Commercial Digital Photography

A Guide

Written by John Tinsley and sponsored by:

Bron Elektronik A.G.

Imacon AS
Leaf Systems Ltd

Copyright© John Tinsley 2003

Chapter 1: Introduction

I t's over ten years ago that Leaf Systems showed their Digital
Camera Back, the Leaf DCB, at the 1992 Photokina
exhibition in Cologne. It was a milestone at the time. Unlike
single exposure digital cameras based on 35mm single lens
reflex bodies, here was the first digital camera back that could
be considered a serious alternative to film for the professional
commercial photographer. On the small exhibition booth, U.S.
commercial photographer Bob Schlowsky was producing
exquisite enlargements of postage stamps and banknotes, the
files reproduced at up to A3 on the exhibition stand using an
Iris continuous ink-jet printer.

The Leaf DCB stole the show for most people, and reactions
ranged from wild enthusiasm to total hostility. Since then,
attitudes to digital photography have softened as the
advantages to both the photographer and the client have
become more widely accepted. Other camera back
manufacturers have since appeared, with the result that the
professional catalogue and brochure photographer now has a
wide choice of competent digital tools.

The Case for Digital Capture

The advantages of using a digital camera when images are

being photographed for print are now well established,
particularly as the initial concerns about image quality are well
behind us. For many years, photographs for advertising and
brochure use have been captured on film in the commercial
photographer's studio. Whether the subject is a simple pack
shot for a catalogue or a complex still life for advertising, with
film there is the inevitable delay whilst the transparencies are
processed. For important work, even the set cannot be taken
down until the finished transparency is on the light box and
approved by the client. During shooting, even though Polaroid
proofs give an excellent idea of exposure and composition, one
can not confirm that nuances of lighting, for example, have
been captured until the film is processed. The image then
needs to be scanned, separated into the CMYK colour space
and contract proofed before the client can see how his image
will appear in print. All of this can take several days.

The digital camera has changed all of this. With digital

capture, the client can walk away with a digital file ready to
drop in to a page make up program within minutes of being
photographed. With modern proofing systems, he can also
have a colour accurate A3 image in a few minutes more. The
set can be struck, and new work started immediately. It is
difficult to over-estimate the advantages in terms of time and
money to the client seeking images for print.

Digital capture techniques are not only suitable for images

destined for four colour printing. The sheer speed of digital
image capture makes it equally suitable for portrait and social
photography. A large portrait ready for framing can be
produced within minutes of photography, an impossibility
with traditional chemical techniques. This speed means a high
throughput of work in the social photographic studio, and the
absence of film and processing costs substantially improves
profit margins. The speed of presenting finished work at the
time of photography aids impulse buying, and almost always
results in larger print orders per photographic session.

In addition to the savings in time and money, digital

techniques give the photographer full control over all the
processes in the image producing chain. Traditionally, the
'film' photographer starts to lose control over image quality
the moment the film comes out of the camera and is delivered
to the processing laboratory. Once processed, the transparency
then goes to the repro house for scanning, and control passes
to the scanner operator. The all-important conversion from
the captured RGB colour to the CMYK colour space required
for print is the next process needed. Whilst it is normal for this
to be done by the scanner operator, it isn't always the case, and
a third person can enter the imaging chain here. With digital
capture, the photographer handles the whole process from
lighting the set in the studio in the first place, right through to
delivering the final image in digital form, ready for
imagesetting and print. For the first time since the middle of
the last century, the photographer has full technical and
creative control over all elements of the image making process.

Many people assume that it is the traditional film

photographer that will add the necessary pre-press and repro
skills to become a successful digital photographer, and it is
true that many have already done so. However, people from a
design background will already have the creative and pre-press
background needed. Providing they acquire the photographic
skills needed – the ability to compose and light a set
appropriately, and expose the electronic 'film' correctly, there's
no reason why they can't operate a digital commercial
photographic business as successfully as someone from a
traditional photographic background. A digital commercial
photographer can come from either a photographic or a
design/pre-press background. There's no monopoly on pure
'photographic' experience or training here.

Either way, setting up a digital studio can be a big step, and the
beginning digital photographer will find some guidance useful
if expensive mistakes are to be avoided. Unfortunately, there
are few sources of reliable information that are readily
accessible. Few contributors to professional photographic
magazines have in-depth knowledge of the commercial
photographic business, and even fewer understand the pre-
press implications of digital photography well enough to give
sound advice.
Many distributors and re-sellers of digital photographic
hardware are in the same position, and worse, many represent
just one manufacturer. Whilst it is an understandable position
for them to claim that only their product will satisfy a
particular studio's requirement, this approach can result in
totally unsuitable equipment being chosen. At the kind of
investment needed, and considering the low resale value of
any digital equipment, mistakes here can be very expensive
indeed.

This is a simple guide aimed at those who are about to set up a

digital photographic studio. It covers the points that need to
be considered when choosing a digital camera, and describes
the choices currently available. It introduces photographic
lighting techniques, and how they are used to create images,
whether working with film or in digital capture. It also covers
the various camera options, and which lend themselves best to
particular photographic situations. We've assumed little or no
prior knowledge in any of these fields, so we hope it will be
equally of use to an existing film photographer, or to someone
whose skills exist more in the design or pre-press fields.

It has been written by a commercial photographer with over

twenty years experience in providing images for advertising
and brochure/catalogue use, and who has spent the last ten
years studying the progress of digital techniques in
commercial photography. To make this guide available for free
download over the internet, it has been financed by
sponsorship by some of the most respected names in
commercial photography, both digital and film.

Digital photography is a 'win-win' technique – it's hard to find

any losers, except, of course, film manufacturers, processing
laboratories and scanning bureaux.
 Chapter 2 : The Commercial Digital
Camera

There are three different camera types in general use in

commercial photography, the 35mm single lens reflex or 'slr',
the roll film slr and the 5x4" 'technical' camera or 'monorail'.
Whilst the 35mm slr is popular in the USA, most European
commercial photographers use either the roll film slr or the
monorail camera depending on the application.

The roll film slr

Roll film slr

cameras like the
Hasselblad and
the Contax 645 AF
are justifiably
popular with
commercial
photographers.

They are easy to

Leaf C-Most / Contax AFD combination
use, and are just
as suitable for use with moving 'people' subjects as with static
still life compositions. The single lens reflex principle goes
back over a hundred years, and camera development has been
continuous ever since. The camera lens projects the image for
viewing on to a horizontal ground glass focusing screen via a
45º mirror. This 6x6cm or 6x7cm image can be viewed from
above, either directly or via a magnifier. The camera can be
hand-held or supported using a tripod or camera stand,
usually at waist level. Once the image is composed and
focused, the photographer takes the photograph by pressing
the shutter release button. The lens shutter first closes, the
mirror flips up out of the way, and then the shutter exposes
the image on the film or the digital back. On some cameras,
the mirror returns to the viewing position for the next shot
automatically as part of the picture taking sequence. The
whole procedure generally takes around a second for normal
studio images exposed using flash.

Cameras like the Hasselblad have a full series of

interchangeable lenses, film and Polaroid instant print backs
and viewing accessories. There are prisms that allow eye-level
viewing and focusing, and these have the advantage of
presenting a 'right way round' image to the photographer.
Interchangeable lenses allow wide angle views for interior
photography, and medium long focus or 'telephoto' lenses are
available for still life or portraiture. The interchangeable back
allows the fitting of a digital camera back in a matter of
seconds, and the majority of digital back manufacturers
supply their products in Hasselblad and Mamiya fittings.
The Monorail

As popular as roll film

slrs are for digital
photography, they do
have a number of
limitations in certain
kinds of photography.
Perhaps the most
important of these is
their lack of camera
'movements', and their
effect on image
Leaf Valeo 11 on Linhof perspective and
monorail camera sharpness.

The modern monorail camera was introduced in the mid fifties

by the Sinar company, and this style of camera has since
become the standard tool for the commercial studio
photographer. The monorail was designed to offer the
maximum of flexibility to the photographer. It consists
principally of two platforms or 'standards' mounted on a
connecting bed, or 'monorail'. One of these standards is used
to mount the lens and shutter, whilst the other carries the film
together with the ground-glass screen used for composition
and focusing, usually called the 'back'. Film in individual
sheets is held in light-tight cassettes or 'dark slides', and these
slip in place in the back after composition and focusing for
image capture. Both standards are joined by an
interchangeable light-tight flexible bellows, and most cameras
have a choice of these to allow for of different focal length
lenses.

The front standard carries the lens/shutter combination,

usually mounted in an interchangeable panel. This facility
allows any lens from any manufacturer to be used providing
the bellows is long (or short) enough. The panel is mounted in
a mechanism which allows the lens to be moved up, down and
laterally, normally referred to as up/down and cross 'shift'. The
lens can also be rotated about the horizontal and vertical axes,
known as front 'tilt' and side 'swing' respectively. The rear
standard is similar to the front, with the exception that a
focusing screen and slip in dark slide holder are provided
instead of a lens panel. The rear standard or 'back' is usually
provided with the same mechanism as the front, providing the
same adjustments or 'movements'. Most cameras have range of
back adaptors so that different film or digital backs can be
used.

The important camera movements

The tilt back

If a camera is tilted up or down, the shape of a subject will
change in the sense that parallel vertical lines will converge or
diverge depending on whether the tilt is up or down. In the
studio, this happens most when a camera is mounted on a
support higher than the subject, and is tilted down to get the
subject 'in the frame'. A rectangular subject will appear as
being wider at the top than at the bottom, and this can be
objectionable with subjects like wine bottles and narrow, tall
product 'packs'. This effect can be minimised with the slr by
using a longer focal length lens, but it can never be completely
eliminated. The only way to remove this perspective error
completely is to make sure the plane of the camera back is
vertical and parallel to the subject, even though the camera
itself is looking down on the set. This requires a camera back
that can be rotated about the horizontal axis, and this 'tilt
back' is one of the fundamental 'movements' found on the
monorail camera.

This shows the effect of tilting the camera back until it is vertical
(r.h. image). Taken with Leaf 'Volare' / Sinar p2 combination
The tilt front and depth of field
The next problem in the studio is making sure that a studio set
is totally sharp from the front to the back. This zone of
sharpness extends in front of and behind the focusing point,
and is called the 'depth of field'. Depth of field varies with the
size of the lens opening or 'aperture', the focal length of the
lens, and the distance from the camera to the subject. In many
studio situations using a fixed plane camera, the only thing
that can be easily altered with a given set up is the camera lens
aperture or 'f/stop'. The f/stop of a lens is defined as the size of
the physical aperture or opening set by the lens iris divided by
the focal length. An 80mm focal length lens for the Hasselblad
camera, for example, will have an aperture of f/16 if the
physical opening is 5mm. Close the aperture down to 2.5mm,
and the f/stop becomes f/32. The larger the f/stop, the smaller
the lens opening, and the greater the depth of field.

As a guide, a Hasselblad camera fitted with an 80mm lens set

at f/8 and focused on a point 2 metres away will have an area
of sharp focus or 'depth of field' that extends from 0.25 metres
in front of the focus point to 0.5 metres behind it. Close the
lens aperture down to f/16, and the depth of field will increase
to 0.5 metres in front of the focus point to 1 metre behind it. In
other words, in this case, closing the lens aperture down by
two steps or 'stops' has doubled the depth of field from a total
of 0.75 metres to 1.5 metres. The flash power, however will
need to be increased to compensate for the reduction in light
transmitted.
If aperture adjustments don't give acceptable sharpness from
front to back, or if there isn't enough flash power available to
stop the lens down further, we need to use the second most
important monorail camera movement, the 'tilt front'. On a
fixed plane camera like the Hasselblad, all subjects at the same
distance from the camera will be in sharp focus, whilst the
zone of sharpness from front to back will depend on the depth
of field. If, however, the lens can be tilted forwards, the plane
of sharp focus will be rotated, effectively increasing the depth
of fine focus along that plane.

In the l.h. picture, the image goes progressively unsharp in front

of and behind the centre. In the r.h. picture, the camera front has
been tilted forward to bring the plane of sharp focus in line with
the board surface. Imacon Ixpress/ Rollei X-Act 2 .

This technique can be exploited in landscape photography to

produce sharp focus from the camera position to infinity if a
special set of conditions are met. In the studio it is rare to tilt
the lens to this extent, but it is possible to extend the zone of
sharpness horizontally by quite large amounts by tilting the
lens forward. The trade-off here is that the depth of field now
exists away from the horizontal plane, and is usually from the
base of the set to the top. Care has now to be taken to make
sure that the subject is sharp from top to bottom as well as
from front to back. As most studio sets are longer than they
are high, this is generally not a problem.

Aperture and Light

The lens aperture controls the amount of light available at the
film or chip surface, the 'focal plane'. The numbering system
works on a mathematical series, with each step allowing
double or half the amount of light of the adjacent step. A lens
designed for commercial photographic use will have aperture
values marked f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22 and f/32 on the lens
mount. Closing the aperture of such a lens from f/16 to f/22
will halve the amount of light passing to the film or digital
chip, and has the same effect on exposure as halving the flash
power used. Opening the aperture from f/16 to f/11 will double
the amount of light passing to the focal plane, and will have
the same effect as doubling the flash power used.

Circle of Confusion
Sharpness is a purely subjective term, however, and 'acceptable
sharpness' depends on the amount of enlargement for the final
image, and, to some extent on the type of subject. Sharpness,
or, more accurately, 'resolution' is defined as the minimum
size of detail that can be resolved, and this is defined as the
'Circle of Confusion'. This is commonly defined as 1/1000 of
the focal length of the lens, about 0.08mm in the case of the
Hasselblad 80mm lens.

