Hard light but nice skin

[konamura]

Hey guys !

I see a lot of pictures with a nice hard light, some harsh shadows, very fashion, and the result is amazing ! But I don't understand how we can "protect" the model's skin from awful highlights... ?

Of course, a good D&B can fix a lot, but it's not enough... Is a good make up the solution ? Or a light trick ?

Thanks per advance for your help, I'd love shooting something like this :

http://500px.com/photo/43323128

[skoobey]

Re: Hard light but nice skin

It only gets "ugly" when the source is way to small and there is no fill what so ever.

Sun is not as hard of a light as a bult-in flash on a compact camera. And also, there is the fill effect of the light surroundings.

Personally, I love hard light, but it only works with models that know how to pose, any other case, and you'll end up with some sinister looking people. Unless you mount it on a camera, then you'll end up with some polaroid looking shots.

[Tony W]

Re: Hard light but nice skin

No particular reason to suspect that an image like this could not be produced straight in camera with minimal pp. Key is correct lighting and proper exposure understanding the dynamic range of the scene and your camera sensor to capture an image showing a full range of tones without clipping important highlight and shadow detail. Some image manipulation is likely to be required ideally in raw and may be as simple as using Highlight and Shadow controls

[ronfya]

Re: Hard light but nice skin

I was asking myself the kind of the same things when I saw these images

http://fstoppers.com/behind-the-scenes-of-an-on-location-fashion-shoot-oasis

If any tips for shooting & retouching hard light, I'll take them

Thanks