Reflective surfaces

Just completed a photoshoot in G. Bush International airport here in Houston a few days ago.  The purpose of the shoot was to create an editorial to be used by the Neal Hamil modeling agency, as promotional material and which is also representative of Houston.  First thing that came to mind when tasked with the project was the Houston downtown skyline or perhaps the NASA Johnson Space Center; however, given 100+ degree weather outside, I was not too fond of choosing outdoor locations.  So, after a bit of research it became more and more evident that the airport would provide the best backdrop for this project because it is, and continues to be known as the gateway to Latin America.

The folks at the airport were more than helpful in getting this project off the ground.  In fact they jumped in with both feet and provided countless support before and during the photoshoot.  It was indeed a tremendous feat given all the agencies that had to be involved at one point or another in the process: FBI, Homeland Security, Houston Police, Airport security, Houston Airport Authority, etc. etc. etc.

The shoot was planned with surgical precision.  At times it felt as if I was planning an escape from Alcatraz since so many things had to be coordinated, and the success of the overall project depended on all of them falling into place at the right time.  In fact, I was even afforded the opportunity of an escorted trip through the airport to check locations and lighting conditions and at the same time of day when we were expecting to shoot to ensure accurate readings (see sketch below) in an effort to make sure that everything was good to go!

My plan sheet based on my scouting trip.

But even with all that planning and preparation that went into this project to ensure a smooth photoshoot; on the day of execution I still managed to be challenged by one thing, which was obviously not in my preparation checklist: The reflective property of the polished floors at the airport.

In my countless hours of planning, I had intended to use my deep octas (Elinchrom) paired together to cover the multiple models in each scene, and using small rotas (Elinchrom)  as fill lights for the legs and feet.  The result of my initially planned setup is seen in the first photo I took on the day of the shoot (below):

Initially planned lighting setup.  Note light spill on the ground

However, after a first few frames, it became evident that my tried and tested standard field work setup would not work in this environment.  In fact, even after reducing from the deep octas to the 40 cm. reflectors and feathering them, it still provided too much floor spill causing an undesirable brightness in the foreground.  After an hour or so of frustration, I finally found the answer: Standard 8-1/4" reflectors with 20 deg. grids and socked with a 1-f-stop cloth to soften the shadows paired together and without fill light added to the legs as there was still sufficient reflection from the ground to light up the legs of the models.  Quite a contrast from my original plan I must say (see image below).

Final lighting setup.  Ground light spill removed

So the moral of the story is: Always check the reflective properties of the surfaces and objects around you to ensure that your lighting will behave as you intend it, as that alone can ruin even the best-planned photoshoots!

HW-