Westcott University — In-Studio with João Carlos and the Ice Light

This article is courtesy of Westcott Top Pro photographer João Carlos. You can read the full article and see more of João Carlos’ portrait photography on his website.

For my second proper shoot with the Ice Light, I decided to create some black and white portraits in the studio. I had recently been at Just Models to have a look at books and polaroids; I am always interested in seeing fresh new faces and some familiar faces that have that summer glow. But then sometimes it’s the older models’ or actors’ faces I fall in love with. Such is the case of Fransico Cipriano.

I set up a date that was convenient for the both of us later that week and I didn’t want to take up more than an hour of his time or mine. That’s actually a lot more time than I sometimes get on certain high profile shoots or when dealing with very busy clients. I wanted to see what I could create using only the Ice Lights. The results are below with some iPhone BTS of the setup. I wanted to focus on the details in his beard and grey hair, so the Medium Format Hasselblad H3D39 was a good choice.

I mounted the two Ice Lights on lights stands, with the rotating head so I could better position them. I like using them in a V position, focusing the main light on the face and having beautiful fall-off. This makes for a nice light gradient. To add a little extra fill I use one of my favorite tools: the Tri-flector (which is no longer available for sale). The next great option and I think over all much better solution is the Eyelighter. Just the fact that it folds up onto a very portable size is fantastic. When shooting on location I like to always have options and sometimes size and transportability are everything. That’s another of the favorite things I like about my Ice Light kit: I can get a lot of options out of a very compact but still very high quality kit of light.