The other day I experimented with some lighting setups for studio photography. I got the impulse from a CD that comes along with the Elinchrom lighting equipment, in my case Elinchrom D-Lite 4.

The CD includes two explanatory videos, where a photographer shows in a very simple way various setups which are possible with the two Elinchrom lights as well as some reflectors. The delivery was very good as the guy suggested precise measurements for F-stops, time values, distances from light sources to subject (literally in centimetres) and settings for the light sources themselves, and then showed the results that come out of each specific setup.

It was fun applying this info in practice and as I went along, I noted some tips for myself while experimenting. In this case I didn’t have a model, so I photographed myself.
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Watched Visual Acoustics, a wonderful documentary about Julius Shulman (1910-2009), one of the greatest architectural photographers. Even approaching his 100th birthday, he remained amazingly witty and agile (and opinionated). His most famous photographs are of modernist buildings, which he helped the whole world to discover.

I was particularly interested in the way he systematically used the perspective to draw the viewer in. It was in contrast to other architecture photographers, who would often play on emphasising elements of buildings to create a sense of symmetry or to highlight a detail. Shulman, on the other hand, systematically went for these lines gathering from the edges towards some point in the middle square of the photograph. This gave his photos a strong sense of dimension.

Another fascinating aspect was the meticulousness with which he would construct each scene. He would move each object and item of furniture literally by a couple of inches to create the exact effect he desired.

Now I so want to visit Los Angeles, to see these fairytale buildings in its eternal summer.