Superman vs. Doctor Manhattan Setup

Posted to Flickr on 22 August 2010. Part of the Setup series.

This is the setup photo for Superman vs. Doctor Manhattan.

Two pieces of glittery scrapbooking paper form the backdrop. Superman stands against white while Doctor Manhattan stands against black. Both sheets of paper are attached to foamboard with sticky notes and clips.

Each figure also has a piece of partially glittery scrapbooking paper beneath him: Superman’s is white, and Doctor Manhattan’s is pink.

Both figures are front lit with a push-light. Superman gets some additional lighting from a second push-light and is backlit with a push-LED on a clear plastic cup, a clip LED on a red raisin box, and an LED flashlight. I held the LED flashlight above and to the left of Superman and shined it onto the white backdrop. Doctor Manhattan is backlit with two push-LEDs on clear plastic cups.

Above the entire scene a large circular diffuser softens the ambient light in the room. A piece of dark fabric is positioned above Doctor Manhattan’s backdrop to darken it.

Doctor Manhattan is suspended on invisible thread attached to a wire running from one side of the large circular diffuser to the other. The thread was "erased" using the touchup tool in iPhoto.

To get a closer look at the equipment I use, check out my Gear series.

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Setup

This photo was taken in my kitchen using some pretty simple Gear. You might be surprised to discover how low-tech my "photography studio" really is.

Flickr Facts

This photo was posted to Flickr on 22 August 2010. The last time I checked, it had 4,297 views on Flickr.

The media type of this image is "photo." The original file type was "jpg." The photo's dimensions are 1024 x 768, giving it landscape orientation.

Unless otherwise noted, the image was created by me, JD Hancock.

Selected imagery background information.

Superman

Superman is a superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and first appeared in Action Comics #1 (1938). Rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton, the baby Kal-El was raised in Smallville as Clark Kent. As he grew to maturity, he found himself possessed of amazing physical powers: faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. To use his abilities in a never-ending battle for truth and justice as "Superman," he travelled to Metropolis and assumed the disguise of a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet, a great metropolitan newspaper. His costume is red and blue with a cape and a distinctive "S" shield on his chest. He is often depicted as part of the Justice League superhero team along with Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and others. Superman was played by Christopher Reeve in a series of films beginning with Superman: The Movie (1978) and by Tom Welling in the television series Smallville (2001).

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