Lighting A Server Room
I thought I would answer Wes Browne’s Listserv question about doing portraits in server room, by showing an example of my own. I did this photo back in the fall at Gray Construction in Lexington. This particular shot was actually a test shot that turned out to be an accident, because one of my lights didn’t fire. Here was my set up. I had a two White Lightnings positioned to the extreme left and right of the photo, triggered with Pocket Wizard remotes, and I had a Nikon SB26 speed light positioned behind the middle monitor with a green gel attached to it. I used a Bogen Justin Clamp to attach the speed light to the shelf behind the computer monitor.
The accidental part came when I forgot to turn my remote on the light at camera-right. So it didn’t fire. But it was a good accident because it made the photo much more dramatic. The light at camera left had a spot grid on it. A spot grid looks like a honey comb that used to choke the light down so that you can pin point your light where you want it, instead of spilling everywhere in places where you don’t want it. So the light at camera left lit the model’s face and part of his body, and if you notice it also added some light to the red chair behind the model.
But to me, what made this photo work so well was the green gel on the speed light. It added a touch of color to a high-tech situation. I later tried the same set up with the second light on (at camera right), but it provided too much light and took all the drama away from the photo.
As many of you know, I’m a shutter-speed junkie. I love controlling the available light with my shutter speed. I used a somewhat higher shutter speed of 125 to eliminate most of the available light.
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