Diffraction
There is a limit to the amount that a camera lens can be
stopped down before resolution errors start to occur. These
are due to an optical phenomenon known as 'diffraction'. This
can begin to have a noticeable effect on image resolution when
using the smallest opening (largest f/stop) on a lens, and, for
this reason, this f/stop should generally be avoided as a
general rule.

Also, there are situations when the 1/1000 times focal length
'circle of confusion' definition will be too great for the kind of
subject you are photographing. When this happens, it is best to
increase the depth of field by using the next largest lens
opening – f/16 instead of f/11, for example.

Lens Quality
Even when operating within acceptable aperture settings, the
quality of the image produced by a camera lens is ultimately
dependent on the resolution / magnification choices made by
the lens designer. Generally, a lens is computed to provide
acceptable resolution when the image is enlarged from the
design format to around A4. This means that a lens designed
to cover the 6x6cm format will need to have higher resolution
than one designed for use with the 5x4" format, for example.
Similarly, a lens designed for use with 35mm film will need to
have a higher resolution than one computed for the 6x6cm roll
film slr. When using film this generally doesn't cause a
problem because the lens is generally used with its design
format. Because digital CCD sensor arrays are generally
smaller than the camera's film format, however, this can cause
problems.

A typical situation is when a digital CCD sensor array less than

two inches square is used on a monorail camera with a lens
designed to be used with 5x4" sheet film. For the highest
quality of work with a monorail camera like this, a lens
computed for use with this smaller CCD format should be
used. Specialist 'digital' lenses are available from lens
manufacturers like Rodenstock and Schneider. These lenses
offer a higher resolution of image detail when used with digital
CCD sensors. With modern CCDs and these lenses, it is
possible to achieve the kind of image quality photographers
are used to achieving with 5x4" fine grain transparency sheet
film but from a CCD array the size of a 35mm frame – 24 x
36mm.

Final camera choice

Whilst most digital studio photographers will eventually end

up equipping themselves with both kinds of camera, the
beginner will need initially to choose between the roll film
reflex and the monorail.
If most of the work will involve 'people' photography, fashion
or portraiture, for examples, the choice will probably be the
single lens reflex. There are a number of attractive designs
around, and digital backs can be fitted to most of them. Most
people tend to choose the ubiquitous Hasselblad, and this
camera has a time proven record of quality and reliability. The
Mamiya RZ is also a popular camera, and many successful
commercial photographic businesses have been based on this
camera system alone. The 6 x 4.5cm film format has become
popular recently. Cameras like the Contax 645 and the Mamiya
645 can take current digital backs just as easily as the larger
6x6cm and 6x7cm cameras, and this smaller, lighter camera
has earned a number of devotees. Another camera worthy of
mention is the Fuji GX 680. This is a substantial 6x8cm roll
film reflex, and is currently the only roll film slr camera
available with movements. Whilst one is currently restricted to
dedicated Fuji GX680 lenses, it is a camera solution that comes
near to combining the advantages of the roll film reflex and
the monorail.

When the studio's work is mainly still life and product

photography, either the roll film reflex or the monorail can be
used. There's no doubt that the roll film slr is much easier to
use, and the 'learning curve' is much shorter. It's the obvious
choice when a large quantity of images have to be captured
quickly, and where those images will be reproduced at A5 or
smaller – the mail order catalogue business, for example.
Compared to the complete monorail outfit, the roll film slr is a
much lower cost item, too.
When image quality in still life and product photography is a
critical factor, in advertising or packaging photography, for
example, the roll film slr isn't always the best solution. The
digital commercial photographer handling this kind of work
really should be using a camera with movements, a monorail
preferably, complete with high resolution 'digital' lenses. An
outfit like this will be able to handle a wide variety of subject
types, and image quality will be good enough to handle A3
repro and larger, depending on the digital back and lens used.

Here, again, there are two monorail camera choices. Adaptor

backs exist for the conventional 5x4" 'film' monorail like the
Cambo, Horseman and Sinar, and these have the added
advantage that conventional 5x4" sheet film can be used as
well if needed. There is also a new breed of smaller monorail
cameras designed specifically for use with digital backs. These
cameras are made by Linhof, Plaubel and Rollei and are made
to the kind of precision that digital photography demands.
Their smaller size eases their use with short focal length wide
angle lenses, and they are the obvious choice for someone
starting out from scratch, and who isn't concerned with
adapting an existing 'film' camera for use with a digital back.
The camera stand

Most commercial
photographers learn early in
their careers to replace the
awkward tripod with a camera
stand. These are fully mobile
units fitted with lockable
castors, and have camera
platforms with fully counter-
balanced and damped raise
and lower mechanisms. Whilst
they are not the cheapest
studio accessories, a good one
will rapidly improve both
studio throughput and the
photographer's temper. It is
important to choose a really
rigid one that will hold the
camera positively and firmly
without vibration. This is
particularly important when
using a multi-shot digital back.
A Foba camera stand Good camera stands are made
by Cambo and Foba.
 Chapter 3: The Digital Back

Digital camera backs fit into two broad categories - those

which use a bar of pixels to scan the image area in much the
same way as a miniature flatbed scanner, and those, like the
original Leaf DCB, which use a full area matrix of pixels which
can capture the image in a single flash exposure.

The Scanning Back

Most digital scanning backs

are designed to fit into the
standard 'international back'
fitted to most 5x4" monorail
cameras, just like a Polaroid
instant film holder. As the
image area scanned is only
slightly smaller than the 5x4"
format, the photographer's
current lenses can be used,
and, as the camera back
behaves just like a
BetterLight scanning back conventional CCD film or
flatbed scanner, the computer
requirements are modest. Until comparatively recently, these
considerations have made the scanning back an easy and
comparatively inexpensive route to take to get into digital
image capture. There are a number of disadvantages, however.
Because a scanning back can take several minutes to capture
an image, the technique is only suitable for static still life
subjects. Also, because of the scanning technique, continuous
tungsten or HMI lighting needs to be used rather than
standard studio electronic flash, a lighting technique
unfamiliar to the majority of commercial photographers.
Perhaps most importantly, because a high resolution scan can
take up to ten or fifteen minutes, the throughput of work can
be severely limited in the average studio.

Area Array Backs

The area array back suffers

from few of these
disadvantages. An area array
sensor consists of a two
dimensional matrix of CCD
elements that can capture the
full image area in a single
flash exposure. Because of
this, the technique can be
Imacon Ixpress on used for moving subjects,
Hasselblad opening up the fields of
portraiture and social
photography to digital capture. Although area array digital
camera backs used to be a much higher cost option, prices
have come down to the point that the cost of an area array
back is now approaching the cost of a scanning back of similar
specification.

Resolution
In many respects, an area array CCD behaves very similarly to
a frame of conventional film. In a film camera, light sensitive
grains of silver halide are chemically changed by the action of
light upon them. The process of development then produces a
negative or positive image which can either be used to produce
a photographic print, or which can be scanned to produce a
digital file for four colour litho printing. The size of the silver
halide grains determines the sensitivity or ‘speed’ of the film –
the larger the grains, the faster the film. There is a trade off
here - the larger the film grain, the lower the image resolution,
and the lower the maximum size of image that can be
produced from the negative or transparency. The same is true
of the digital CCD. The silver grains of film are replaced by
digital sensors, which produce an electrical charge
proportional to the amount of light falling on them. As with
silver halide grains, the larger the size of the sensor, the
greater the sensitivity and the lower the ‘chip’ resolution.

The resolution figure of 300 dots per inch has long been
accepted by the reprographic industry as the norm for high
quality printing. This means that if an image is to be printed at
A4 in size, the file has to consist of 2,475 x 3,500 pixels (8.25” x
11.69” x 300 dpi), and the CCD chip size needs to be chosen
appropriately.
There is no point in this situation in choosing a digital camera
back with a higher resolution than this – either some of the
pixels in the chip will have to be switched off, or, more likely,
the file will have to be interpolated downwards, a process that
can adversely affect image quality just as much as ‘upwards’
file interpolation. There is also another factor which should be
borne in mind when discussing chip resolution. Generally, the
larger the pixel size, the higher the chip sensitivity and
dynamic range. Choosing a smaller pixel dimension to obtain
a higher resolution can place demands on image processing
algorithms if chip sensitivity and dynamic range specifications
are to be maintained.

The area array back and colour capture

Standard colour film has a minimum of three transparent
emulsion layers, with a primary colour filter superimposed in
front of each layer. When the film is exposed, true red, green
and blue information is recorded as latent images in each of
these layers. When the film is processed, these are then
converted into either a positive or negative visible dye image
to form a conventional film negative or transparency.

On the other hand, a digital CCD array is an opaque device,

capable of only recording a single, monochrome image. To
produce a true colour image, three separate exposures need to
be made through each of the three additive primary colour
filters, red, green and blue. These three individual colour files
are then converted by the computer into a single, composite
RGB file.
The first camera of this type, the Leaf DCB, used a rotating
filter wheel mounted in front of the camera lens to capture the
three colour files, and this still remains the method of colour
capture used on the current Leaf Volare digital camera back.
When the Volare back is mounted on a monorail camera, an
electronic filter assembly can be positioned immediately in
front of the camera back but behind the lens. The area array
technology allows these sequential exposures to be made using
the photographer's standard studio electronic flash equipment.

Leaf Volare on Linhof monorail

Single Shot Operation

The three shot technique

will give accurate colour for
still life subjects, but it is
obviously unsuitable for a
moving subject. To capture
a true full colour image
using a single exposure, a
technique called 'adjacent
pixel colour interpolation'
Leaf Valeo 6 digital back on is used. For this capture
Contax camera mode, the chip surface is
covered by a mosaic of red,
green and blue filters, so that each pixel 'sees' the image
through either a red, green or blue filter. The computer
software then looks at the colour data captured by each pixel,
together with the colour data captured by the pixels
immediately adjacent to it. The software then attributes the
missing colour information for each pixel position. Thus, in a
pixel covered by a red filter, blue and green colour information
is estimated by looking at the blue and green data supplied by
the adjacent blue and green filtered pixels. This colour
interpolation process can take a minute or so processing time,
but this 'development' procedure can be scheduled to take
place in the background without affecting the rate of primary
image capture in the studio.
Single v Multi shot operation
Single shot interpolated area array cameras have reached a
very high standard of image quality, and, indeed, many digital
photographers now use them for all studio work. Despite this,
there can be problems with certain types of image when
captured this way compared to the 'true' multi-shot technique.
These can include the capture of very fine detail, especially
when this is combined with areas of high contrast. This is
mainly seen in the photography of serifed text, on product
labels, for example. Fine textures can sometimes give
problems, too, with multi-coloured moiré patterns appearing
in woven materials. Areas of specular reflections from surfaces
like polished silver can often give trouble, with multi-coloured
fringes visible when the image is viewed at high magnification.
Finally, a direct comparison between identical images
captured in both modes will often show very slightly reduced
colour saturation in the case of the single shot colour
interpolated image.

This said, single shot capture techniques have improved

substantially since the first area array cameras were
introduced, especially in the very latest camera designs, and
the simplicity of capturing an image with a single, flash
exposure cannot be ignored. Whether image quality is now
good enough depends on the application and the type of
subject being photographed. A studio test using the kind of
subject matter normally photographed will quickly establish
the suitability or otherwise of the technique. If the work
envisaged is limited to pack-shot photography for mail order
or on-line web catalogues, for example, a single shot digital
back fitted to a Contax 645, Hasselblad or Mamiya camera will
be easy to use, relatively inexpensive to buy, and will give a
vastly improved throughput of work compared to film capture.

Combined Single and Multi-shot cameras

Initially, a photographer
wanting to buy an area
array digital camera back
had to choose between one
offering single shot
interpolated capture, or one
offering triple shot filter
wheel operation. In 1995,
the Danish company
ColorCrisp introduced an
Imacon Ixpress digital back on area array digital camera
Rollei X-Act2 monorail camera back capable of operating
in both modes, the 'Carnival
2000'.

For single shot operation, the CCD was covered with an RGB
mosaic filter, and offered conventional single shot adjacent
pixel colour interpolated mode. This area array chip was
mounted on a movable mount, and a piezo-electric chip
positioning mechanism could shift the CCD by exactly one
pixel spacing between sequential exposures. In this way, each
pixel position in the file could be exposed in turn through each
of the three primary colour filters, red, green and blue, to
produce a true RGB composite colour file. There are a number
of practical advantages to this arrangement, but perhaps the
most important is the ability to choose between single or
multi-shot capture mode by simply selecting either one in the
image capture software.

Since the first 'Carnival' camera, this technique has been

adopted by other digital back manufacturers. Imacon,
ColorCrisp's successor, has also developed the original
technology, and has now introduced a 'micro-scan' mode, in
which resolution can be enhanced by moving the chip by less
than one pixel spacing. Using the latest Kodak 4k x 4k chip and
taking 16 exposures at one quarter pixel width movement, the
latest Imacon Ixpress camera can produce a true 192 MB 24 bit
RGB file. This is the kind of image resolution we normally
associate with some of the more expensive scanning backs.

The image quality in this kind of camera depends on the chip

moving by exactly one pixel or an even fraction of a pixel
spacing. Early area array camera backs used the 15 micron
Thomson chip, and this precision was achieved comparatively
easily. As pixel dimensions came down, however, new
demands were made on the chip positioning mechanism. The
popular Philips 2k x 3k chip is 12 microns in size, and the
latest Philips and Kodak chips have a pixel size of just 9
microns. With small pixel sizes like this, the chip positioning
mechanism has to be accurate to less than one tenth of a
micron if mis-registration errors are to be avoided. This is
achieved using a piezo-electric movement with a mechanical
constraint in the Imacon Flexframe and Ixpress cameras,
whilst other cameras have a calibration procedure to make
sure chip movement stays within tolerance. It is also essential
to prevent any camera movement between each exposure, and
a really sturdy camera stand, preferably on a concrete floor is
ideal when any area array multi-shot camera is used.

