Since I wrote my PPR column on Photography as Catharsis I’ve received a number of emails asking me how I lit the set.  The point of that article was not to highlight the lighting but rather the concept of the shot, so I didn’t include a lighting diagram.

Here’s how it was lit, along with some background.

One of the techniques I wrote about in my book, Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers, was a way to turn the back wall of the studio into a light source.  I wanted a huge, broad source that wouldn’t create any specular highlights yet fall off between the subject and the background just enough so there would be a sense of separation and distance between the two.

The example I showed in the book was also a bridal portrait and actually quite simple to create.  I set three equally powered lights on stands at a height of seven feet and aimed them directly at the white wall at the back of the studio.  Each was set at the same distance from the wall (about five feet), and angled up at 45 degrees so the light would bounce off the back wall and onto the ceiling traveling from there to the model.  A Custom White Balance took care of any off color light.  Here’s a diagram showing what just one of those lights looked like. 

The skirts of wedding gowns are usually wide, so it’s difficult to put distance between the bride and the background and still keep enough background in play to guarantee a pleasing crop.  This lighting scenario allowed for even light with minimal, and very open, shadows even though my bride was only a few feet from the sweep.