I haven't been using this lighting style as much as I did in the past. I only use it now when I feel like it fits the couple/bride and the situation. I don't have a reasoning system...I just kind of go with a feeling. Anyways...I think this dramatic lighting style can be really cool in certain situations so I thought I would show you how to do it. I also wanted to give you an idea of how I edited this shot.
Gear Used:
Nikon D3s
Nikon 17-35mm f2.8
Alien Bee 1600 with Large Softbox
Here is the lighting Diagram:
The Alien Bee was at full power. My camera settings were: ISO 200, f/11, and shutter speed set to 1/160 of a second. I place the bottom of the softbox at chin height of the subject and then angle it down slightly.
Here is the image right out of camera:
It is overexposed, but I knew that the subject and the background were the ratios I wanted. AKA I had the shot I wanted, I would just have to adjust the exposure in post.
I use Aperture to edit. I brought down the exposure, increased the blacks, and saturated the blue. Throw in 2 curve adjustments and this is what you get:
Next I did a little dodging and burning and ended with this photo:
