Lighting Wars

Today I want to ask a question that almost certainly does not have a simple answer.

Is it ethical to copy a photographer’s lighting technique?

I propose that the answer to this is not clear cut. A lot will depend on whether the photographer says you can. And most of them do not give this permission.

Not all photographers are secretive about their lighting, of course. Jimmy D often gives free advice and bloggie-tuition about how a particular shot was set up, and the specific lighting involved. Marcus Ranum also makes no secret about how he does specific shots, and I think he even provides occasional tutorials as to how it is done. IMO, this is marvellous, and incredibly kind and generous of these artists. They are sharing their wisdom with the world, they are teaching, simply out of kindness and for the pleasure of helping amateurs who are trying to learn.

But what about other circumstances which apply to most photographers? What about for the majority of images, when a photographer spends a lot of time and effort setting up a particular shot for his own artistic purposes? Is it O.K. to copy the photographer’s lighting in that instance?

Of course, most photographers want to protect their image, protect their copyright, and their art. But just as you can’t copyright an idea or claim a specific pose as just your own, in a similar way you can’t patent or protect a specific lighting technique. Someone, somewhere will copy your lighting. It may not be ethical, but there’s bugger-all you can do to prevent it.

It makes Rich feel rather flattered when folks try to copy his lighting, but occasionally it makes him pretty mad too. “They can try, ” is the usual dry comment, when we spot a fine art nude image which has virtually the same pose, and similar lighting. I’ve no idea if this happens in the rest of the world, but I must admit this happens a lot in the UK, especially on Web-Models. Rich has taken to not posting his best work on there because he gets so annoyed about it. If he designs a new lighting idea, shoots it and uploads an image, then I can absolutely guarantee that within 3 days there will be a whole range of copycat shots pop-up on there. But the copycat images are always poor imitations because no-one can get the lighting right. I guess there’s some satisfaction in that, but Rich still gets very irritated that there is always a rush of photocopying, as everyone frantically tries to out-do him. Web-Models is becoming a kind of fine-art pissing contest, where everyone tries to prove they can do the same thing.

Those poor souls who try to rip off his lighting have no chance in hell of course. His lighting set-up is NOT simple. There are all sorts of lights absolutely everywhere. It’s like Blackpool Illuminations up in the studio sometimes.

“Turn towards the big light,” he said to me today, when I was in eight inch fetish heels, blind as a bat, unable to balance, and trussed up like a chicken (yes, I’m well enough to start suffering for my art again…finished photos will no doubt be forthcoming eventually.)

“Ummm…” The problem was that through the clingy material over my eyes, I couldn’t see a bloody thing, and they all looked like big blurry lights to the blindfolded wobbly model. (Sometimes it’s easier for him to just pick me up and move me like a Barbie doll.) His lighting appears (to me) to be very complicated, but I guess that’s why his photographs work.

Really good photographers develop their own lighting styles over a long time. They experiment, they practise, and if they are talented, they might get very good at it. Good enough to call that lighting arrangement their own, good enough to become emotionally attached to it, good enough for it to hurt when someone else steals it.

After all, in a photograph, everything is about the lighting. Illumination is THE art-form, and it reflects the uniqueness of the artist who created it.

So to all you wannabe’s out there, yes I know you become good at photography by studying the best, and by copying those photographers whose images you admire. We understand you have to practise, and part of the training is to copy lighting set-ups that are better than yours.

Just don’t go and claim the lighting as your own idea, O.K.?
Don’t then go out and call yourself a photographer and sell the images elsewhere.

It’s not nice.

It’s not polite.

And it’s certainly not YOUR art.



An image of me from a few months ago - included only because Orixx told me to:-)

Technical disclaimer: Any resemblance of the lighting arrangement in this image to that designed by any other photographer, living or dead, is purely co-incidental and was not intended by this photographer, i.e. he thought he designed this lighting set-up. Although no doubt it's been done before, and probably better too.