Sunny light up
IT TRULY makes sense: a big swath of diffused light to mimic the classic north window light treasured by Renaissance painters and classic portrait photographers alike; or a lone strong strobe to mimic the side lighting of an early morning or late afternoon light.
The world, after all, is lit naturally by a one big ball of light, so setting up your artificial light (strobe or LED) to simulate the sun is as natural as nature can get.
American photographer Tom Epperson’s penchant (whether consciously or not) for a single light source to illuminate his photography subjects for the last three decades was very evident in his first solo ex- hibit “One Light” held in Ayala Museum in 2005.
It featured 55 portraits-socialites, musicians, actors, businessmen, Tom’s family, and ordinary folks—taken in the span of 20 years using only a single light source.
“This was not a conscious effort at all,” reveals Tom (www.tomeppersonphotography.com), who has shot for an impressive array of corporate and commercial clients.
With this generation, he is known for the most uber-cool, cutting-edge editorials he did in the early years of Pulp Magazine. “Maybe it had to do with having very little equipment and learning how to use it to the best of its ability when I first started.”
Epperson, however, says that as years go by, the photographer tends to move beyond the knowledge of lighting.
“It has more to do with communicating an idea or a concept to whoever I am shooting. Working with one light gives you so much more freedom in the sense that there’s less to worry about and allows you to concentrate more on the subject. There have also been times though when I have used eight lights, but it would be hard to tell.”
Photographer’s style
Does the use of lighting style define the photographer’s style together with his predisposition to use long lens (a habit of bokeh) or a set of post-processing secret sauce? Tom embraces the possibilities.
“I find it interesting when a photographer thinks he has done some completely new in the sense of style, lighting or a look, as for the most part, it has all been done before. It is really difficult these days to set yourself apart from the crowd and yes, there have been those who have hired retouch artists to give them a new look.”
So what’s the style of Tom Epperson?
“Well I would like to think in the lines of sim-