Monday was the first day of TA’ing at ICP for Intro to Studio Lighting. Didier Dorot is the instructor and he addressed the sources of so many fundamental errors in practice and understanding that I bet it won’t be until the end of the course that they get how important that first class was. It made me think about how I approach lighting, and I think I have been guilty of not taking the time to actually “look” at the subject and move the light around to actually “see” what is happening. Assignment work gets you into this headspace where you don’t want to appear as if you are “searching” for something, you are supposed to just “know” how to do it cold. Well, that is a formula, and what Didier appears to be teaching is that there is no formula, there is only intent.
Of course this is obvious but it is so obvious we all forget it. And it does remind me of street photography, that the moment you stop “looking” is the moment you begin making formula pictures. What is there is always infinitely more interesting than any idea you have about the subject.
Robert, way back in the late 70’s, a wise old photographer who was my professor told me that I had to feel the light. At first I could not grasp what he was getting at. Until one day, late in the afternoon in the fall I became melancholy for the passing of summer and the onset of winter. It was the light, low, slanting, contrasty, deep shadows that gave me this feeling. Finally, I got it. Whenever I set up lights, I always reserve the right to make changes if what I’ve done doesn’t feel right, until it does.