Many manufacturers offer these 'single plus multi shot'

cameras in a choice of configurations, with upgrades available
from one level to the next. This means that a photographer can
buy the single shot only version to start with, for example, and
upgrade if multi-shot operation is required at any time in the
future. This makes this kind of camera back virtually 'future-
proof', particularly if the manufacturer offers 'chip' upgrades
as well.

CMOS chips
A CCD array consists of a matrix
of light sensitive photo-diode
cells, each of which produces an
electrical charge when light falls
on them. In the conventional or
'passive' CCD sensor, this charge
is stored in individual capacitors
before being transferred to a read
out amplifier in a fixed pre-

Leaf C-Most CMOS back

determined order. Once 'read', the charge on each pixel sensor
is destroyed, making further electronic processing impossible.
As the charge is transferred in its entirety to the output
amplifier, there is no unwanted resistance or capacitance to
degrade the image signal, and, as a result the current CCD
process gives the lowest noise for this kind of image sensor.

Because the pixels are read line by line in a fixed order,

problems can arise, however. The image can smear as it is
shifted to the output register, and blooming can occur as any
excess charge due to over-exposure leaks down through the
column of pixels. Also, the 'column by column' read out
technique means that any bad pixels in a column will adversely
affect the quality of the information passed through them. As
the ratio of bad pixels to good has to be kept low,
manufacturing yields are low, and prices tend to be high.

One way of reducing some of these problems is to address each

pixel independently. This gives random access to any pixel and
freedom from blooming as there is no path available to other
pixels for any excess charge. If an amplifier is also integrated
at each pixel position, the effect of capacitance and resistance
in the bus is dramatically reduced. The result of both of these
is to combine the high sensitivity of conventional CCD
technology with the anti-blooming features of individually
addressed pixels.

The amplifier at each pixel position is produced using CMOS

(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technology. In
addition to improving the signal to noise ratio, this large scale
integration pulls manufacturing costs down, and as bad pixels
can simply be by-passed, manufacturing yields can potentially
be higher. The integration of amplification at the chip level
gives other possibilities, too. AGC (automatic gain control) can
be incorporated as well as the analogue to digital conversion,
effectively giving a 'digital camera-on-a-chip'. Because of the
on-chip amplification these CMOS imaging sensors are known
as 'Active Pixel Sensors' as opposed to the 'Passive Pixel
Sensor' of the conventional CCD approach.

Leaf uses CMOS technology in their C-Most and Valeo 6 digital

camera backs. Coupled to a roll film reflex like the Mamiya 645
and a simple lap-top computer like the Apple iBook, the Leaf
Valeo 6 offers a low cost digital solution, particularly suitable
for photographers working in the social, wedding and fashion
fields, in or out of the studio.

Live Video

A digital back fitted to a roll film reflex is easy to use in that

the camera's ground-glass viewing screen can be used to
compose and focus the image. Things aren't so easy with a
monorail camera, and the back needs to be removed to fit a
ground-glass screen. Whilst there are a number of screen
adaptors made for different camera/back combinations, the
small CCD format can hinder composition and fine focusing. If
some of the CCD pixels can be used to continuously capture a
low resolution video signal, this can be displayed on the
computer's monitor for both image composition and fine
focusing. This isn't real video, however. The refresh rate, or the
speed with which these images are re-drawn, varies around the
4-5 f.p.s. figure, and the colours reproduced are also limited.
The 'live video' facility, though, eases working digitally with a
monorail camera. The phase contrast focusing aid provided
with most of these systems can be more accurate than visual
techniques alone.

Camera / Back choice – Conclusion

Once the choice of camera platform has been made, the next
most important decision is whether to buy a single exposure
colour interpolated digital camera back, or whether to go
combined single and 'multi-shot', or even 'multi-shot' only.
This decision isn't made easier by the fact that single shot
camera backs are getting better and better by the day. Single
shot cameras are easier to use, and they are generally cheaper
than combined single and multi-shot solutions, and they are
justifiably popular.

There may be situations, however, when multi-shot capture is

still needed. Despite some manufacturer's statements to the
contrary, with current chip technology, two thirds of the
composite file produced by a single exposure camera back still
is the result of interpolation or guesswork, and there can be no
way around this. Some situations react less positively to this
than others, and it is important to be aware of them.
They are:

• Subjects that include finely woven textiles. Often these can

result in a moiré pattern that can be difficult to eliminate.
Some camera capture software includes a correction tool
that will help in this process, but remember it is an
additional process, and even when it is successful, it adds
time to image capture.
• The resolution of very fine, high contrast detail, usually
highly serifed text on product labels. Again, most camera
manufacturers provide a software tool to correct these
imperfections when they occur.
• Subject areas that include specular reflections. Randomly
coloured artefacts can often appear here, especially around
polished metal like silver plate. Modern interpolation
algorithms handle this problem better now than they used
to, and, again, there is usually a software tool to help here.
'Quantum Mechanic' is a low cost utility available from
'Camera bits', and it is particularly good at rectifying this
problem. It also seems to have less effect on colour
saturation than some tools. A demo version is
downloadable from Camerabits web site.
• When large files are needed. Single shot interpolated
images interpolate upwards less well than true multi-shot
captured files. Here, one of the best solutions is the
'Microscan' 16 shot facility fitted to some camera backs.

Because there are no hard and fast rules here, a studio test
using your own subjects and lighting, in your own studio, is
the only real way of deciding whether a single shot colour
interpolated back will give the image quality required in these
particular cases.

Resolution Choice
The question of resolution causes much debate in digital
imaging circles. With film, a slow, fine grain emulsion is
associated with high quality. Digitally, resolution has no effect
on image quality other than determining the maximum size
that a digital image file can be reproduced without
interpolation.

Most manufacturers currently offer a wide choice of chip

resolutions, and chip size should be chosen to suit the majority
of work envisaged. It makes little sense to buy an expensive
camera back capable of 4,000 x 5,500 pixel resolution when the
majority of work will consist of A5 images for brochures
requiring 1,750 x 2,450 pixels or less, whatever the salesman
says. Also, remember that higher resolution usually means a
smaller pixel size, and that can bring its own problems in
terms of chip sensitivity, dynamic range and required lens
quality.
 Chapter 4: Lighting the Studio

The Greek word 'photography' means 'writing with light', and

the lighting techniques used in the studio are crucial to the
quality of the finished image, whether captured digitally or
conventionally. Lighting has been described as 'the supreme
creative tool of photography'. The camera and lens used, the
viewpoint and exposure used will certainly control the
composition of an image – but it is the lighting used that
finally defines it. Lighting controls the apparent shape of
subjects, their colour, contrast and texture.

This section on lighting forms a major part of this ‘primer’

text, and there is a very good reason for this. Many beginning
photographers buy the most elementary lighting equipment,
often just using a couple of medium sized soft-boxes to light
every subject that comes in and out of the studio. Whilst this
minimum lighting equipment will satisfy the basic
requirement of producing enough light to ensure the capture
of an image on a piece of film or on a digital CCD, it will do
little to create a satisfying two dimensional representation of a
three dimensional object – at the end of the day, the objective
of the photographer. To do this requires a full armoury of light
types and light shaping accessories. Some have gone so far as
to say that the difference between a top photographer and
someone who can merely operate a camera is the way he or she
lights their subjects. This section gives the beginner the basic
information necessary to do this.
Early studios used daylight as the principal source of light.
Whilst it is infinitely variable in characteristics, it is not
controllable, and for this reason alone daylight was very
quickly replaced by artificial lighting as the art of photography
progressed. There a number of primary lighting techniques
available to the modern photographer, and each have their
advantages and disadvantages. There are two principal
techniques – continuous lighting and electronic flash.

Continuous Lighting

Tungsten Halogen
Many continuous light sources today have tungsten halogen
bulbs as the primary light source. As their name suggests, they
have a tungsten filament that is heated by electricity in a
sealed glass bulb. This is filled with an inert gas containing
traces of a halogen, usually iodine. As the filament is heated,
an equilibrium is set up between the vaporised tungsten and
the halogen gas, preventing metallic deposits on the interior of
the glass bulb. These lamps have a long life, and burn with a
constant intensity and colour temperature. As they have a wide
colour spectrum, they are suitable for colour photography, and
have the added advantage of being reasonably inexpensive.

Tungsten halogen light sources have a number of

disadvantages, however. Colour temperature of incandescent
hot 'bodies' is measured in degrees Kelvin, mid-day daylight
having a value of about 5,500 degrees. Tungsten halogen
sources are more yellow or 'warmer' than this, with a value of
3,400 degrees being typical. When using this type of light with
film, there are two options available to the photographer. The
first is to use specialised 'tungsten' colour emulsions that are
balanced to the warmer light source, or, special heat resistant
colour compensating filters can be used to bring the colour
temperature back to the 5,500 degree 'daylight' value. When
used for digital capture, software 'filtering' is used in the
digital camera software to achieve the same result.

Still life taken using two 800W 'red-head' tungsten lamps

fitted with 50cm sq.softboxes against a graduated
background.
Scanning
Illustration 4-1: back on a Toyo 5x4 monorail camera
Tungsten halogen light sources are available from around 300
W to over 5 kW, and have 'lives' of several hundred hours.
They give out a substantial amount of heat as well as infra-red
radiation, however, and this heat problem limits the design of
many lightshaping accessories and 'soft-boxes'. This makes
continuous halogen light less flexible as a creative light source
than other technologies.

HMI
An answer to the colour temperature and heat problems of
tungsten-halogen lamps can be found in the modern HMI light
source. These are metal/vapour continuous light arc sources
which emit light at a colour temperature very close to that of
daylight, and with less heat output along the optical path.
These features make HMI lighting a much more suitable light
source for photography than conventional tungsten-halogen
sources.

In terms of power, HMI sources are efficient, producing

around three times the light output of a conventional tungsten
halide source. Thus, the standard 575 Watt HMI bulb is
equivalent to around 1.8 kW of tungsten light, and the 1,200
Watt HMI unit will give the same as 3.6 kW of halogen light, or
almost the same as two of the popular 2 kW halogen lamp
units. Also, unlike halogen units, the output of an HMI unit
can be easily controlled at the power or 'ballast' unit over a 2:1
power range.
Because of the daylight colour balance, HMI lighting can be
combined with standard electronic flash equipment and long
time exposures for special effects - superimposed action
'wipes' for example. The HMI lamp unit can also be fitted with
a number of light shaping accessories. As well as different
reflectors, the HMI unit can be used with special HMI versions
of area lights and soft-boxes, fresnel floods and sunlight
simulators like the Broncolor 'satellite'.

Fluorescent Arrays
The fluorescent array is an answer to the requirement for a
simple, inexpensive daylight colour temperature light source.
A typical unit consists of six 55W daylight balanced
fluorescent tubes run at high frequency. This arrangement will
give a light source some 45 cm square with an output of
around 24,000 Lux. A couple of these units is suitable for small
product photography with one of the latest digital scanning
backs like the American 'BetterLight'. If the lamp/subject
distances are kept to around 75 cm, digital capture will be
possible at aperture values around f/16 with a scanning time of
around five minutes.

The design of these lighting units makes it difficult to produce

much in the way of creative light-shaping accessories other
than a set of 'barn-doors' for light cropping. This said, these
units are not expensive either to buy or to run, and can be a
good choice for very simple product photography with one of
the current low cost digital scanning backs fitted to a 'film'
monorail camera.
Electronic Flash

Flash has been used as the

lighting source for
photography since the
middle of the nineteenth
century. Then, magnesium
powder was burned in a
tray to produce the
intense light necessary for
photography, and it could
be a splendidly dangerous
process. Later, the
This electronic flash shot would magnesium was contained
have been impossible using within a glass capsule or
continuous lighting bulb, and this was
eventually replaced by
aluminium and zirconium wire as the modern flash bulb
evolved. It was left to Fox Talbot to be the first photographer
to light a photograph using purely electrical means. He did this
as early as 1851 using the light from an electrical spark. Even
then he understood the potential of electronic flash for
portraiture and action photography. It would then take the
best part of a hundred years for electronic flash to develop into
a practical photographic tool. Most people agree that it was the
American, Harold Edgerton, that was mainly responsible for
the development of electronic flash for commercial
photography. As early as 1938, Edgerton, with partners
Germehausen and Grier, produced the first practical electronic
flash unit, and the world first saw sports action 'frozen' by high
speed electronic flash. Professional portraiture using
electronic flash followed just a year later. The technology was
further developed by Edgerton and the US Dept of Defense
during the second World War, and immediately after,
Edgerton produced a studio flash unit capable of feeding three
separate light heads. Manufactured by Raytheon and
distributed by Kodak, this unit had a specification and power
output comparable to equipment designed and sold today. Fox
Talbot's simple spark had been replaced by a high power
electrical discharge within a xenon-filled tube. Electronic flash
had become a fast, reliable, powerful and safe source of light
for professional photographers.

A modern electronic flash unit consists of two parts, a flash

tube/reflector assembly, and a power supply to provide the
electrical energy necessary. The gas filled flash tube itself is
made of quartz glass, and is fitted with sealed electrodes at
both ends. Power to fire the flash is taken from the mains
electricity supply, converted to direct current and stored in an
electrical component called a capacitor. The size of capacitor
determines how much power can be stored, and, ultimately,
the final maximum power of the flash unit. When the flash
unit is switched on, this capacitor is charged and connected
directly to the flash tube. When a short high voltage pulse is
fed to a fine wire wound around the exterior of the tube, the
gas inside ionises, allowing the capacitor to discharge through
the flash tube, producing a brief, but intense flash of light. This
'triggering pulse' is controlled by a signal from the camera
shutter, ensuring that the flash fires the instant the shutter is
open, or is 'synchronised' with it. The capacitor then
immediately re-charges, ready for the next flash.

Whilst there are a number of photographers who prefer

continuous light for their studio work, the majority now use
electronic flash. It is a fully controllable source of light, and
the short flash durations that are now possible enable
electronic flash to 'freeze' extremely rapid subject movement.
The variety of light-shaping accessories available today enable
the photographer to simulate virtually any lighting condition
within the commercial studio, from the hard, direct light given
by the sun, to the soft, diffused lighting provided by an
overcast sky. Well controlled electronic flash is also the ideal
light to be used with area array single and multi-shot digital
camera backs.

Electronic Flash – options and choices

The decision as to which kind, and whose flash to install is
arguably one of the most important decisions when setting up
a new commercial photographic studio. On the basis that, in
this field, as in most others, you generally get what you pay
for, probably the safest decision is to buy the most expensive
equipment you can afford. Whilst this approach is fine for
those with unlimited resources, it's more sensible to define
exactly the kind of photography you will be doing, and buy
equipment that will be specifically suitable for that
requirement. There's no point in buying facilities that you will
never use. To do this, you'll need to have a basic
understanding of how studio flash equipment works, and to
understand how various products differ.

Power Pack or Monobloc?

This is the first choice facing the photographer in the studio
start-up phase. Traditional studio flash uses a separate power
pack to produce the high voltage required to power separate
flash heads around the studio. Generally, up to four flash
heads can be connected to the power pack, which also contains
all the control circuitry.
The power pack is usually
located close to the
camera, and the flash is
triggered from the camera
shutter, either directly
using a cable, or by using
an infrared or radio
wireless connection. The
power pack also has
circuitry to control the
power to each individual
head, and how this is

Broncolor Grafit A2 and A4 done varies from

Flash Power Packs manufacturer to
manufacturer. In some
models of power pack, the total energy in the capacitor bank
can be distributed in equal parts over the number of heads
connected, the 'symmetric' power distribution. 'Asymmetric'
power packs allow the power fed to the flash heads to be
controlled individually, and this gives greater freedom to
achieve creative lighting effects. There are two kinds of
asymmetric power packs – those which allow different
channels to output power up to a maximum level per channel,
and 'true asymmetric' power packs which allow for different
output levels in each channel up to the full output of the power
pack. True asymmetric power packs are expensive, however.

The power pack also controls the light output of the modelling
lights fitted to the head. These are medium power continuous
tungsten halogen lamps which are used to give the
photographer a reasonably accurate preview of the final image
capture made using the flash tubes. It is important that the
light output of these is exactly proportional to the flash energy
of each head, and the ease of control here is one of the main
advantages of the power pack plus separate flash head
approach as opposed to the multiple 'monobloc' solution,
where errors are common.

The 'monobloc' is a fully independent flash unit, complete with

its own power unit, output controller and synchronisation
circuitry. Whereas in a power pack + separate head system, the
flash heads need to be connected to the central unit using a
heavy cables, each monobloc just needs to be near a mains
output socket, with infrared trigger circuits looking after flash
synchronisation. Modern monoblocs are now powerful enough
to compete with large power pack units, and there's a definite
saving in cost going this way. It is a very flexible approach, but
there are problems. Unless each monobloc flash used is the
same type and power,
there's a very real chance
that all the modelling
lamps will not represent
the relative power of
each flash unit. A trial
exposure or a Polaroid is
really the only way to
Visatec Logos 800 monobloc check relative power in
flash unit this situation. Also,
unless a central infra-red
remote control system is installed, every lighting adjustment
requires a walk away from the camera to the particular flash
unit involved.

Power - Joules and Watt-Seconds

The power of an electronic flash unit depends on the size of
the capacitors used, and on the level of the charging voltage,
and is usually measured by the energy stored in the unit's
capacitors in Watt-Seconds or 'Joules', after the physicist J. P.
Joule. This measurement, however, does not include losses in
cabling and in the flash tube itself, so it's quite possible to have
two units with the same joule energy but very different light
outputs. Some manufacturers use a Guide Number or the
aperture needed at two metres, but this method depends on
the reflector used. As a rough guide, a power pack for a
medium sized studio should have a minimum power rating of
between 2,000 and 3,000 joules, or multiple monoblocs should
total the same power.

Flash Duration
The duration of a flash discharge defines the ability of the flash
system to capture or 'freeze' a moving subject, and there's a
long standing debate continuing as to how it should be
measured. The problem is that the intensity of light given off
by a xenon flash tube isn't constant through the duration of
the discharge. When a fully charged capacitor starts to supply
energy to the tube, the light output rises to a maximum very
quickly indeed. As the capacitors start to discharge, the light
output starts to fall, quickly to start off with, then more slowly
as the energy is finally exhausted. In theory, the total flash
duration should cover the entire period between the flash
being triggered and the total extinction of the tube. Because of
the shape of the flash curve - rapid rise, rapid fall, then a slow
discharge at the end or 'tail' of the curve, it isn't practical to
use this total time, especially as the light energy at the tail of
the curve has little practical effect on exposure. Instead,
manufacturers who follow ISO and DIN standards use the
t=0.5 standard, which defines the duration of the flash to be
the time during which the flash intensity exceeds 50% of its
peak value. This gives a good basis for comparison between
different manufacturer's units, and most studio flash units
have t=0.5 durations of between 1/250 and 1/2,000 second.

In photographic terms, the t=0.5 flash duration only measures

the duration of the flash within one stop of the maximum light
 output. As film and digital
CCD sensors will record an
image over a much wider
range than that, the t=0.5
flash duration cannot be used
to judge whether a flash
exposure will ensure
sharpness of a moving
subject. As a result, a second
standard was formed, the
t=0.1 definition, which defines
flash duration as the time
during which the intensity
exceeds 10% of its peak value.
Generally, the t=0.1 flash
Very short flash durations
duration is about three times
allow shots like this
as long as the t=0.5 value, and
this can be used as a reliable guide to the motion stopping
ability of a flash unit.

Flash duration specifications become important as soon as the

subject has any movement at all, and are not just reserved for
rapid fashion or high speed photography. For normal non-
energetic motion, a t=0.1 value of around 1/1000 second is fine
for live models if the image will be reproduced at between 1/5
and 1/10 x full size. Faster routines and larger repro sizes will
need faster speeds, with a minimum of 1/2,000 second. These
speeds translate to flash durations of 1/3,000 second and
1/6,000 second if the t=0.5 standard is used. If most work is
still-life, flash duration isn't particularly important. If, on the
other hand, there is movement in the subject of any kind, then
you'll need to look at this specification very carefully indeed.
There are few commercial photographers around today who
haven't been caught out at least once by the inability of so
called 'fast' flash units to freeze quite simple subject motion.

Power and Colour Temperature

The colour temperature at the beginning of a flash discharge is
high and tends towards blue. As the discharge proceeds the
temperature drops, tending towards red, especially in the 'tail'
of the curve. The quoted colour temperature of a flash unit is
the average of these colour temperatures, and if the shape of
the curve is modified in any way, there will be a change in the
final colour temperature. The output power of electronic flash
can be varied, either by altering capacitance by switching
banks of capacitors in and out, or by altering the voltage
applied to the capacitor bank. Older flash equipment, and the
very simplest modern units use capacitor switching to provide
'full', 'half' and 'quarter' power output levels. Whilst these units
don't offer a wide power variation facility, they are easy to use,
and tend to have a fairly constant colour temperature over
their output range.

Flash power can also be altered by adjusting the voltage

applied to the capacitors, and this can give continuous power
output variation over a wide range, sometimes up to six or
seven stops. Voltage variation, however, invariably alters the
colour temperature output of the flash, a typical figure being
around 140 degrees Kelvin per stop power reduction. It is
possible to correct this colour temperature change during
power adjustment using electronic means, and some of the
more expensive flash units, the Bron Pulso and Grafit A for
instance, can maintain a constant colour temperature over a
wide power range, or produce flash of a given colour
temperature on demand. Not all flash units have this feature,
however, although many claim it.

This illustration shows how just a 300 ºK variation in colour

temperature (rhs) can affect the overall colour balance of a
still life picture.
Carnival 2020 back / Hasselblad combination
How important is this to the working photographer?
Obviously, a three or four hundred degree change will change
the colour of the transparency by a substantial amount, and
some form of correction will have to be used. Attitudes
towards accurate colour have changed, and this is due in no
small part to the dramatic improvements in colour stability
that have been made to the E6 film process in the last five or
ten years. As a result, the colour accuracy demands of clients
have hardened, and accurate colour has become much more
important now than ever. The real problem comes when two
sources with different colour temperatures are used on the
same shot. It isn't unusual to have a fill light close to the
subject running on reduced power whilst the key light is
further away, running on full. If the flash pack used doesn't
have consistent colour temperature over the full power range,
then the fill light will have a different colour temperature to
the key. Imagine a white perfume box illuminated from the
front with the key light at 5,500 degrees, with the side lit by a
fill light at 4,900 degrees. The result will be a white box with
amber sides unless full area light balancing filters are used on
either the key or the fill light.

Portable flash

Press and sports photographers have used small, powerful

battery operated electronic flash units as their primary light
source for many years. Commercial photographers have also
found that the latest computerised portable flash units have
proved themselves particularly useful outside the studio for
automatic 'filling in' or lightening the strong shadow areas
produced by direct sunlight. There is also a trend towards
outdoor commercial photography, and here a battery operated
multi-head electronic flash unit will give the photographer
independence from a mains electricity supply. A number of
these units have appeared in the last few years, and most offer
similar facilities to smaller mains operated studio power
packs. Generally, they offer power levels of between 1,000 and
1,250 joules, shared symmetrically between two flash heads.
These flash heads can be the same as those used in the studio,
or special 'portable' heads are available, offering low voltage
and low consumption tungsten-halogen modelling lamps.
Generally, these flash heads will also accept most of the of the
studio light-shaping accessories.

The power packs are powered by rechargeable battery packs,

and these can offer up to around 150 full power flashes per
charge. The battery pack can easily be replaced in the field,
offering long periods of independence from a mains power
supply. Flash units like this can make a lot of sense for
photographers who expect to spend a reasonable percentage of
their time out of the studio on location.

Choosing Flash Equipment

How do you choose your flash equipment? The situation isn't

eased by some manufacturers being 'creative' in the way they
describe the specifications of their equipment. At the moment,
quite outrageous specifications are being claimed for both
flash duration and colour temperature stability of quite simple
flash equipment. If these things are important, and they are for
many commercial photographers, check the equipment's
performance before parting with hard earned cash. Colour
temperature meters are made by Bron, Gossen and Minolta,
and Bron also make a flash duration meter capable of
measuring flash duration in the photographically important
t=0.1 scale. Whilst these instruments are expensive, they are
available for hire from most professional photographic
dealers. A five minute test is much cheaper than having to
replace several thousand pounds worth of flash equipment
that won't do the job asked of it.

Also, although users of digital scanning backs will need

continuous tungsten or HMI lighting, electronic flash will be
the lighting technology used by the majority of photographers
using area array digital camera backs. The advent of digital
photography, however, has been seen by many flash
manufacturers as a wonderful excuse to sell new, expensive
'digital' flash equipment. The fact is that generally, any flash
equipment that works well with film will work equally well
with a digital back. The only exception to this is consistency in
terms of power and colour temperature from flash to flash.
When a multi-exposure digital back is used, it is important
that each sequential flash is the same as the one preceding it.
Happily, most modern flash units have well regulated power
supplies, assuring a high level of repeatability from flash to
flash. The 1/10 stop switched output power adjustment on
modern flash equipment can also be useful for balancing light
sources with digital backs, too.

Ways to Creative Lighting

Lighting a subject has two main aims. The first is to increase

subject brightness to a level so that the image will register and
be recordable on film or on the digital chip, and the second, by
producing areas of highlight and shadow, is to produce an
interesting and pleasing two dimensional image of a three
dimensional object. The first requirement is comparatively
easy to achieve – a couple of flash heads fitted with area lights
or 'soft-boxes' and fed by lots of power will quickly raise
lighting levels by the required amount, and, indeed, many
photographers light their subjects this way. The images they
produce, however, are flat and lifeless, and uninteresting from
a visual point of view. Clients these days are looking for
creative ways of lighting their subjects, and will always choose
a more imaginative way of presenting their products than the
flat, low contrast 'floodlight' approach.

The choice of the appropriate lighting accessory or 'light-

shaper' is critical in achieving this creative effect. To be able to
do this reliably requires an understanding of how different
light-shapers affect the way a subject is lit, and how they can
be used to satisfy an art director's brief.

It should be part of the professional photographer's skill to be

able to produce a variety of lighting effects quickly and
reliably. Special lighting effects should not happen by accident
- or, at least, if they do, one should at least understand why. It
is essential to be able to create or reproduce any given lighting
effect quickly and accurately. To do this, it is important to
define the different properties of different types of light, and
the effect on highlight and shadow areas that they have.

There are many different types of light source. Their size in

relation to the subject, and the distance between them and the
subject, all affect the quality of the highlights and shadows, or
their 'hardness' or 'softness'.

Hard Light
A very small light source in relation to the subject emits a
'hard' light. The shadows produced are sharp and well defined,
and a wall behind the subject will show only two lighting states
- an illuminated area and a core shadow. The distance of the
light source to the subject also has a great influence on the
hardness of the light. A normal reflector illuminating a person
from around 10m distance will give very hard shadows. If you
use the same reflector, however, to illuminate a smaller subject
at a closer distance - a box of matches, for example, from
about 10cm, the shadows will be much softer.

A hard light will produce a strong difference between light and

shadow, emphasising surface texture in the subject. The
technique is good for photography of textiles and food, and
when studio lighting is being used to simulate outdoor
sunlight.
Soft Light
A light source about the same size as the subject will emit a
'soft' light. A wall behind the subject will now show a new
shadow area - between the fully illuminated areas and the core
shadow there is now a gradation from bright to dark. This area
is called a semi-shadow. Again, the distance from the light
source to the subject has an important influence on the size of
the semi-shadow and the softness of the light. Increasing the
distance between the light source and the subject makes the
light harder, whilst decreasing the distance makes it softer.

Shadows will be softer when a soft light source is used, and not
as dark as those produced with a hard light. The quality of this
light is similar to that produced by a window without direct
sun. This lighting technique is good for images of people,
portraiture, fashion and much still-life photography.

Diffused Light
A very large light source produces diffused light, and if it is
large enough, the hardness or softness of the light is more or
less independent of the subject to light source distance. A wall
behind the subject will be illuminated to some degree over the
whole area. The core shadow will disappear, being replaced by
a well-gradated semi shadow.

Shadows and surface texture on both the subject and the

background tend to disappear when a diffused light source is
used. As subject surface texture is evened out, this form of
lighting is particularly good at hiding wrinkles in beauty
photography. In nature, this perfectly diffused light is
produced by a completely overcast sky. The technique is
suitable for beauty, people and car photography, as well as for
producing fill-in light in combination with both hard and soft
'key' lighting.

Light Quality – The Criteria

The current Broncolor catalogue has over eleven pages of

lighting accessories – reflectors, spot and fresnel floods, soft-
boxes, umbrellas and area lamps. A photographer needs to
know how these can be compared with one another, so that
the most appropriate light-shaper can be chosen for a specific
situation.

The Bron company has defined a set of criteria which they

have called 'The Famous Five'. These are:

* Coverage
* Edge Transfer
* Shadow Definition
* Shadow Contrast
* The Highlight.

Coverage
Coverage defines how the subject is illuminated when the light
is aimed directly at it. The coverage can be totally even, or it
may show a gradation, or there may be a 'centreweight' or
central 'hot-spot'.

Edge Transfer
The edge transfer defines the transition from the lit area to the
unlit one, smooth in the case of most softboxes, and sharp in
the case of small reflectors and spots.

Shadow Definition
This defines the sharpness of the shadow. It also defines any
substantial difference in the shadows produced when the
subject is close to the background, and when the subject is
further away. It also tells us about the shape (rectangular or
round), and the distance from the lightshaper to the subject.

Shadow Contrast
This defines the density of the shadows, from pure black to
barely perceptible. Whilst shadow depth principally depends
on the lightshaper itself, it also depends on the amount of
stray light produced by it, and on the studio environment.

The Highlight
The highlight can be large or small. It can be rectangular or
round, even across its area, or centreweighted. The highlight is
an important feature of a lightshaper. It tells us about its
shape, size, and the illumination and coverage, especially of a
softbox diffuser.
When a photographer wants to create an image, generally
there is already a mood or a specific light quality in mind.
When we are familiar with these criteria, it will be
straightforward to choose which light and lightshaper to use,
where, and at what distance from the subject. The 'famous five'
criteria will show what any chosen lightshaper will do in any
specific lighting set-up, and help produce particular light
effects easily 'on demand'.

Lightshapers and their Characteristics

Open Reflectors

These are normally

available in a range of
diameters and depths.
Usually they yield a similar
kind of light, with
variations only in the light
angle and contrast. As a
rule, large diameter
shallow reflectors produce
a softer, wide angle light
Bron P 70 reflector suitable for portraiture,
whilst small diameter
deeper units give a narrow angle contrasty light. Highlights are
very small and burned out, and shadows are very well
delineated. As a rule, the lighting effect can be significantly
modified with honeycomb 'grids' which can be attached to the
outer rim, and open reflectors are also excellent candidates for
diffusion using acrylic panels or diffusion films.

Softboxes
Softboxes or
textile
lightshapers are
some of the
most
indispensable
tools in modern
photography.
They can be
used as main or
fill light sources,
and the textile
construction
means they are
easily portable
Bron Pulsoflex EM softboxes for location use.
The design
eliminates scattered light, assuring well saturated colour and
even illumination. Shadows can be either pronounced and well
defined or soft and smoothly graduated depending on the
reflector size and the distance from the light to the subject. A
wide variety of accessories can also be used in front of the
diffuser, including honeycomb and textile grids, barn doors,
scrims or foil diffusers, louvres and masks, providing a wide
variety of lighting effects.
Honeycomb Grids

Honeycomb grids are black

profile grids which restrict lateral
light scatter without affecting the
contrast characteristics of the
light source. Depending on the
cell size, they produce a
controlled amount of lateral light
fall-off, giving a 'spot-type'
circular light area, but without
the harshness of a spotlamp. A
Bron honeycomb grid light unit fitted with a
honeycomb grid can also be
positioned to produce a steeply graduated background within
the image frame. They are available for most flash
manufacturer's ranges of open reflectors and softboxes.

Barn Doors

Barn doors are adjustable

screens that can be fitted to both
open reflectors and softboxes.
Their main function is to limit
stray light from a light source
without affecting its basic
characteristics. In a studio with
light walls, or where there are
Bron 4-leaf barn doors nearby reflecting objects, they
will enhance shadow definition and contrast, and can also be
used to shape a light beam. They are generally available in two
or four 'wing' or element designs, affecting lateral and overall
stray light respectively.

Scrims
Scrim foil is useful for reducing light, either when used in front
of the diffuser of a softbox, or when taped to a sunlit window
in interior photography. This can be a particularly easy way of
reducing light intensity by up to one and a half f stops without
significantly changing colour temperature.

Umbrellas

Soft, indirect illumination

is the most widely used
lighting in photography,
and light may be softened
by reflection or by
diffusion simply by using
umbrellas in conjunction
with a wide angle open
reflector. Both white and
Bron silver umbrella
silvered umbrella surfaces
can be used for reflection,
with both shadow quality and colour saturation depending on
the light source to subject distance. This light can be also used
to simulate veiled sunlight.
Umbrellas can also be used as direct diffusers if the reflecting
surface is replaced by a diffusing material. These are normally
used with standard angle (65 or 70 degree) reflectors. As with
reflection umbrellas, shadow quality and colour saturation
depends mainly on the source to subject distance.

Large Area Lights

Area lamps diffuse light. They are available in a number of
different sizes up to a maximum of around 2.5 x 10 metres.
They are available in rectangular, square and round forms.

Bron Cumulite 2 large area light

A large area light unit provides similar diffusion compared

with umbrella sources, but colour saturation is greatly
superior. They consist of single or multiple flash heads, a
reflector and diffuser. The light quality is similar to an
overcast sky, and is achieved by having a lamp unit with a
strongly reflecting inside coating and a light-transmitting
diffusing sheet mounted in front. Large area light units give
uniform illumination over the entire surface, shadows are very
soft or almost invisible. With rectangular area lamps the
shadow in the longitudinal direction is almost invisible, but
can be quite pronounced in the transverse direction. In some
situations, certain surfaces with very little texture may show
no detail at all.

Spot Lights
Here the light is collimated
and projected through a
focusable projector or
fresnel lens system, resulting
in well defined or even
razor-sharp shadow
definition. The nature of the
highlights depends largely
on the diameter of the light
emitting aperture, and
highlights of spots are
Bron Pulso Spot 4
mostly small or even burned
out. With so-called 'projector spots', projection quality and
edge gradation are additional selection criteria.

Boxlights and Striplights

For some applications, it is important for light sources to
match subjects size for size, and for the photographer to be
able to define the size and shape of reflected catchlights in the
subject. These units are rigid light sources available in a
variety of shapes and sizes. The front surface is generally an
opaque plastic panel, evenly illuminated right into the edges.
 Whilst maintaining the
panel geometry for
catchlight reflections, this
also makes it easy to
position several units edge
to edge to provide seamless
illumination to any size.

Bron Boxlite 40 and Striplite 120

Striplights are narrow, oblong light sources

which also give a soft, uniform source of light.
They have become popular in fashion
photography, particularly when set up as
vertical side lighting, bringing out fabric
texture. The extended light source floods the
model with soft, even light from top to bottom,
and at the same time, the narrow shape
produces sufficient shadow to enhance the
effect of dress materials. Striplights can also be
fitted with rigid shaped front diffusers. These
increase the beam angle to around 120 degrees,
making them ideal for short distance, wide
angle illumination (car interiors, furniture sets
and special background effects). Barn door
accessories are often available for these units
to finely control the light beam shape.
Backgrounds

The background system or product support is an important

item in the commercial photographic studio. There are a
variety of background options available from a simple sheet of
white paper through to sophisticated front projection systems.
Each has its place depending on the kind of work planned.

Colorama backgrounds
Rolls of coloured paper 9'
and 5' wide are available
from manufacturers like
Savage and Colorama.
These are suspended at
the rear of the studio
using a support and chain
operated raising and
lowering mechanism, and
a system like this is found
in most photographic
studios. Paper can be hung
from the support directly
Foba background roll system to the floor, or via a table
to support the set at a
convenient height with respect to the camera. These
background rolls are convenient and inexpensive, but they
have one major disadvantage. If a diffused light source is used,
the colour of the paper is reflected back into the products
being photographed, and this colour cast is almost impossible
to remove after the image has been captured.

Graduated backgrounds
These are plastic sheets available in different sizes, where the
colour is graduated from a foreground to a background colour.
The foreground colour is generally white, so the problem of a
reflected unwanted colour doesn't exist. The product is seen
against a coloured background that increases in density
towards the top. Whilst more expensive than coloured paper,
graduated backgrounds like this such as the 'Rainbow' are
extremely useful, especially when combined with a dedicated
photographic product table.

Product Tables
Product tables are available
in a variety of different
sizes. They generally
consist of a metal frame
that supports a curved
translucent plastic support
or 'scoop' which can slope
upwards behind the
product being
photographed. This means
that a product can be lit
from underneath as well as
Foba product table
overhead, and the surface
of most plastic supports are matted to prevent undesirable
reflections. Alternatively, a graduated background sheet can be
placed on the support, and the subject lit from above only.
Like a good counterbalanced camera stand, a good product
table will save a substantial amount of time and temper in a
busy commercial studio. Good ones are available from Foba
and Manfrotto.

Infinity Coves
An infinity cove is a solid, shaped, background that completely
surrounds the item being photographed. Originally conceived
for car photography, they are now available in a variety of
shapes and sizes, from modular units several hundred feet
wide down to small table top units capable of being
illuminated by a single, small soft-box. One of the advantages
of using an infinity cove is the ease of producing a 'cut-out'
shot automatically without using blue-screen techniques.
Because of the amount of light scattering inside an infinity
cove, it is difficult to use hard, direct lighting. They are,
however, useful for producing large quantities of product
'record' photographs quickly. In the smaller sizes they also
have the advantage of being comparatively inexpensive.

Front Projection
Front projection techniques were first used in social
photography to place subjects in front of a variety of different
background locations, but in the controlled environment of a
photographer's studio. In wedding photography, for example,
a couple can be photographed against a garden or stately
home background without travelling to the area and without
having to take the weather conditions into account. The theory
of front projection is straightforward, even if the units
themselves can be quite sophisticated. A background
photograph is projected on to a special screen with a narrow
angle but high reflectivity surface. The subject is placed in
front and lit normally, but taking care that no light spills on to
the screen. The camera is placed in the front projection unit
itself, a device that uses a system of mirrors to make sure that
the camera lens is on exactly the same optical axis as the
background projection system. A built in flash system exposes
the background image in synchronisation with the subject
lighting. When correctly done, the result can be
indistinguishable from a photograph taken outside the studio.

Front projection lends itself to digital photography just as well

as to film capture. Whilst it is possible to 'cut and paste'
subject images on to backgrounds digitally, front projection
removes the need to select complex image areas, and the
results usually look more natural. This is a technique that does
require some skill to learn at first, but it can be a very powerful
tool for the social photographer. Equipment and screens are
available from Hensel in Germany.
Mixing Light Sources

Flash + Modelling Light

Most lighting set-ups are a combination of different types of
light source. Even electronic flash units will combine light
produced by the flash tube and the modelling light, and,
strictly speaking, both light sources need to be taken into
account if the photographer is to remain in control of density
and colour balance. Generally, the intensity of the modelling
lamp is low compared to the flash itself, and has little
influence on the subject exposure. Some camera systems,
however, have a slow flash synchronisation shutter speed, and
a powerful modelling lamp can have a significant influence on
the overall exposure. As the modelling lamp has a warmer
colour temperature than the flash, it can also affect the colour
balance of the shot. Normally, this is a problem that rarely
affects the studio photographer, but if there is any doubt that
this may happen, it is sometimes better to turn the modelling
lamp power down, or even switch it off just before the flash
exposure.

Flash + Daylight
One of the more creative ways of using electronic flash is to
mix it with ambient light, usually sunlight, to fill in shadows
without removing the overall modelling of a scene. Generally,
the technique is used for interior shots, but it can also be used
to advantage with full length fashion shots in attractive
interior and exterior settings. Here, the secret is to balance the
output of the flash units so that shadows are filled in or
lightened without the light from the flash unit dominating the
shot.
Here, an exposure
meter that can
individually read
out the flash and
ambient light
components of a
situation is
invaluable in
putting a shot like
this together.
Generally,
although many
Three flash units were used to lighten effects are
shadow areas in this interior shot possible, it is best
to limit the flash
exposure to at least one stop below the ambient reading, and
many fashion photographers use a figure of between one and a
half and two stops. The relative powers of ambient and flash
can be altered in a number of ways. Varying the power of the
flash head is the obvious way, and a flash unit with a
continuously variable power output is invaluable in these
circumstances. Another way is to increase the shutter speed by
one stop and decrease the camera aperture by the same. The
ambient exposure will remain unchanged, but the flash
exposure will be effectively halved, reducing the effect of the
fill light. The light from a flash unit can also be reduced by
increasing the distance between the flash head and the subject,
or by using a reflector with various density diffusers.

Flash + HMI
Using flash with HMI light is similar to mixing flash with
daylight, the HMI source effectively behaving as ambient
sunlight. As with flash + daylight, a decision has to be made as
to which light source will behave as the key or main light, and
which will be used as the fill. Again, an exposure meter which
can read-out both the flash and ambient (HMI) components
simultaneously will be very useful if the photographer is going
to remain in control of the lighting balance. Like flash +
daylight, flash + HMI has the advantage that both sources have
a similar colour temperature, and no colour compensation
filtration will be needed.

One of the major applications of combining flash with any

continuous light source is the creation of 'wipe' effects. Here, a
sharp image created by the flash lighting is combined with a
blurred 'wipe' created by a long time exposure lit by the
continuous source. Typical shots include a hammer striking a
nail with a sharp hammer and nail, but showing a blurred
image of the path of the hammer, and a sharp shot of a dancer,
but with a blurred path of movement before or after the flash.

HMI and Daylight

Daylight and HMI light are both continuous light sources, so
what you see on the viewing screen of the camera is what you
will get in the final captured image. Lighting balance
adjustments are made either by altering the HMI power, or by
varying the distance from the HMI source to the subject.

Normally, daylight will be used as the key light, with the HMI
source used as a fill. There is no reason, however, why the HMI
light could not be used as the key, with daylight acting as the
fill source, providing the fill light does not dominate the
lighting balance.

Ambient Light
Ambient light is often a mixture of different types of light
source, especially when interiors are being photographed.
Outside, there is a difference in colour temperature from red
to blue as the day goes from dawn to noon and then on to late
afternoon and evening. A grey balance adjustment in the
capture software will usually correct the problem. If it doesn't,
a simple colour temperature meter will show the most suitable
'Wratten' 80 series light balancing filter needed.

Interior light is much more difficult to balance, as it is usually

a mix of daylight through windows, low wattage tungsten and
maybe even fluorescent sources. Here it can be wise to correct
for the main source of light, and let the lower power sources
look after themselves. When capturing images digitally, a grey
card 'white balance' adjustment will usually be all that's
needed. If this doesn't correct the colour cast, then the 'film'
solution of using a three channel colour temperature meter
can be used. This will recommend two sets of on camera
filtration – one to look after the daylight/tungsten red/blue
cast, and the other to handle the green/magenta cast produced
by fluorescent light sources.

Typical Lighting Set-Ups

Whilst it is impossible to define exact lighting set-ups for

specific photographic situations, there are a number of typical
photographic tasks that lend themselves to particular lighting
arrangement. Assembling this standard lighting set-up can
make a good start, and often this initial set just requires a few
minor adjustments to achieve optimum lighting.

Product Still-Life photography

This will be the most used set-up for many photographic
studios, the images destined for use in printed catalogues and
brochures. Generally,
the requirement is to
show the product as
accurately as possible,
coupled with
compatibility with
four-colour litho
printing.

A typical 'still-life' product shot Once the background

system has been
chosen and put into place, it makes a lot of sense to position
the products reasonably near it, so separate lighting will not be
required for the subject and the background. The key light for
this kind of photograph is usually a medium sized soft-box or
reflector, either 80cm or 1m square. This is normally placed at
about 45 degrees to the right or left of the camera / subject
line, and should also be slightly above it. This main or 'key'
light should give the appearance of mid-morning or mid-
afternoon sunlight coming from a large side window. When
this light is in position, and connected to its power pack, set
the modelling light to 'full', and make sure that the subject
does not cast a shadow on the background. If this happens,
either move the background back or move the subject
forwards until the shadow is removed, finely adjusting the
position of the key light if necessary.

The next light to introduce is the 'fill' lamp. Its function is to

lighten shadow areas in the set, and to reduce overall contrast
to an acceptable level. Again, this light can be a medium sized
soft-box. The ideal fill light should be large, comparable in size
o the subject, and give soft, diffused lighting. The classic
position for the fill light is as near as possible to the camera
lens, and positioned at the same height.

Controlling Contrast
Whilst a digital CCD can record a wide range of subject
brightness or contrast, the four colour litho print process can
only handle a dynamic range of between five and six stops
before highlight or shadow detail starts to become lost.

Image contrast can be observed in the 'curves' section of the

camera capture software, and the power to the 'fill' flash head
should be adjusted until the difference between the 'dark' and
'light' portions of the image cover about a five and a half stop
range. Occasionally, scene contrast will need to be increased,
especially in a studio or area with white walls. This can be
achieved by darkening the shadow areas by using a black
reflector, and moving it towards the shadow areas until the
required effect is achieved. A useful studio accessory consists
of a large polystyrene panel left matt white on one side, and
painted using matt black emulsion paint on the other. This can
then be positioned easily using a lightweight lighting stand to
lighten or darken shadow areas. It is important that the fill
light or reflector simply alters the brightness of the shadow
areas without adding new highlights or shadows. The main or
'key' light must always remain the dominant light source.

Often, product shots

need to show
complex interior
detail. This can
create special
demands on the fill
lighting, as
demonstrated here.
 Low and High Key Lighting
Often, an art director will ask a photographer for a 'low key' or
'high key' effect, and both of these require very specific
approaches to lighting.

Low Key

In low key lighting,

dark tones
predominate in the
image, only
relieved by isolated
light patches
around the key
features of the
subject. Low-key
treatment usually
involves high
contrast lighting
with the subject
positioned in front
Two large softboxes mounted vertically of a dark
were used here, with black 'Colorama' rolls background. The
hung behind and to the right. Barndoors inverse square law
were used to limit 'stray' light can help creating
low key effects
simply by positioning the background some distance behind
the main subject, and not lighting it separately. If the main
subject is placed exactly half way between the lamp and the
background, the background illumination will be two stops
below that of the main subject. Using a dark surface will then
more or less guarantee a solid black low key background. The
main subject should be lit using directional lighting from the
side, and this may be hard or soft depending on the effect
required. Many photographers start by using a standard
reflector as the key light, sometimes fitted with a honeycomb
grid. A softbox may be used if a softer source is needed, but
special care should be taken here to prevent any stray light
hitting the background. As a general rule, it is a good idea to
fit the key light with barn doors when producing this kind of
lighting. This way, you can make sure only the main subject
receives illumination. Any excessively deep shadows can be
filled in gently using a white reflector.

It's a good idea to keep exposures on the short side when

producing low key lighting. Half a stop underexposure is often
enough to produce quite dramatic effects.
High Key
Light tones predominate in high key lighting, generally
produced by soft, low contrast lighting with the subject

An example of high key lighting

positioned against a light background. The key light should be

a large area light or softbox, positioned as close to the subject
as possible. Contrast is kept very low, and often the mid-tones
will virtually disappear. The background should be as close as
possible to the subject to minimise light fall off due to the
inverse square law, or it can even be lit separately using
additional flash heads. Providing the background itself is light,
and the reflected light level measured by a flashmeter is
between two and three stops higher than the main subject, the
result will be a pure white, high key background. Shadow and
mid-tone areas in the subject also need to be filled in
completely, and this can be done by strategic positioning of
white reflectors. If the studio walls and ceiling are painted
white, they can also be illuminated using additional lamps,
adding to the overall high key effect.
Exposures should be on the long side, one full stop over
exposure usually being enough to produce a soft, white high
key image.

Beauty Lighting
The main quality
required of lighting
for beauty
photography is its
ability to smooth
out skin
imperfections. This
lighting is ideal for
the photography of
cosmetics, or in
any application
Typical 'beauty' lighting where a totally
smooth skin tone is
required. Whilst many skin flaws can be hidden by turning the
model one way or another, others will have to be minimised by
the choice of a wide, diffused light source. Here, a large area
softbox should be positioned near to the model and to one
side, with a second light or reflector positioned on the
opposite side. Some photographers use two softboxes, one
above the other, immediately above and below the camera
lens. The softness of this light will produce perfect skin
rendering, and give a degree of freshness to the model's face,
as well as cancelling out any shadows. It is wise to shoot at a
large lens aperture (small f/stop number). The limited depth of
field produced by this will smooth out any unwanted
background detail, together with any other areas behind or in
front of the area of critical sharpness. This in turn means using
the lowest flash power to the softbox that the power pack will
allow. If the light output still needs to be reduced further,
neutral density scrim foil can be taped to the softbox diffuser.
Depending on the foil used, this will reduce the light output
further by up to one and a half f/stops.

Often, beauty lighting is combined with a pure white

background produced by a white background paper roll lit
separately by two flash heads, one at each side. The power
levels of these lamps is set to overexpose the background by
about one stop. This arrangement is particularly good for
female portraiture when the main lighting is produced by two
softboxes, one above the other. The clear background is useful
for dropping in text for magazine front cover use.
Portrait Lighting

The main, or 'key' light for

this portrait is a large soft-
box to the right of the set
and above the sitter,
whilst the fill is
immediately to the left.
An effect light is situated
above, behind and to the
right of the model,
lighting her hair and left
shoulder. The hand
painted canvas
background is lit using a
single lamp fitted with a
standard reflector.

Entire books have been written on the subject of lighting for

portraiture, but most classic portrait lighting set-ups involve
four main elements:

• A main or 'key' light, approximating to natural sunlight

outdoors,
• Secondary single or multiple lights to control contrast and
to fill-in shadows,
• Effect lights, for example a top-light to add detail to the
model's hair,
• Background lighting behind the subject.
If the model is placed some distance from the background, it
makes sense to arrange the background lighting first. This
light can be provided by a single lamp head fitted with a
standard reflector, or a spot or fresnel flood can be used to
bring out highlights and shadows in a draped background
effectively. The background lighting should be confined to the
background only, with no stray light 'spill' on to the model.
Here, honeycomb grids, barn doors or black panels can be
used to screen off all unwanted light.

The main light generally comes next, and in portraiture this

should be positioned above the model's face and to one side.
This will produce reflections or 'catchlights' in the model's
eyes, and will mainly illuminate one side of the face.

The shadow areas on the other side of the head will need to be
'filled', but these needs to be done carefully so the face should
look natural, with the shape of the head emphasised. The best
way to achieve this is to use white polystyrene reflector panels
which will lighten the shadow areas using light from the main
lamp. Portraiture is one of the few areas where it is better to
use large reflector panels like this rather than additional low
powered lamp/softbox combinations. If the panel is large
enough, it will not create unwanted new catchlights or
shadows. Different photographers have different preferences
for the key or main light, but a large soft reflector like an
umbrella or soft-box will give good results.
An effect light completes the lighting set-up. In a portrait, a
small spotlight or reflector positioned behind, above and to
one side of the subject provides a 'top light' that adds detail to
the hair and also provides a hint of light on the model's
shoulders. Again, it is important that no light from the effect
light be allowed to fall on the model's face, and barn doors or a
snoot on the effect light will prevent this from happening.

This sequence covers classic portrait lighting, and this is one

area where low to medium power monobloc flash units are
ideal. Three 250 joule heads equipped with remote triggering
are usually sufficient to start with. A couple of umbrellas with
matt white reflective surfaces, a folding soft-box, and a couple
of standard reflectors with honeycomb grids will usually be
enough to handle most portraiture set-ups.

A fourth light will normally be needed as an additional main

light source for small group photography. Many flash
equipment manufacturers sell three and four head flash outfits
complete with a selection of flash accessories, and these can
represent excellent value for money.
Emulating sunlight in the studio

General principles
Photography using the sun as the main light source is
becoming increasingly popular. Natural direct sunlight gives
high contrast and colour saturation, and many art directors
prefer it for the natural effect it gives fashion photography,
and particularly for illustrations of sports and leisure wear.
Photography on location has its disadvantages, however. The
quality of light is changing constantly, making it difficult to
shoot a large number of subjects over an extended period of
time, and poor weather can often mean that photography has
to be abandoned completely until conditions improve. For
these reasons, photographers try to emulate direct natural
sunlight in the studio, where conditions are more under
control. There are several ways to do this, and there are
specific lighting accessories that are specifically designed to
emulate sunlight in the smaller photographic studio.

One way of emulating sunlight in the studio is to use a small

point source light some distance away from the subject. In
addition to giving increased contrast and saturation, this light
will give the small, well defined, subject-sized shadows that are
typical of sunlight. The technique requires a long studio,
however, as the nearer the main lamp source approaches the
subject, the larger and less well defined the shadows will
become. The height of the light source also affects the shadow
detail. Positioning the light source high with respect to the
subject plane will produce the short, crisp shadows typical of
mid-day sunlight. Lowering the source will extend shadow
length, simulating morning or evening sunlight.

