The Cinematic Notebook

The craft behind our portraiture and film development.

How This Notebook Connects to Film Photography and Film Development

Every article in this archive reflects the full analogue workflow used by Liquid Light Whisperer and Liquid Light Lab — from motivated lighting and optical rendering through to controlled development and high-dynamic-range scanning. The same discipline documented here is applied to commissioned portrait work and to every roll processed in the lab.

Craig Sheffer on Lighting, Presence and Trust in a Portrait Session

Craig Sheffer on Lighting, Presence and Trust in a Portrait Session

Craig Sheffer starred in the Academy Award winning film A River Runs Through It. We’ve worked with film photography for years, both on the road and in more structured environments. Our conversations tend to drift toward craft, and how our different approaches shape our photography. He has spent decades on sets where lighting is built with intention and repeated with precision. He also makes photographs himself, and this combination gives him perspectives pure photographers can learn from. He understands how structured light affects performance, posture and presence, and how contrast changes the way a face lives within the frame.

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