Working with the light a room already has

For years I arrived on set with two cases of lights. Now I arrive with a reflector, a roll of black fabric and a lot of patience.

Read the room first

Before I unpack anything I spend twenty minutes watching where the light falls and how fast it moves. Most rooms have one good wall and one good hour. The job is to find both.

Shape, don’t add

A white card to lift a shadow, a black flag to deepen one. That’s usually all it takes. The light stays soft and the pictures look like the place they were made in.

When I still use flash

Late winter afternoons in Bergen, and product shots where colour has to be exact. Even then, I try to make it look like a window.