The key to simulating sunlight in the studio is to produce as

near a parallel beam of light as possible. Spot projectors,
Fresnel or condenser spotlamps, a lamp fitted with a snoot, or
even a bare light without any reflector can all be used.

In addition to affecting the size and definition of shadows, the

light to subject distance will also affects the appearance of the
side of the subject facing the light. A 'point source' lamp obeys
the inverse square law of illumination, meaning that as the
distance from the lamp comes down, the 'fall off' in light across
the subject becomes considerable. The practical effect of this is
that the lit and unlit parts of the subject may appear sharply
differentiated, giving an unnatural effect to the captured
image. The answer is to Increase the lamp to subject distance.
This will reduce this light fall-off, and the transition from lit to
unlit areas will more softly gradated. It requires a long studio
when conventional flash accessories are used, however.

Parabolic Reflectors

Parabolic reflectors like the Broncolor Satellite are metallic,

dish-shaped units which resemble satellite dishes. As with a
conventional umbrella, the distance between the flash head
and the reflecting surface can be altered infinitely, offering a
wide variety of lighting possibilities. If the flash tube is
 positioned at the focus
point of the parabolic
reflector, the light beam
becomes virtually parallel
and resembles sunlight.
In this arrangement, the
reflector is a valuable tool
for simulating sunlight in
the smaller studio. When
the light source is placed
away from the focal point,
the illumination becomes
more or less divergent.
Shadow areas are well
defined, making it an
ideal primary light source
for food, still-life and
fashion photography. The
parabolic mirror with its
Emulating sunlight in the studio special coating produces
with the Bron Satellite very little light loss,
making it a particularly
efficient light-shaper, and very suitable for use with lower
powered packs.
The Broncolor Sunlite Set

The Broncolor Sunlite

Set is another way of
simulating natural
sunlight indoors by
producing a parallel
beam over a relatively
short light to subject
distance. It uses a
special flash tube to
create an extra hard,
point source light, and
shadow depth and
High contrast 'edge' detail
sharpness can be varied
produced by the Bron 'Sunlite set
by controlling light
spillage with four adjustable barn doors. The set is supplied
with both clear and matte flash tube protecting domes, and
these provide two degrees of light 'hardness'. In addition to the
sunlight emulation capability, the Sunlite set can also be used
in combination with a large soft-box in a still life set. The soft-
box will provide overall subject illumination, whilst the Sunlite
set can provide a high contrast 'edge' to detail. This
combination of two light sources can be invaluable for food
shots where product texture is important. It emulates the
lighting produced by positioning a subject indoors, but close
to a large window lit by direct sunlight.
 Chapter 5: Capturing Images Digitally

The Digital Imaging Computer

The decision all newcomers to digital photography need to

make right at the beginning is whether to choose the Intel PC
platform using Microsoft’s Windows operating system, or to
use the Apple Macintosh platform. Because a number of
photographers will already be familiar with Windows, and
maybe already own a Windows computer, there is an initial
preference to choose this system. Many have proved that it is
perfectly possible to assemble a working digital imaging
system using Windows, and if the personal preference is
strong in this direction, there’s no valid objection to going this
way. There are some points that need to be highlighted,
however. An imaging computer will need a specification that is
beyond the average Windows configuration, and will therefore
need to be custom assembled, and, preferably, by someone
experienced in the technology. It is fairly easy to choose a
powerful enough processor, preferably an Intel Pentium
running in the GHz region, but the graphics card needs to be
carefully chosen, as does the monitor. Because Apple
Macintosh computers have developed in the graphic arts
environment, they are ‘digital imaging’ competent right out of
the box. They also have the high speed data communications
ports necessary for handling the large image files fitted as
standard, without the need to fit and configure extra PCI
‘FireWire’ cards and the like. Perhaps most importantly, the
Apple operating system comes with the Apple ColorSync
colour management software, now accepted as the standard
throughout the graphics arts industry.

The monitor is an important part of the imaging workstation,

and whilst there has been much progress in the quality of solid
state TFT screens, the Trinitron or Diamontron CRT based
monitors are still the best for judging accurate colour. The
minimum size should be 17”, whilst 19” or 20” monitors are
now becoming the standard for the professional imaging
workstation.

Other considerations include RAM memory and hard disk size.

Money spent on RAM memory is always well spent, and whilst
most camera manufacturers specify 512 MB as the minimum
RAM size for their software, 1 GB makes more sense, especially
at today’s low memory prices. Like RAM, the digital
photographer never seems to have enough hard disk space,
and 40 GB should be taken as the very minimum. Modern
computers use IDE hard disk systems, and these are much
faster than they used to be. If speed of operation is critically
important, however, one can gain an important increase in
speed by fitting a fast SCSI hard disk instead. Whilst these are
more expensive than IDE disks, they can be installed, complete
with the necessary controller card, by the computer supplier at
the time of purchase. The computer should also have access to
a fast CD writer, either fitted as part of the computer CPU, or,
preferably, as an external ‘FireWire” unit.
In addition to the supplied Windows or Mac operating system,
the average digital photographer requires little in the way of
additional software other than a copy of the full version of
Adobe Photoshop. Other programs which many find useful are
the ‘Mask-Pro’ and ‘Intellihance’ Photoshop plug-ins from
Extensis. 'Mask Pro' provides a reasonably accurate way of
providing 'cut-out' images for designers who want to drop
images into text pages without the complication (and expense)
of blue screen selection packages. Users of single shot camera
backs have also found ‘Quantum Mechanic’ a useful
Photoshop plug-in for removing moiré and interpolation
artefacts. A trial version is available for download from
www.camerabits.com

Monitor Calibration
It is of paramount importance that the computer monitor
accurately displays the file in terms of white and dark points,
mid tone greys and colour, and there are several ways of
achieving this. The simplest is the software calibrator, and one
of these comes free of charge with Adobe Photoshop. 'Adobe
Gamma' runs the user through a series of menus, covering
phosphor characteristics, mid-tone grey, gamma, and white
point values. The software then creates a monitor profile
which is stored along with all the other colour profiles on the
system. Apple's ColorSync monitor calibrator is a similar
system, and forms part of the Mac OS, and it is also available
as a free download from Apple's 'ColorSync' web site.
Software Monitor Calibrators

The current Adobe 'Gamma' Control Panel

Another software calibrator that many people prefer is the
older Knoll 'Gamma' Control Panel, shipped with Adobe
Photoshop up to and including v4.0

The Knoll 'Gamma' Control Panel for the

Macintosh (OS 9)

The Knoll 'Gamma' Control Panel

Hardware Monitor Calibrators
Software calibrators have the advantage of being easy to use,
but they depend on a purely subjective analysis of the screen
image.

Hardware calibration packages exist which use a transmission

spectrophotometer to measure colour directly off the screen,
compare the readings with stored values and create a
correction profile. Prices of these have come down to a level
where every digital workstation can take advantage of the kind
of monitor accuracy they provide. Hardware monitor
calibrators are available from GretagMacbeth and Pantone,
and LaCie offers a hardware screen calibrator as an optional
extra for their range of CRT displays.

GretagMacbeth 'EyeOne' Monitor calibrator

Setting up the Camera

In many respects, capturing an image with a digital camera is

much easier than using film. Whilst a Polaroid instant print
will give the conventional ‘film’ photographer a good idea of
what the final transparency will look like, it is only when the
film has been processed and on a light box that the image can
be properly judged for exposure and lighting. The digital
photographer, on the other hand, can have the image on the
computer monitor a minute or so after capture, and the final
‘accept or reject’ decision can be made at that point. Even after
the final image has been saved and exported, the digital
photographer also has the option to ‘re-process’ the image as
many times as he wants if the original ‘raw’ image file is saved.
This technique allows gradation and colour to be altered at a
later time to suit different image applications without having
to re-capture the image in the studio.

The result is that the digital photographer knows that a

particular shot has been successful much earlier than is
possible with film. Not only can the set be ‘struck’ much earlier
to proceed with other work, but all the image data captured
can be archived should further work be needed on the file at
some future time.

Lens Choice
Once the composition of a set has been finalised and the kind
of lighting chosen and installed, the camera can be set-up
ready for capture. Generally, for both people pictures and still
life shots, a lens with a slightly longer focal length than
‘standard’ should be chosen for shots within the studio. A
‘standard’ or ‘normal’ focal length lens gives the camera an
angle of view of around 50 degrees, producing a reasonably
close perspective. Narrowing this angle of view to around 25
degrees produces a slightly flatter perspective, more flattering
in the case of portraiture, and it will reduce the apparent size
or magnification differences from the front to the back of a
still life set. On a chip sized 24mm x 36mm like the Philips 2k x
3k CCD, an 85mm or 100mm focal length lens will give this
angle of view, and this lens is a good starting point. On
camera backs which use the newer 6 x 4.5 cm chip a 150mm
lens can be used instead.

On a reflex camera like the Hasselblad, the camera height

should then be set, and the camera angle adjusted to fill the
frame with the subject. If a monorail is being used, most
photographers will adjust the tilt of the back of the camera so
that it is vertical, and most monorail backs are equipped with
a spirit level to aid this. Once the back is vertical, no further
back tilt should normally be applied unless the camera
position is changed.

Focusing and sharpness

The next task is to obtain a sharp image from the front to the
back of the set. On a reflex camera this is done by reducing the
lens aperture (increasing the f stop number), or ‘stopping
down’ the lens to increase the depth of field or zone of sharp
focus. For the average set, this will mean using a lens aperture
of around f/16, and at the camera/subject distances normally
used for still-life work the depth of field will usually extend
one third of the distance in front of the focus point, to two
thirds behind it. This means that a camera situated 2 metres
from a set will usually have a depth of field that extends from
1.5 metres to 3 metres away from the camera. Most lenses have
a ‘stop down’ lever that sets the aperture to the pre-set value,
and using this whilst adjusting the point of focus and the
aperture will give a good starting point before the first digital
‘preview’ capture.

On a monorail camera, the situation is generally the same as

the reflex, but there are some important differences. Because
the monorail camera doesn’t have a viewfinder, the image is
viewed either on a sliding ground glass viewer assembly, or on
an electronic ‘live video’ display on the computer monitor.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The ground
glass adaptor gives a true image, and focus adjustments are
seen in real time. The problem with this technique is that the
assembly has to be swung out of the way every time an image
needs to be captured on the digital CCD. With most adaptors
the CCD is unprotected whilst the viewing screen is being used,
making dust on the chip surface a real problem unless the
studio is kept clinically clean. The image on the ground-glass
screen is also tiny (the size of the CCD chip) and focus and
composition adjustments can be difficult without a high
quality magnifier.
Live Video
A ‘live video’ facility will solve most of these problems, and
most manufacturers offer this option. Live video will display a
magnified image on the computer monitor in ‘real time’ so
that the CCD back can be kept attached to the camera, and all
adjustments can be made using this image. This displayed
image isn’t high quality video, however. The refresh rate, or
the speed with which these images are re-drawn on screen,
varies around the 4-5 f.p.s. figure, and this means focusing
adjustments have to be done slowly if a jerky screen image is
to be avoided. Most live video facilities include a phase
contrast focusing aid, and this can often give a more accurate
focus setting than that provided by visual techniques alone.
Colour accuracy is also limited with most live video systems,
but this isn’t an important consideration at this stage.

Front tilt
With a complex set, even a lens aperture around f/16 won’t
always guarantee an image totally sharp from front to back,
and front tilt movement will be needed to increase the zone of
sharpness. It’s important here to start at the camera’s ‘neutral’
settings, and these are both the back and front vertical, as
indicated by the spirit levels on both standards. If the camera’s
monorail bed is tilted downwards, as it will be for the average
still life or product shot, then the subject is likely to be
cropped on the viewfinder image. This should be corrected by
either front or back up/down shift, not tilt. With the subject
well centred in the frame, the front is tilted forwards until the
subject is sharp from front to back. This will usually involve
correction to the front or back shift as the front is tilted, but it
is a quick and easy correction to make once one gains
experience and familiarity with the camera. The essential thing
to remember is to keep the back vertical always. For those that
like to calculate these things, Rodenstock make a circular
‘slide-rule’ calculator that will give the camera settings
necessary for a given set of conditions. Most people, however,
will use the ‘tilt and check’ technique to set front tilt. If the lens
is fitted on its optical centre in the front panel, tilting the panel
will not affect the central focus position, and this helps setting
front tilt tremendously. If the lens is mounted in front of, or
behind its centre, then each tilt movement will affect the
overall focus position. The front standard will then need to be
moved forwards or backwards along the monorail for each tilt
adjustment. The more advanced monorail cameras have a fine
forward/back lens mount adjustment, and, if correctly set, this
can ensure that the lens behaves as if it were mounted exactly
on its optical centre, substantially aiding accurate front tilt
adjustment.

Setting up for Digital Capture

Lighting
Once the number of heads and lighting accessories have been
chosen, the image ‘modelling’, or the difference between light
and shade should first be checked. It’s important here to make
sure the modelling lamp power is set in proportion to the flash
power chosen. Most flash power packs have a ‘modelling lamp
- proportional’ setting, and this should always be used. The
power ratio to each head should be individually altered until a
pleasing effect is obtained. It is important to remember while
doing this that only one light should provide the main or ‘key’
lighting, whilst all the others should be secondary to it. There
is, after all, only one sun, and images will look more natural
and realistic if the lighting in the studio emulates this.

