So, this is an event to celebrate Jean Cruguet's 70th Birthday, jockey of the great Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. In the middle of this huge catered spread, is an outstanding ice sculpture of a horse in a horse shoe. Like some incredible crystal trophy. I'm sitting at a table enjoying the asparagus spears and lobster bites, and I visualize this shot. Only problem is that there are about 200 people gathered around. But hey, the guy's 70. How many more chances will you get.So I wait. And have dessert. When the crowd thins out, I go to work. I set up the Quantum light to the camera left so it hits the subject and just feathers the ice. I add another hot shoe strobe BEHIND the ice, to give it some pop. I want it to appear like the ice is lighting Jean's face. Put 'em both on pocket wizards and have my loyal assistant, (daughter Amy, aka "Slave Labor"), hold up a reflector just outside the frame to fill the shadows. I need the background to go away, so I've got to kill the overheads.
All set. Now I just need to steal Jean away from the 14 beautiful young women that are his new best friends...before the ice melts. I show him where to stand, get about 6 frames, and we're done. Jean's not a tall guy, so I have to shoot up at him a bit to give him some prominence.
This is a very easy way to add a little depth to your photography. Here I am using a Quantum light and battery pack with a pocket wizard to trigger the light. I have the light set camera left at about 45 degrees. My assistant is holding a reflector just out of the frame to the subjects' right. This throws a little light back into the shadows. I set the camera for a slooow shutter speed to pick up the background ambiance.
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