Inverse Square Law & Perceptual Contrast

[BHGoddard]

Hi Roger,

I was revisiting your lighting breakdown for the interior of Sapper Morton’s farm in BR 2049, and I think you mentioned in a separate forum that you had smaller and/or closer bounced sources to control the reach and intensity of the light coming through the windows such that it didn’t completely light the space, creating a high contrast look.

It got me thinking about the Inverse Square Law and how that relates to contrast purely on a subject’s face – on one hand a smaller source closer to the subject will have more dramatic fall-off, but on another, walking back maybe a larger source such that it’s the same size relative to the subject as the former will have more defined shadows, while still lighting the space behind it (please correct me if I’m misguided).

All of this is just a very long-winded preamble to ask in specific terms: how conscious are you of this dynamic when choosing a lamp for a given scene? Obviously every scene has different demands, but do you find yourself tending to light a space with larger, softer sources and controlling the contrast of the subject through negative fill, or are you very precise about the size and distance of the fixture relative to the subject to get the exact contrast ratio that you’re visualizing?

I’d also appreciate confirmation from a master if this train of thought is the result of overthinking, and if most choices are rather governed by experience and intuition. Thank you!

Cheers.

 

Topic