How does this photographer Benoit Paille get such even lighting all across the photo?

http://www.flickr.com/​photos/benoitpaille/pa​ge1/

Check out some of his daytime, nighttime and even portrait work. I know he shoots with a Leica and even a 5D2 sometimes but I dont think its the camera that matters here. What do you guys think he may be doing to get such an even, clean, soft look? I've been trying to figure this out for months his post processing makes it look like everything was shot with a gigantic softbox in the sky (even in harsh sunlight)

I'm sure he owns quite a few flashes. He definitely used one or more flashes on the night work. I suspect this one was lit with his own flash plus gel and the light was not there otherwise.

I would say that his "trick" is mostly careful attention to and use of lighting rather than post processing work. The photos I saw in direct sunlight did not appear to be shot with a softbox, the shadows are hard and contrasty...just as would be expected in bright sun.

I can tell you how I did this. It may be what you are after.
This one, I used three different studio strobes to create highlights and exposed everything else just about one stop underexposed. Then I brought the entire scene down in post and used a layer mask to selectively erase that adjustment with about a 50% transparency on the brush.

HTTP response: 403 | MIME changed to 'text/plain'

jra wrote in post #16437793
I would say that his "trick" is mostly careful attention to and use of lighting rather than post processing work. The photos I saw in direct sunlight did not appear to be shot with a softbox, the shadows are hard and contrasty...just as would be expected in bright sun.

Yeah but the picture overall has smooth contrast from corner to corner.

kfreels wrote in post #16438305
I can tell you how I did this. It may be what you are after.
This one, I used three different studio strobes to create highlights and exposed everything else just about one stop underexposed. Then I brought the entire scene down in post and used a layer mask to selectively erase that adjustment with about a 50% transparency on the brush.

Hmm thanks for the help but I don't think that's the look im after. Your background is really dark and the subject is lit. In the effect im after, the background would be very evenly exposed from corner to corner.

thedcmule2 wrote in post #16440372
Yeah but the picture overall has smooth contrast from corner to corner.

Hmm thanks for the help but I don't think that's the look im after. Your background is really dark and the subject is lit. In the effect im after, the background would be very evenly exposed from corner to corner.

Right. What I think you're concern is though is the contrast levels. At least that's what I thought you were asking about. There are quite a few shots on that link just like this. Most shots like these, if you exposed for the background you would blow out the light source, or if you exposed for the light source you would lose the shadows completely. That was what was the same about this shot. I brought that background down in post to make it dark though. After work tomorrow if I remember I'll export the RAW file and post it.

He might be using the LED thing that shows on one of his installations to give a big lighted surface.
I think that he has more than one trick in his bag, though.

never heard of the guy, but that flickr page was mind boggling. The guy is an artist, and looks like he's mastered the 35mm focal length.

Im not sure how much of this has to do with pre-shooting lighting anymore...look at these:

http://www.flickr.com …benoitpaille/10​070523855/
http://www.flickr.com …benoitpaille/10​101482865/

These spaces are giant, I find it hard to believe he used flashes for all these pieces. It's perfectly done HDR without looking like it...

thedcmule2 wrote in post #16441484
Im not sure how much of this has to do with pre-shooting lighting anymore...look at these:

http://www.flickr.com …benoitpaille/10​070523855/
http://www.flickr.com …benoitpaille/10​101482865/

These spaces are giant, I find it hard to believe he used flashes for all these pieces. It's perfectly done HDR without looking like it...

OK. So first of all there are a lot of photos here and they encompass a lot of different techniques. The two you posted here though I don't see anything special on. They are shot in low light with long exposures or they are just exposed then had the exposure taken down in post. Nothing tricky at all about them. That first one could have even been done by moonlight. The second appears to be shot at dusk or dawn using only the reflected light from the sky. In the dusk/dawn approach you have basically a really huge light source that runs from horizon to horizon. No need for a flash. My photo that I posted was more similar to these which are a lot more work.

http://www.flickr.com …benoitpaille/10​556363086/
This one was shot with a narrow aperture to get the depth of field which means it is likely a longer exposure. Not necessarily "long" but definitely not shot wide open. I would guess he's using about f11 or f16 and a lower ISO so the ambient lighting in the room is likely higher than it appears in the photo. But then it is brought down in post. Otherwise the window and the light over the stove would be too bright and would wash out because of the limited dynamic range of the sensor.

http://www.flickr.com …/benoitpaille/9​270390492/
http://www.flickr.com …/benoitpaille/9​247564685/
Same thing on these two.

Then you have other things like this one where I would have likely used my headlights from my car.
http://www.flickr.com …benoitpaille/10​319331744/

Then this which was likely a fill flash
http://www.flickr.com …/benoitpaille/9​710588734/

And this is clearly a long exposure with a small aperture.
http://www.flickr.com …/benoitpaille/9​658598636/

Another headlight shot - almost certain on this one. Looks like a long exposure at night then a brief period of headlights.
http://www.flickr.com …/benoitpaille/9​572841472/


Overall, what impresses me is his wide range of techniques. Several appear to be more experimental than anything. This is what photography is all about in my opinion - getting out and experimenting. There is no single technique he's using. But the ones you are asking about are just all using available light in environments where there isn't much light so you get a more even distribution of that light.