Ebony Carved African Bust

I think I have written at least once or twice in the past about the fact that Liz's parents have done a wonderful job of collecting fantastic artwork during the course of their travels. This is a bust carved of ebony and was an interesting challenge to light because it is black. I had to balance the diffuse reflections and the specular highlights in order to show detail and dimension.

Strobist Info:
Because I took this picture some time ago, I don't remember the power settings but I used 3 flashes in total. One was aimed behind the subject to cast a bit of separation light on the background. One was above subject aimed down and fired through a diffuser (printer paper), and another was camera-right also fired through printer paper.

You can see more of my work at Stevenson Photography