We have been exploring the possibility of creating new lighting effects by using daylight-balanced and UV light sources simultaneously. The two light sources produce inherently different effects, which can conflict with each other and detract from the overall image. At the same time, new possibilities are opened by breaking the conventional rules of thumb. Often, these new approaches are discovered by playful experimenting on the set, rather than by pre-planning the shoot.
Here is my recent blog post about this for The Black Light Magazine.
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UV light photography is typically done in a dark studio and, until recently, with a relatively long shutter speed to maximize the intensity of the fluorescent light. As a result, “black light” photographs have a distinct look that features high tonal and colour contrast, a black background and a distinct bluish-purple colour cast produced by the visible portion of the LED or strobe lights.
First, when daylight-balanced light is used in conjunction with a source that is strongly biased towards the violet and ultra-violet side of the spectrum, managing the resulting colour cast, i.e. setting the white point correctly, becomes a challenge not only in the camera settings, but also in post-processing. This technical issue can be overcome relatively easily by using coloured gels on top of the UV-filtered strobes. The only drawback of this approach is that the gels further limit the intensity of the light, which has already been greatly reduced by the UV filters.
The second issue with mixing the UV and visible light is more conceptual, and it has to do with the type of image that can be created. Considering a portrait of a model with fluorescent makeup, for example, we quickly discovered that as we made the relative contrition of conventional, daylight-balanced strobes more prominent, the portrait became more and more, well.., conventional. This happened because the distinct colours and contrast of the fluorescent makeup became less prominent and significant in the overall image.
In order to maintain the impart of the fluorescent makeup, we found that it is effective to break the conventional rules of lighting the model. Specifically, instead of diffusing the incident light, we used a small, directed light source that created harsh shadows on the model’s face, i.e. sharp transitions between the light and the dark areas. This way, the fluorescent makeup, which was located in the deep shadows, was not affected by the white light and was very prominent in the resulting image.
In conventional portrait photography, particularly in “beauty” portraits, harsh light is avoided as being unflattering to the model. However, when the creative process features unconventional techniques like UV light and fluorescent paints, the solution to arising conceptual problems often lies at the extremes, or even is the exact opposite, of established guidelines. In this respect, the creative process is similar to scientific discovery, where researchers are advised to look for new insights at the fringes of the explored areas.
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I have a copy of Robert Boyce’s “
In my experience, active writing is absolutely crucial in a creative process. Photography or painting are great examples. Without some planning and taking time to create a mental representation the photo shoot or a painting season becomes a mindless going through the motions, a naive practice, to borrow a term from Anders Ericsson.
During a recent underwater photoshoot, which involved a marathon body-painting session by three artists working simultaneously on two models and a diver sitting on the bottom of the pool with the gear that is typically used for photographing marine creatures, we came across a rather unique challenge. Our objective was to show the models in fluorescent makeup swimming underwater, while simultaneously showing their environment, i.e. the reflections of the free surface and the colour of the water itself.
Anders Ericsson explains in his book “
Naturally, it would be great to spend our days with purpose, i. e. having a clear and specific goal to work towards. in the words of 
On the second day of my trip to The Nethelands, I visited an impressive exhibit on the history of 
In general, the ability to remain calm in the face of external perturbations is the key to mastering skills and life situations. For example, the space before the stimulus and the reaction is crucial in kendo, which is arguably a model for everything else in life, as described by 
, whose “The Book of Five Rings” has been very influential in the business world. Even in photography, I often find that it is good to take time time to observe the subject instead of immediately starting to shoot in fear of missing the opportunity. A little pause allows me to choose a better viewpoint and composition and ultimately, to learn more about the subject.
My 
There are a few issues with 
, though, compared to shooting with a DSLR. I am not talking about image quality – it is expected that a phone camera would have some limitations. The first thing I noticed is battery life. Shooting, editing and posting photos through the travel (two airports and a train ride) and then walking around The Hague for entire afternoon drained the battery completely and sent me beck to my hotel room (I must say that I was quite tired and glad to do it anyway).
Craig’s medium is neon (fluorescent) 
. Sometimes, he mixes fluorescent paints with regular acrylic paints to achieve a 3D effect – the non-fluorescent paint turns dark when viewed under UV light, creating an impression of depth. Mixing the two types of pigments allows him to creates two compositions in one painting. For example, mixing blue neon colour with a regular (non-fluorescent) yellow acrylic produces a green colour when viewed under white light, but under the black light, the yellow hue disappears, and the colour becomes blue. Neon and regular acrylics mix perfectly, and mostly hold the colour of the regular acrylic under the white light, because the florescent component of the neon paint is not fully activated.
Craig grew up in an artistic family: both his parents were artists. Although he never formally studied painting and has never taken an art class, Craig often watched his father paint. Craig went to college for a business degree and subsequently worked as an accountant until approximately 2001. During that time, he painted recreationally, as a means of relief from his stressful job. In 1990, to take his mind off the work, Craig followed the example of his parents and painted his first and still personal favourite picture – a little square that is now hanging in his studio. As he was working on it, Craig noticed that he was so focussed on the process that all his stress seemed to disappear. He then painted another picture, and another one, an another one…. Since then, he created over 5,000 paintings. He still considers it an epiphany to finding in art something completely unique and different from his prior interests by just stumbling across this powerful experience and trying to replicate it.
When considering whether to take a particular piece of equipment on a trip or not, if I really want to be systematic about making the decision, I find it useful to apply a principle that Cal Newport describes in his book “