How do I get dark, dramatic lighting in a photo? (plus photoshop if need be)

[ghostieeee]

Hi, I'm doing a portraiture project for my photography class.

I want dark, dramatic lighting like this: http://i43.tinypic.com/1grjly.jpg
I would like a black background with light shining on the subject.

I'm a beginner when it comes to lighting and setting it up, so I'm really unsure of what to do.
FIrst off, if I dont have a dark backdrop to use, how can I edit in a black background in Photoshop, but make it look real and not like I just pasted the image onto black? Like won't the shadows be off?

Also, do I need a special type of light or would any light do? I do not have any fancy equipment aside from my camera which is a Canon Rebel XSi.


Please let me know how to go about doing this. I need to know how to do this by tomorrow.
Be specific so I know what I'm doing - thanks!

[suecassidy]

That looks like old style one light photography to me. Look up "George Hurrell" style photography and see how he did it. He was the old time Hollywood photographer from back in the day.

[Frugal]

He used snoots on his flashes to make the lighting very directional and only light small parts of his image. Then he post processed it to increase the contrast using say curves in PS or PSE and get the color look that he wanted. You can easily make a simple snoot using cardboard as it's essentially a just a long tube that stops the light from spilling where he didn't want it to. You'd also need a way to get your flash(s) off the camera - RF-602's are a reliable and inexpensive way of doing that. The shot works so well because the background complements the silk blouse.

[darkmansdarkroom]

That looks like old style one light photography to me. Look up "George Hurrell" style photography and see how he did it. He was the old time Hollywood photographer from back in the day.

Don't get me started. this image has nothing to do with George Hurrell, it is more photoshop than anything, you can tell by the colors and the lighting.

maybe you should look up George Hurrell....

[suecassidy]

Don't get me started. this image has nothing to do with George Hurrell, it is more photoshop than anything, you can tell by the colors and the lighting.

maybe you should look up George Hurrell....

HUH??????????? Who pissed in YOUR cornflakes? Chill out.

[Bkolowski111]

Off-camera flash.

[RDKirk]

One light, butterfly position, being sure not to get any reflected fill. The basic shot is not difficult to do without photoshop. The photoshopping of course, did come into play for the color.

[spikeystitch]

Don't get me started. this image has nothing to do with George Hurrell, it is more photoshop than anything, you can tell by the colors and the lighting.

maybe you should look up George Hurrell....

Since when did photoshop have a "choose lighting" option? :rolleyes:

[RDKirk]

Since when did photoshop have a "choose lighting" option? :rolleyes:

Actually, there is one in Photoshop: Filter > Render > Lighting Effects.

It doesn't do a good job by any means, but the option is there.