Ballet and Fresnel (Patreon)

I was shooting with Amanda here and wanted to have her interact with her shadow. To make that happen, you need a hard shadow, so a direct light source.

However, as the wall was white, I didn't feel light lighting the entire wall as the reflection back in the camera would make the image flat.

So I decided on a Fresnel spot.

I have two different Fresnels you can fit on a lamp, a hefty 42cm one and an 18 cm cheap Chinese one with a Bowens adapter.

I went with the smaller one as the shadow would be harder with a smaller light source.

One of the beautiful things about a Fresnel is how light will fade off on the sides, creating a natural vignette.

It was probably not an accident. The entire film noir genre was lit with Fresnel lamps.

Here is a link to a similar fresnel modifier to the one I have.