Cameron Cornell
4-Jan-2017, 16:39
Greetings-
I shoot portraits on an 8x10 Ansco Studio No. 5 using natural light. Cloudy bright has always been my preference, but over the summer I began making portraits at outdoor concerts and the like (shoot the portrait for free, retain the rights, and sitter can buy a print if they like it), and in Washington State that usually means shooting in full sun (our reputation for rain is built on the months Oct-Jun). A few venues have asked me to sign on as an official vendor next summer making portraits.
Here is my question:
Has anyone tried setting up an outdoor canopy tent as a skylight studio in the style of the 19th Century portrait ateliers? There is a tent with a peaked roof that measures 18x20' with a minimum height of a little under 7 feet at the sides and a maximum peak height of just over 11 feet (the King Canopy - Hercules at Home Depot). I have been brainstorming the notion of not using the white cover that comes with this tent, but instead draping materials to recreate the lighting of one of those great old portrait studios.
I'd be shooting portraits with a Wollensak Vitax 3.8 / 16" and a Voigtlander Heliar 4.5 / 14", so I could work with pretty modest light. What would be the best configuration? If the tent is running east to west, would I darken the south side facing full sun and leave the northern exposure wide open, or would it be better to use white fabric on the south side in full sun and darken the northern exposure? I know that studios often have northern exposed skylights, but I've also noticed that in many of the photographs of old portrait studios there are panels of fabric draped over the skylights that seem to be filtering full sun.
If it were cloudy bright, I'd just set up and shoot outside of the tent. Rain or high winds, I'd cancel.
Look at the following website (no affiliation) for an idea of some of the old studios I'm talking about: http://kadenca.tumblr.com/F
Obviously, what this will take is getting the actual materials and experimenting in three dimensions just like everything else. I just thought before I begin that process I'd throw it out to the forum to see if anyone has feedback, ideas, questions, or experience that could cut down my learning curve.
Thank you.
Cameron Cornell
Bellingham, WA
www.analogportraiture.com
I shoot portraits on an 8x10 Ansco Studio No. 5 using natural light. Cloudy bright has always been my preference, but over the summer I began making portraits at outdoor concerts and the like (shoot the portrait for free, retain the rights, and sitter can buy a print if they like it), and in Washington State that usually means shooting in full sun (our reputation for rain is built on the months Oct-Jun). A few venues have asked me to sign on as an official vendor next summer making portraits.
Here is my question:
Has anyone tried setting up an outdoor canopy tent as a skylight studio in the style of the 19th Century portrait ateliers? There is a tent with a peaked roof that measures 18x20' with a minimum height of a little under 7 feet at the sides and a maximum peak height of just over 11 feet (the King Canopy - Hercules at Home Depot). I have been brainstorming the notion of not using the white cover that comes with this tent, but instead draping materials to recreate the lighting of one of those great old portrait studios.
I'd be shooting portraits with a Wollensak Vitax 3.8 / 16" and a Voigtlander Heliar 4.5 / 14", so I could work with pretty modest light. What would be the best configuration? If the tent is running east to west, would I darken the south side facing full sun and leave the northern exposure wide open, or would it be better to use white fabric on the south side in full sun and darken the northern exposure? I know that studios often have northern exposed skylights, but I've also noticed that in many of the photographs of old portrait studios there are panels of fabric draped over the skylights that seem to be filtering full sun.
If it were cloudy bright, I'd just set up and shoot outside of the tent. Rain or high winds, I'd cancel.
Look at the following website (no affiliation) for an idea of some of the old studios I'm talking about: http://kadenca.tumblr.com/F
Obviously, what this will take is getting the actual materials and experimenting in three dimensions just like everything else. I just thought before I begin that process I'd throw it out to the forum to see if anyone has feedback, ideas, questions, or experience that could cut down my learning curve.
Thank you.
Cameron Cornell
Bellingham, WA
www.analogportraiture.com