired truly black dog with truly black, glossy eyes. I have played around enough to get good lighting except for highlighting the back so as to rim the edge of the dog for separation/highlight.

I am not using a shovel-type reflector on the backgroud. I have about 6 foot clearance between subject and background. I use either a plain background or a standard Silverlake hand-painted two-tone muslin. I light this with two lights to ensure uniform lighting. I typically use an 8" reflector with a 20 degree grid and with ND gels and a set of barndoors to control the flare for the hair light. I use a boom stand to hold the hair light and I aim this from about 3 foot above the dog and about one to two foot behind the dog.

With my seyup, what would you recommend to rim/set off the dog?

Thanks again. Have a great weekend.

Best regards,
Tom

[Mikkic]

Originally Posted by Tom Swaman

Steve,

Many thanks for your help.

No, I am not photographing a cat, but rather a very thick-haired truly black dog with truly black, glossy eyes. I have played around enough to get good lighting except for highlighting the back so as to rim the edge of the dog for separation/highlight.

I am not using a shovel-type reflector on the backgroud. I have about 6 foot clearance between subject and background. I use either a plain background or a standard Silverlake hand-painted two-tone muslin. I light this with two lights to ensure uniform lighting. I typically use an 8" reflector with a 20 degree grid and with ND gels and a set of barndoors to control the flare for the hair light. I use a boom stand to hold the hair light and I aim this from about 3 foot above the dog and about one to two foot behind the dog.

With my seyup, what would you recommend to rim/set off the dog?

Thanks again. Have a great weekend.

Best regards,
Tom

Kind of late, but thought I'd chime in...

If you direct the lighting too much, it won't be able to spread over the back of the dog...I usually place a large softbox horizontally on the side of the animal, then another in the front for the eyes...

[swampler]

What about a lighter colored background, to contrast naturally with a dark animal?

[Brooks]

A large softbox or striplight is the best choice but I'd place it overhead and a bit from the rear on a strong boom/stand.

[Songman45]

Originally Posted by Brooks

A large softbox or striplight is the best choice but I'd place it overhead and a bit from the rear on a strong boom/stand.

+1