Between Shadows and Light

The difference between a ordinary portrait and an extraordinary portrait can be the quality of the light. Last weekend, I attended a class from Roza Sampolinska from Illuminate Workshops. While we covered a number of lighting setups, the fresnel light was by far the class favorite. The fresnel light is a continuous source, so working with poses was easier.

Accuracy was called for, since very small movements were enough to alter the emotional character of the picture. I was using an aperture of F2.8 so the depth of field was relatively narrow. And I processed the picture with Silver Efex Pro 2 for the black and white conversion.
I recommend the workshop. I have relatively little experience with models, and the ones they had for the workshop were excellent. And learning to light this way was a revelation.

To paraphrase Joe McNally, one way to add mystery to a picture is to not light all of it.