Exposure
Next, the flash power should be set to each head to provide the
correct exposure at the f/stop setting already defined by the
depth of field requirements. The best way is to do this is to
take a preview exposure
using the camera’s
capture software, first
making sure the ‘chip
speed’ is set correctly
when using cameras
where this is variable.
Most software packages
include an exposure bar
chart display, and the
lighting power should be
adjusted until the reading
is centred around the zero
The 'Exposure Bar' in the Leaf mark. Flash power packs
Valeo software. Here it shows normally have an overall
about 2/3 stop underexposure power adjustment, and
this will increase or
decrease the power output to all heads in proportion to the
individual head pre-set levels. The exposure bar display will be
shown in ‘Windows-Exposure’ menu in the Imacon Flexcolor
software, and in the ‘Standard Capture’ option in ‘Window-
Capture’ toolbox in the LeafCapture software.

Dynamic range
Once exposure is set correctly, it is a good idea to check the
contrast or dynamic
range of the captured
image file. There are a
number of ways to do
this, but examination of
the histogram display is
perhaps the best. The
histogram is a display
showing the distribution
of the number of pixels
between the highlight and
shadow areas in an image
file. Most software
packages can compare
these values against
f/stop values, effectively
giving the dynamic range
of the picture file. If the
Histogram display in Imacon
final use of the image is
software, showing red, green
for four colour litho
blue and composite levels
printing, the dynamic
range of the image should not exceed five and a half f/stops, or
six at the outside limit. Whilst the image may display well on a
computer monitor at dynamic range levels greater than this, a
final printed image will show a lack of shadow detail, blocked-
out highlights or maybe both. Dynamic range is best adjusted
by using the lighting alone. It can be reduced by increasing
power to the fill lamp or by moving the fill lamp further
towards the subject. Conversely, dynamic range can be
increased by reducing fill lamp power or by moving the fill
lamp further away from the subject.

Tonal Curve
The next adjustment is to
the tonal curve, and this is
used to adjust the mid tone
values in the image. Most
digital camera capture
software packages allow
this curve to be edited, the
display showing how the
raw camera data will be
converted to the final 24 bit
output file. Points can be
defined and moved to alter
the shape of the curve, and
the effect on the mid-tone
values can be viewed in
Leaf 'Advanced" capture the preview window.
showing tonal curve and Because this adjustment is
histogram display done on the full ‘raw’ data
captured, it is best done at this point rather than later after
image ‘development’. This ‘curves’ menu is found in the
‘Windows – Gradation’ menu in the Imacon ‘Flexcolor’
software, and in ‘Advanced Capture’ in the ‘Window-Capture’
toolbox in the LeafCapture software.

Colour
The next adjustment is to set the ‘grey balance’ by capturing
the colour values of an accurate ‘grey’ patch using an 'eye
dropper' tool in the
capture software. This
grey patch is often
supplied by the camera
manufacturer, or the
mid grey patch on a
colour test chart like the
GretagMacbeth Colour
Checker chart is also a
The GretagMacbeth
useful reference tone.
'ColorChecker' colour rendition
Because this setting sets
chart
the colour accuracy
across the entire image, it is very important to make sure the
test chart or patch is in good condition. Some recommend that
the test chart be replaced every six months. Whilst this is
perhaps an extreme view, it is unwise to underestimate the
importance of this measurement on image quality.
Input Colour Management
The next decision that needs to be made is whether to apply
colour management to the image capture or not. Colour
management systems have been around for a while now, and
they still remain the only really practical way of assuring a
consistent level of colour accuracy in a digital imaging
workflow. Heidelberg originally developed the 'ColorSync'
colour management system, and this was the first practical
working program designed for the Macintosh desk-top
platform. Apple Computer licensed the technology from
Heidelberg, and it has been included with all of Apple's
Macintosh operating systems for many years. Microsoft's ICM
v2 is broadly based on the first Heidelberg system, and while
some claim it isn't a true system level CMS, it certainly works
well when teamed with a compliant application like Adobe
Photoshop v5 to v7.

The principle is simple enough. Each element in a digital

imaging workflow will introduce some modification to a
colour file processed by it. This modification is measured, and
a 'profile' created that will cancel it out. A traditional colour
managed workflow consists of a scanner or digital camera with
its own 'input' profile to create the digital file, a profiled
monitor to view the images with a degree of colour accuracy,
and a print or 'output' profile that matches the print process
used.
Input profiles for digital cameras are usually supplied by the
camera manufacturer as part of the capture software, and
usually there is a choice of profile depending on the type of
photography being carried out. These profiles are found under
'Input Profiles' in the 'Setup-ColorSync' folder in Imacon’s
Flexcolor software, and under 'Input' in the 'Window-Color'
toolbox in LeafCapture. Leaf give two options for the input
profile for the Valeo 11 camera, 'Valeo 11 Product' for
catalogue work, and 'Valeo 11 Portrait' where a softer profile is
needed.

ICC profile selection in the Imacon capture software

Custom Input Profile Creation
There are third party digital camera 'profiler' packages
available for those who wish to produce accurate input profiles
under their own particular studio and lighting conditions. One
of the more successful products around is GretagMacbeth's
'ProfileMaker DC' package. This uses a high saturation 'digital
camera' colour test chart, and a software measuring package
that compensates for exposure and geometry variations across
the captured chart image.

Creating the camera profile with this package is a simple

operation, and, in theory, it should be possible to do this as
part of every single location or studio shot. The 'Digital
Camera' test chart should be positioned near the main subject
area, lit by the same lighting, and as parallel to the camera
back as possible. The image is captured, and then saved as an
RGB TIFF file. The ProfileMaker software is started, and the
supplied colour chart reference files saved in the appropriate
folder. The shot containing the chart is then opened in the
'sample' folder, and the image cropped to reference marks
provided at the edges of the test chart. The software will then
measure the colour patches after automatically correcting for
any shape distortion and unevenness in lighting. After the
rendering choices are made, the profile folder is chosen, the
profile is named, created and saved. This profile is then
available for future image capture.
Development and Image Export

Development
When the image has been captured, and all adjustments are
complete on this 'raw' file, the image is then 'developed' ready
for export. The
'development' or
processing step
depends on the type
of capture, and the
final file format that
will be chosen for
export. The adjacent
Select 'develop' curve
colour interpolation
process takes place here with single shot cameras, as well as
the application of any artefact correction algorithms chosen.
The separate colour files are assembled into a single composite
image file when a
multiple shot camera
is used. Any unsharp
masking ordered in
the software also takes
place at this time. The
process generally
takes just over a
minute with a modern
fast computer, and
Select output profile
ends either with the
final image opened in Photoshop, or saved to the computer's
hard disk. Most software packages allow a degree of image
editing at this stage, too. Leaf offer different 'develop curves'
designed to increase or decrease contrast with a preview
available showing an emulation of the finished file, and both
Leaf and Imacon allow 'before' and 'after' levels to be
compared, and edited if necessary.

RGB or CMYK output?

Here, the debate continues whether it should be the
responsibility of the photographer or the repro house to
convert the captured RGB file to the CMYK colour space
necessary for four colour litho printing. It can be argued that
as this conversion usually will alter the appearance of the
printed image, the photographer should remain in charge
here. If there is an accurate proofing facility available, the
photographer can preview the converted image, and, if
necessary edit either the RGB file or the converted CMYK file
until the finished result is acceptable.

There are three options available. The conversion to CMYK

can take place in the capture software, and Imacon offer this in
their Flexcolor package. Alternatively, the image can be
captured in RGB, and a specialised 'Capture to Print'
application can be used to convert to CMYK, and this solution
is offered by Leaf in their Leaf oXYgen package. A number of
options are available here, but perhaps the most powerful is to
capture the image in 16 bit RGB rather than 8 bit, allowing
oXYgen to work with the full captured data. The conversion to
an 8 bit colour space is done only when the output device is
selected.

Finally, the RGB to CMYK conversion can be done in Adobe

Photoshop. Here, a number of routes are available depending
on the photographer's familiarity with printing conditions.
CMYK conversions or 'separations' are easiest using ColorSync
in Photoshop v7.0 on the Macintosh platform, and generally
this gives an acceptable result in the majority of cases.
Photoshop v4 gave access to all print conditions for those that
are familiar with GCR and UCR black replacement techniques,
as well as dot gain adjustments. These facilities are repeated in
the latest versions of the software, and experimentation here
with the co-operation of a printer or repro house can result in
extremely accurate conversion conditions. Until that
experience has been gained, however, ColorSync on the
Macintosh will satisfy most people.

Profile Embedding and the Web

Most software will allow the photographer to embed an output
profile in the image file. The advantage of doing this is to
characterise the image file when it is opened on the client's
workstation, providing of course that it is CMS compliant.
There is, however, one important exception to this general
rule. Full colour management is only currently possible across
the World Wide Web when a Macintosh computer and a
ColorSync compliant browser is used, limiting colour managed
colour to those using Microsoft's Internet Explorer v4 and v5
for the Mac. If any other system is used, the browser will strip
out the profile, and the image will be displayed without the
correction effects of the profile.

As most consumers use the Windows platform to view internet

pages, this can be a serious problem when products for on-line
catalogues are being photographed. Product colour differences
'on-screen' is one of the most common reasons for product
returns. Happily, there are a couple of ways the digital
photographer can minimise these problems. The Windows
sRGB profile actually changes the colour characteristics of the
file, and these are retained even when the image is displayed
using a non-colour managed browser. Embedding the sRGB
profile in the file is one way of maintaining reasonably
accurate colour in these situations. Another, perhaps safer
way, is to leave the images unconverted with no embedded
profile if the images look correct on the computer monitor.
This is perhaps the way that images for the web should be
delivered to the client if the camera capture software will allow
it – not all do, however.

Proofing
The digital photographer accomplishes a number of the
imaging processes that were handled in the past by the repro
house. The digital camera replaces conventional capture and
scanning in one action, and it makes sense to do the
conversion to the CMYK colour space as well. The last task for
the photographer is to proof important images on to paper to
confirm and preview the final printed image.
The image on the computer monitor is produced by a mixture
of the red, blue and green primary colours. If an RGB image is
being offered to the end client, the computer monitor image is
sufficient to check image quality, providing the monitor is
properly calibrated. If the client is being given a CMYK file,
however, the situation is different. Whilst there are 'soft proof'
techniques around that will display a CMYK image on a
monitor, the image is still an emulation of what the cyan,
magenta. yellow and black inks will produce when the image is
printed on paper. For this, we need to print directly from these
files.

The inexpensive ink-jet printers available now will print

accurate images from RGB files, especially if the process is
properly colour managed. These printers work by performing
an RGB to CMYK conversion internally, and this conversion
will use the printer's ink and paper characteristics supervised
by a colour management profile and a set of look-up-tables or
'LUTs' created by the manufacturer. What a proofer needs to
do is behave exactly as the litho process behaves. It should
take the CMYK files created by the photographer, and then
emulate the commercial printing process that will be used for
the final print output.

Contract Proofers
How much this device will cost depends on how accurately the
manufacturer is prepared to guarantee compliance with
standard printing conditions. The term 'Contract Proofer' is
used loosely, but it implies that a paper proof printed from a
separated file will have print 'predictability' to professional
standards, providing the manufacturer's inks and media are
used. The A3+ Creo Iris iProof is such a unit, and uses specific
iProof inks and paper media that simulate IrisPRO DCP
Commercial and Publication stocks. A proofing system like
this can proof from TIFF and PDF files as well as PostScript 3
and EPS files. Other units include the Epson 5000 proofer,
another ink-jet based A3+ proofer that uses the Fiery colour
server to produce proofs to DuPont Cromalin, 3M Matchprint,
Fuji ColorArt and Cromalin EuroScale standards. Again
dedicated papers are used.

Software Proof Solutions

A number of relatively inexpensive software packages have
appeared in the last couple of years. These will produce vector
files from raster images (RIPs), and can use relatively
inexpensive consumer level ink-jet printers to produce near
contract level proofers for CMYK files.

Adobe introduced 'PressReady' a couple of years ago, but has

decided not to upgrade the printer drivers as new models have
appeared. This software, still however works well with the
older Epson ink-jet printers like the Stylus Color 800 series.
The iProof PowerRIP software package caters for a wider range
of printers, and the software is available as a trial download
from Birmy's web site.

These products offer a significant reduction in cost over

hardware proofers like the Creo Iris iProof and Epson Colour
Proofer 5000 models. They can be tricky to install and
configure, however, and they tend to be slow in operation.

It really is up to the individual photographer to decide whether

the savings in cost are worth the reduced traceability to
accepted standards, or even whether increased time they take
in printing proofs poses a problem or not. What is sure is that
some form of 'near contract proofing' is necessary in the
modern digital photographic studio, especially when the client
is offered CMYK files.
Illustration Credits

The illustrations used in this work were kindly supplied by the

following companies who also own the copyright:

BetterLight Inc.:
Page 20

Bron Elektronik A.G.:

Pages 41, 44, 46, 48, 59, 60, 61 (2), 62, 63, 64, 65(2), 79, 80, 87 and
88

David Brown Photography:

Pages 74 and 76

Foba A.G.:
Pages 20, 66 and 67

Imacon A.S.:
Pages 2, 14, 21 and 28

Leaf Systems Ltd.,

Pages 8, 10, 25, 26 and 30

Pages 12, 38, 50, 71, 77 and 82 Copyright©John Tinsley

Acknowledgements

In addition to the help given by the sponsors in the

preparation of this work, the author would also like to thank
Kevin Turner and Craig Calder of The Studio Workshop, the
UK importers and distributors of Bron, Foba and Imacon
equipment, and also David Brown of David Brown
Photography for supplying images and providing valuable
proof reading assistance.

John Tinsley, June 2003