Portrait Lighting -- Learning Thread

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

09/06/2006 07:49:45 PM · #326

Originally posted by Hifi:

Hi Cindi

I am photographing 6 kids this weekend and don't have time to get proper lights before Saturday. I was going to go to the local hardware store and buy some 2 x 1000watt lamps on a stand. Is this going to be way too strong, am I better off with 3 x 250 watt lights or am I just wasting my time and money?

Ooooooh tough one. I've never used shoplights so I'm really really not sure how many you'd need to get good results. Without playing around with them a bit, I'm just not sure. Perhaps some of the others here could lend some advice?

All failing you could always find a nice spot outdoors - in the grass or at a local park and use available light. Maybe even indoors with window light and a reflector (see the early pages of this thread).

Hifi

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

09/06/2006 07:54:58 PM · #327

Thanks Cindi, I will spend some time going over the thread. I will have the opportunity to use natural light but will need to either buy or make a reflector. If I'm using natural light do you recommend using a flash at all?

Carl Zeiss 35mm ZF f/2.0 Distagon T

09/06/2006 07:57:43 PM · #328

Originally posted by Hifi:

Probably not - unless you have a flash you can bounce off another surface for fill light. If all you have is on-board flash then I would skip that and just expose for the softer available light.

virtuamike

Nikon D2X

09/06/2006 08:08:29 PM · #329

Originally posted by Hifi:

It's not just about output. Think about coverage too. You need to figure out what you're going to have in your background and how much light you need for it. In the end you might be better off going with 3 x 250W.

Also remember that if you're trying to use ambient light also, you'll be mixing color temperatures so either gel or get creative (sometimes I'll balance for incandescent if they're my main light source to let ambient in the background go blue).

Though personally I try to work as simple as possible. Work your location. You might not even need lights.

09/06/2006 08:52:02 PM · #330

Originally posted by Hifi:
Hi Cindi

I am photographing 6 kids this weekend and don't have time to get proper lights before Saturday. I was going to go to the local hardware store and buy some 2 x 1000watt lamps on a stand. Is this going to be way too strong, am I better off with 3 x 250 watt lights or am I just wasting my time and money?

I'll post a couple of portraits thursday afternoon so that you can see, but what I found works is that I use two 500Watt halogen lights ($30 total at Home depot) and they work very well. They are transportable although I might try to find a stand for them (right now they are on the ground, but can be moved anywhere). Of course I still had to use my flash at full power also. I'm probably going to get a 250Watt background light as well so I can try to get rid of the shadows on the back ground. I tried two 250Watt lights and they were definetely not enough light. The problem with the 2 x 1000 Watt lamps on a stand might be too much light from a single direction. It might be too harsh then.

Of course I'm not an expert at this and you may want to wait until tom. afternoon when I post some portraits on here so you can evaluate the light have...granted they photos will be slightly photoshopped.

09/06/2006 09:01:16 PM · #331

Cindi, Is this the one you use ?
polaris

Mike,
any thoughts about the 308s ?
sekonic 308s

edited to add:
Yes I need a flash meter as I am planning to use strobes...

Message edited by author 2006-09-06 21:02:16.

09/06/2006 09:04:29 PM · #332

Originally posted by gaurawa:

Cindi, Is this the one you use ?
polaris

Yup, that's the one. :)

09/06/2006 09:09:07 PM · #333

A question about metering.

Do you meter with only the main light ? or with both main and fill lights ?

09/06/2006 09:11:26 PM · #334

Originally posted by gaurawa:

A question about metering.

Do you meter with only the main light ? or with both main and fill lights ?

Since all of my strobes flash when one flashes, I actually meter the overall effect most often, but I can choose which lights to give dominance to or meter one light at a time and do math if I want to. After a while you get the feel for what level to set particular lights at and then overall metering is your only real issue.

Carl Zeiss 35mm ZF f/2.0 Distagon T

09/06/2006 09:16:04 PM · #335

You guys might wanna have a glance through the self portrait thread. Some good examples will get posted there. In fact, I strongly encourage all to participate as its a wonderful opportunity to force yourself to learn your studio/portrait work.

virtuamike

Nikon D2X

09/06/2006 09:35:20 PM · #336

Originally posted by gaurawa:

Cindi, Is this the one you use ?
polaris

Mike,
any thoughts about the 308s ?
sekonic 308s

edited to add:
Yes I need a flash meter as I am planning to use strobes...

I don't have any experience with the 308s, but I haven't heard anything bad about it. I don't think it takes the Pocket Wizard chip, though that might not be a factor.

09/08/2006 08:27:43 AM · #337

okay...here are a couple of portrait photos that i took a few weeks ago. I couldn't enter them before because one of them was in the free study challenge...This was my first attempt at taking portraits for someone who actually posed for me. The photo I entered into the free study actually helped her get a job as one of the NJ Devils dancers. All comments are welcome.

