How I Simulated Shade in the Studio

I’ve recently undertaken a new project that I’m tentatively calling On White.  It’s a series of portraits taken against a simple, plain white background.  The purpose of the project is for me to learn how to communicate with and talk to people more fluidly than I do now.  To this end I decided that all technical aspects of both the photographs and the process of making them should be as simple as possible.

I have historically shot on gray because, for one thing, it simply just appeals to me.  The second reason is that I mostly just don’t like black or white backgrounds.  Perhaps it’s because most photographs I’ve seen shot on either background are poorly executed and usually just leave me cold.  However there’s a certain aesthetic to white done well and I decided that I would use it.  White is also a wonderfully neutral stage that hast he potential to get out of the way and let personalities dominate the image. 

So that was that as far as deciding on the aesthetics of the photographs.  As for the process of making the portraits, I needed to create a situation with as few obstructions between me and the subject as possible.  Probably the key factor in the simplicity plan was getting the camera away from the front of my face.  To do this I put the camera on a tripod and I sit on a stool behind it.  Doing this keeps a clear line of sight between me and the person I’m talking to and photographing.

So for this project, ideally it would be just be the subject, my camera, and me.  But considering I would be shooting in my studio, which is at best ISO 800 during standard graylight conditions (your average Seattle day, that is), I would need to use lights.  At first I started with a 60” umbrella just above the camera.  There were two problems: 1) it created some shadows I was unhappy with, and 2) there was a huge ugly thing between the subject and me.  I went through many iterations of ideas: large diffusion panels placed on one side, then both sides of the camera.  I thought about lighting the background separately and tried to do it using one strobe, but I nixed that in favor of trying to keep everything simple.  I was kind of stumped.  I know a little bit about lighting so this was almost a masculinity challenging moment. 

After thinking about the situation a bit, I said out loud to myself “I need light to come from everywhere, like on an overcast day or in the shade.” And that was the moment it hit me:  I would see if I could turn my whole studio into a light box.  The walls are white, the ceiling is tall and white.  I had everything I needed.  All I had to do was to make light come from everywhere.  So I turned the strobes around and pointed them at the far wall, took a few test shots, and that was that.  I realized that I had simulated shade.

If you think about it for a moment and realize that shade is non-direct light that comes from everywhere then you’ll understand my madness.  And that’s really what I want you to take away from this.  I don’t want to give you a technique (i.e. turning strobes around and using the wall as bounce light).  I want to give you insight into the thought process of realizing exactly what I needed (light from everywhere) and one way to go about achieving that.

Everyone talks about simulating sunlight.  But no one talks about simulating shade.  I guess it’s all in how you think about things.

Below is the setup seen from above:

BTW, I'm looking to expand this series and am actively looking for more people to photograph.  If you or someone you know is interested, please drop me a line.  You'll get a nice image to use for whatever purpose you'd like in exchange for your time.