Slap me in the face with a herring and call me Stinky! My last post I said that it was time for post-production. Totally wrong. That’s what happens when you spend six straight hours positioning and posing models – the brain goes gaga. I also forgot to tell you what models and gear I used. Well, I will leave that up to my concluding post on the topic.

So lighting was the next step…

First, before I speak about what I did, here is a little video that Seth Battis did on diffuse, specular and ambient light. I think it explains things really well.

So what I did was start playing with the diffuse, specular and ambient properties of the textures on the walls.

I chose really deep teal for the ambient light of the walls and floor. In my opinion this colour adds a surreal feeling to the picture, Then I used grey for their diffuse and specular properties. This keeps the feel of the walls darker and more dramatic.

The  other thing that I needed to do in DAZ Studio was make sure that every spotlight (I used about 10) had Deep Shadows turned on. This gives a richness to the shadows and prevents a general dispersion of light. I tend to feel that this also adds to the drama. As for the colour of the lights – a light orange/yellow. I felt that this is a dramatic contrast to the teal.

As for why ten spotlights? Because I really wanted to control every aspect of the light striking my characters. This permitted me to strive for that Caravaggio feel of intense light and dark.

Anyway, without much ado, here is the next step complete. I’ve kept the picture larger so that you can enjoy the resolution more. Naturally you will need to click on it to see it in its full glory. Now I can state with hand on heart that post-production is the next step. :)

Once again, thanks all for reading :)

Greg