Lightning Research - Philip-Lorca di Corcia

One photographer who fascinates me for his use of flash is the American photographer Philip-Lorca di Corcia. In one of his most iconic project "Heads" we can see how he effectively uses a small aperture combined to a speedlight to get the subject completely separated from a dark background, obtaining his trademark cinematic feel.

In particular, I have found that he attached a strobe light to scaffolding on a subway and then he set up a hidden camera to secretly capture the people who became highlighted by the strobe lighting.

It is striking the way the lighting appears to isolate the subject, leaving the rest of the image dark and sparse giving a sense of the ‘unknown’ to the photos.

From other projects: