P#42: Corporate Executive in Repose

The Temperature of Light

David Tejada: The last one was done for an annual report. This is for an energy company. They needed a photograph of a businessman on some sort of white rail system using alternative energy, that kind of thing, other forms of transportation. I borrowed a light rail train in Denver at their repair yard. (click the image for a larger version)

I had them move it out to a deck where I could get access to it, used a garden hose and sprayed down the windows with some water. Then I used a battery operated strobe outside the window and gelled that light with what we call at CTO filter. That's color temperature orange.

Let me back up. Strobe light is balanced to daylight. It's about 5500 degrees kelvin which is daylight balanced. By placing a CTO filter or a color temperature orange gel filter over that strobe head, it has lowered the color temperature of that daylight strobe from 5500 degree kelvin to a very warm tungsten type of light, the type of light you'd find at home in a lamp.

I wanted it to look like late afternoon sunlight coming through the window after a rainstorm. By placing that CTO filter on the head of the strobe, it lowered that temperature to simulate that type of light.

To Conclude

When dealing with commercial photography, your subject matter is usually handed to you. That's why, as in David's shot of a corporate executive, you have to exercise your imagination and technical talent to produce the most interesting shots imaginable.