(free study entry)

Message edited by author 2006-09-08 08:31:28.

dale99

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

09/08/2006 04:24:20 PM · #338

Hi Cindi and company,

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to shoot a little this weekend and submit something for critique. In the meantime, I found a really excellent (for me, at least) blog on lighting that is generic but, I think, very relevant to some of the discussions here.

It is: //strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

Hope this is helpful to someone.

Have a great weekend.

Dale

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/09/2006 03:10:16 AM · #339

Hi all! Thanks for the link, dale. Its a nice one.

Anthony, I like the shots you posted, I do think the lighting is harsh - I'm guessing onboard flash? Its most noticable in the shots where your model is VERY close to the background. If you move your model 5 feet or more away you should be able to lose those dark shadows behind her. Overall an excellent shoot though.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

09/09/2006 09:37:53 AM · #340

I just wanted to share this image for the "lighting technique" that was used:

This is a very quick setup, using a 580EX flash on the camera which was pointed *away* from the subject. I pointed it to my left, where a Canon 420EX flash was mounted on a light stand. It was behind a white translucent (shoot thru) umbrella which was pointed at the model.

Exposure was simple: Point the camera at the sky to get a reading for aperture and shutter speed. Set the camera to manual and dial in those settings. Then let the camera and flash do their thing with e-TTL exposure.

When I'm in studio I use strobes and a light meter because I have time to "think" about what I'm doing. But out on location, when things are happening rapidly (like the sun going down) e-TTL really comes in handy. Plus, the portable nature of Canon's wireless system is extremely handy.

09/09/2006 10:06:34 AM · #341

Great light, beautiful image, David. Thanks for sharing your technique with us.

09/10/2006 05:09:30 PM · #342

thank ou cindi. I work on that during the next shoot. And yes, I was using the flash on my camera for added light.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/14/2006 06:00:48 PM · #343

finally I am getting
-2 lights
-2 light stands
-umbrella, softbox
-5in1 reflector set
-manfrotto background support system
-seamless paper, super white, studio grey ( i don't know why I didn't get the super black )
-Sekonic 308s lightmeter
-6 color gel pack

Will have some test shots by this weekend :)

Jaded_Housewife

Canon EOS-5D

09/16/2006 08:13:51 PM · #344

I havent been folowing this thread so I'm sooo sorry if i'm jumping into anything and interrupting. i was processing this photo and didnt really know where to go with it. any suggestions? is it too tight at the top? thats how the photo was taken so i cant really change that but does it particularly bother any of you? anything else that stands out as bad? Any thoughts greatly appreciated. Thanks

Crystal

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/18/2006 08:23:28 AM · #345

I've been trying to figure out how to do the skin smoothing techniques found in these photos:

Those photos someone have no pores showing on either of the girls skin. Unlike my photos where her pores are showing.

Can anyone give me tips on skin smoothing techniques?

Message edited by author 2006-09-18 08:23:56.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

09/18/2006 08:28:14 AM · #346

Originally posted by albc28:

Can anyone give me tips on skin smoothing techniques?

Probably the first thing is to have the girls put some makeup (powder) on... Next would be to try moving the flash off camera (off to one side or the other) so that you don't get as much reflection coming right back at you.

Finally, in post processing: create a new layer, apply a guassian blur to it and then use a layer mask to un-blur the eyes, lips, teeth, etc. I like to set mine to a Lighten blend mode as well and adjust the opacity downward until there's just a hint of softness in the skin. (I don't care for the plastic looking skin that seems to run rampant, I prefer to actually see some texture)

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/18/2006 08:35:20 AM · #347

I sometimes use David's technique and sometimes I just use a blur tool set to a very low opacity to brush over any areas that need to be softened a bit. Definitely without a doubt though, for men & women, powder is your friend.

Nusbaum

Fujifilm X-T1

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

09/18/2006 09:29:14 AM · #348

Originally posted by albc28:

Can anyone give me tips on skin smoothing techniques?

I think the biggest difference between your shots and the examples you showed is the quality of the light. The sample images appear to be created with soft light, which will smooth the texture of the skin. I think more diffusion and fill would go a long way to smoothing the skin without looking to photoshop as a solution.

Message edited by author 2006-09-18 10:40:57.

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

09/18/2006 09:57:18 AM · #349

Originally posted by Nusbaum:

I think the biggest different between your shots and the examples you showed is the quality of the light. The sample images appear to be created with soft light, which will smooth the texture of the skin. I think more diffusion and fill would go a long way to smoothing the skin without looking to photoshop as a solution.

Ditto. I meant to say that when I mentioned moving the flash off camera but got in a hurry (needed to get ready for work). Good advice.