Rineke Dijkstra strobes

[Frank Petronio]

In the day we used Polaroid - err Fuji Instant - to really know what's going on. With DSLRs we don't waste as many....

[Jamie123]

From a purely technical standpoint this is quite a simple setup and shouldn't be too hard to replicate. One proper strobe with an umbrella is all you need.

Contrary to what others here suggested I say why not just try the real thing from the get go. The most challenging part about replicating this portrait is finding a beach and a person to photograph. I suppose you've figured that out already so I'll skip to the technical part.
Here's what you need:
- ISO100 film and maybe some Fuji FP100C instant film.
- A light meter that can be used as a flash meter.
- A proper strobe head with a portable generator (let's say at least 1200J) and an umbrella (a softbox or octabox will also do). RENT a good one. I suggest Profoto or Broncolor. Once you've used a good one you can then decide where you want to cut corners when you buy.

Here's what you do:
Go to your location and decide where you want to place your 'model'. Meter the daylight. What you want to do, as has been explained already, is underexpose the background. So if the meter reads 250th @f11 and you want to underxpose one stop you will either have to set the shutterspeed to 500th or the f-stop to 16. Once you have done this, take a polaroid. Is background dark enough for your liking? If yes, good, if not, change your settings accordingly.
Once you have the exposure settings for the background set you will want to set up the strobe with the umbrella. Where exactly you want to set the strobe stand will depend on the light fallof you want. I'd start with a distance of around 2 meters away(maybe closer) from the subject, camera right and not too high up (maybe subject's eye-level).
Now turn on the flash and meter it at the subjects position until the meter reads the f-stop you have your camera set at. Now you're pretty much set. Take another polaroid, this time with the subject in place, and see if you like the quality of light. If you don't, move around the strobe until you do and ajdust the strobe light intensity accordingly.

Anyways, it should be very much doable and if you try to do it right from the start you'll at least have fun with it. It will cost you a bit of money for film and rental but not a fortune. Also, if you take a look at Dijkstra's series you will see that she's not terribly concerned with perfect consistency in lighting between shots (which would be hard anyways with changing sunlight).

PS: The reason I recommend high-end brand strobes is that, at least where I live, the difference in rental costs for a single light doesn't vary that much between the really good ones and the mediocre ones. Maybe $20 variation at most which isn't that big a deal if you only need one light.

[Jamie123]

But there are two very big gotchas. First, make sure you subtract bellows compensation from the DSLR's ISO.

Hmm...is bellows compensation really an issue at body length portrait distances?

[Frank Petronio]

i hope not, I've forgotten to do it for 28 years....

[Ben Syverson]

Not as big a deal with full length portraits, but I still add a stop for good measure...

[Fred L]

Although it works better with stationary subjects/ objects, if you're underpowered, you could always give it multiple pops as needed. If you have a quick recycling head, it *might* work with a live subject if they could keep still. I'd go for more power myself though and probably a box instead of an umbrella, personal pref.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Although it works better with stationary subjects/ objects, if you're underpowered, you could always give it multiple pops as needed. If you have a quick recycling head, it *might* work with a live subject if they could keep still. I'd go for more power myself though and probably a box instead of an umbrella, personal pref.

You get really weird results doing this, especially if you tell them not to change their expression. It seems that people are unable to produce the same expression twice.

[Noah A]

...

Contrary to what others here suggested I say why not just try the real thing from the get go. ...

Yeah, in case I wasn't clear that's what I would do as well. For my studio classes in school we were given sample photos and we had to figure out the light and reproduce it as closely as possible. These were complex multi-strobe setups without digital or polaroid. We had one shot with 4x5 Ektachrome and one chance to get it right, or as close as possible.

This setup is simple. Well the lighting and technique are simple. I think once you get the technique down, which should take all of five minutes, you'll figure out that there is a lot more to these portraits than the technique.

[Fred L]

You get really weird results doing this, especially if you tell them not to change their expression. It seems that people are unable to produce the same expression twice.

Indeed, nothing like weird eyes etc. For table top or studio product work, easy peasy. Hell, one could (light) paint a stationary object in a studio if one wanted to try something different

[Roger Vadim]

From a purely technical standpoint this is quite a simple setup and shouldn't be too hard to replicate. One proper strobe with an umbrella is all you need.

Contrary to what others here suggested I say why not just try the real thing from the get go. The most challenging part about replicating this portrait is finding a beach and a person to photograph. I suppose you've figured that out already so I'll skip to the technical part.
Here's what you need:
- ISO100 film and maybe some Fuji FP100C instant film.
- A light meter that can be used as a flash meter.
- A proper strobe head with a portable generator (let's say at least 1200J) and an umbrella (a softbox or octabox will also do). RENT a good one. I suggest Profoto or Broncolor. Once you've used a good one you can then decide where you want to cut corners when you buy.

Here's what you do:
Go to your location and decide where you want to place your 'model'. Meter the daylight. What you want to do, as has been explained already, is underexpose the background. So if the meter reads 250th @f11 and you want to underxpose one stop you will either have to set the shutterspeed to 500th or the f-stop to 16. Once you have done this, take a polaroid. Is background dark enough for your liking? If yes, good, if not, change your settings accordingly.
Once you have the exposure settings for the background set you will want to set up the strobe with the umbrella. Where exactly you want to set the strobe stand will depend on the light fallof you want. I'd start with a distance of around 2 meters away(maybe closer) from the subject, camera right and not too high up (maybe subject's eye-level).
Now turn on the flash and meter it at the subjects position until the meter reads the f-stop you have your camera set at. Now you're pretty much set. Take another polaroid, this time with the subject in place, and see if you like the quality of light. If you don't, move around the strobe until you do and ajdust the strobe light intensity accordingly.

Anyways, it should be very much doable and if you try to do it right from the start you'll at least have fun with it. It will cost you a bit of money for film and rental but not a fortune. Also, if you take a look at Dijkstra's series you will see that she's not terribly concerned with perfect consistency in lighting between shots (which would be hard anyways with changing sunlight).

PS: The reason I recommend high-end brand strobes is that, at least where I live, the difference in rental costs for a single light doesn't vary that much between the really good ones and the mediocre ones. Maybe $20 variation at most which isn't that big a deal if you only need one light.

GREAT! here is somebody who understands his job! It is really nothing overly complicated and done in almost any outdoor fashion/ editorial shooting.
Get out and experiment - it's funm and you learn more than with thinking "should I buy a xx brand..."

enjoy and post the results!
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