Edit to clarify: I have constant lights haven't upgraded them to sync yet :)
Move the lights closer. Shoot with a tripod at a slower shutter speed and wide open. Oh yeah then lower the ISO. :-)
That's funny :) The lights were almost on top of him LOL poor baby...
hmmmm slower shutter huh?? man I am gettin confused LOL
slowing the shutter speed will let in more light, thus allowing you to use a lower ISO. also, what lens are you using? If you are using a fairly short lens you can use a shutter speed that is half of what you are using now, or maybe even slower.
OK so try these settings in manual mode. ISO 100, no zoom have the lens as wide as it goes (18mm) move the camera closer and you can crop in later, shutter 1/60 or 1/80, aperture 3.5 on a tripod with the same light setup. :-)
OK so try these settings in manual mode. ISO 100, no zoom have the lens as wide as it goes (18mm) move the camera closer and you can crop in later, shutter 1/60 or 1/80, aperture 3.5 on a tripod with the same light setup. :-)
Okay after my last few challenge entries that have turned out to be HORRIBLE..I've decided to upload some photos I like and recieve feedback. So here they are.
All feedback welcome. Besides touching up and adding color to they eyes (her eyes are naturally blue, but I either added more blue or changed them to green). I added contrast and duplicated the image, blended the duplicate image into the original using the screen blend mode. Flattened. Darkened and added more contrast. Added copyright.
much better!
also the 50 f1.8 is an AWESOME lens! I bought one a couple of weeks ago and it has only been off the camera twice. BTW, B&H photo has it for $75
left a comment - the same comment applies to all thee: since you have used much the same technique on all of them although the location/dress/setup is different
Originally posted by albc28:
Okay after my last few challenge entries that have turned out to be HORRIBLE..I've decided to upload some photos I like and recieve feedback. So here they are.
All feedback welcome. Besides touching up and adding color to they eyes (her eyes are naturally blue, but I either added more blue or changed them to green). I added contrast and duplicated the image, blended the duplicate image into the original using the screen blend mode. Flattened. Darkened and added more contrast. Added copyright.
Hey all...I'm still working on portrait/headshot lighting. This is my latest try....outside in the natural light, in the shade around 4:30pm. Shot with my 50mm f1.8 II, 1.8 , shutter 1/250, f2.8, ISO 100. Is this good lighting? I don't yet have a light meter, so it was basically trial and error.
How's my lighting? :)
Oh, and yes, this is my hubby again. He's so sweet to me for posing constantly.
Hey all...I'm still working on portrait/headshot lighting. This is my latest try....outside in the natural light, in the shade around 4:30pm. Shot with my 50mm f1.8 II, 1.8 , shutter 1/250, f2.8, ISO 100. Is this good lighting? I don't yet have a light meter, so it was basically trial and error.
How's my lighting? :)
Oh, and yes, this is my hubby again. He's so sweet to me for posing constantly.
I think the lighting looks fine, Magen. For an outdoor portrait, you chose the right light. Your aperature of 2.8, however, leaves only one eye in sharp focus - you should increase the DOF a bit so that both eyes are sharp & crisp. Also, you might want to set custom white balance so you don't get such a reddish tone.
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have questions on purchasing lighting. I just placed an order with b&h today and was wondering if anybody can tell me if I can use any of them for just family portraits or pet portraits, or if they are really only going to be good for still lifes. I have one additional tungsten light spot light from an old studio. Any comments would be appreciated.
Smith Vector
Smith-Victor KF-2U Thrifty Flash Kit - Includes 2 Flash Units, Brackets, Umbrellas, Light Stands, Lighting Guide, Storage Case
Impact
Impact Digital Medium Lighthouse Kit - consists of:
2 500W Tungsten Floodlights with Reflectors,
Shooting Tent (18x18x27.5"),
Light Stands, Bulbs - 1000 Total Watts
The description does not say if the light stands are adjustable, so am not sure if they are just set at one height only or if I can direct the lighting at least a little.
Has anybody used either of these?
I've never tried the lights you mention, Julie, but the wattage sounds sufficient for portraits. You'll just need to play around with them some to see what works best. Are they adjustable? That would help. Also, what kind of space do you have to work in, because that will matter a lot if your lights are not adjustable.
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have questions on purchasing lighting. I just placed an order with b&h today and was wondering if anybody can tell me if I can use any of them for just family portraits or pet portraits, or if they are really only going to be good for still lifes. I have one additional tungsten light spot light from an old studio. Any comments would be appreciated.
Smith Vector
Smith-Victor KF-2U Thrifty Flash Kit - Includes 2 Flash Units, Brackets, Umbrellas, Light Stands, Lighting Guide, Storage Case
Impact
Impact Digital Medium Lighthouse Kit - consists of:
2 500W Tungsten Floodlights with Reflectors,
The description does not say if the light stands are adjustable, so am not sure if they are just set at one height only or if I can direct the lighting at least a little.
Has anybody used either of these?
These are adjustable :) I have a Smith-Victor setup too but I use different bulbs (lower wattage) because of my small space and mine aren't reflectors, they are shoot throughs. I don't have the cables yet to set them up on slave though. The 500w were a hair too hot LOL
I just recently did a shoot where the models eyes didn't come out well. They were too dark. We were shooting in a very low light situation. So I realize the need to have something to fill the light missing. So here are a series of questions.
Reflectors - For low light situations, which is better a silver or white reflector? How do you hold the reflector for full body shots without a personal assistant? If it's cloudy out, does it make that much of a difference? Can an umbrella used as a reflector??
Just as a note, the shots didn't come out too bad. Some are dark under her eyes which I have found salvagable ways to fix in PS....the only problem i have is that you can't distinguish much color in her eyes. If you look in my profile, you can see that I normally make the eyes stand out in portraits.
Hmmmm good questions, Anthony. First - silver or white, silver gives you a brighter more-like-a-lightbulb kind of reflection while white gives you a softer more-like-a-softbox kind of reflection; so you would use according to what kind of light you want in your shot. If the lighting around is VERY low, I would go with the silver just because its more reflective. When out & about, get creative, put your model near a white wall, bounce your flash off a guy in a white shirt, have your model lean over a shiny table top, etc...
For full body, I use a 5' reflector and often will have it propped against my tripod aimed up toward the model's face - that way you don't need an assistant. But really, the best method would be an assistant standing very close holding the reflector just out of frame. We all learn to improvise. ;)
Hi All,
Cindi has been incredibly generous and helpful in my trying to learn more about lighting people. I've attached a couple of recent shots and would like some sincere criticism and suggestion as to how to improve.
Dale, you sure have improved a ton since your first posts in this thread. I can tell you pay much more attention to the light now in the portraits and it makes a world of difference. Lighting-wise you're doing quite well. If I could offer any suggestion for improvement I would say to try to get your models' poses a bit more natural and less static. The 2nd and 3rd ones show what I mean. The model looks as if she was there anyway and you happened to catch her. The others look more stiff and like she's waiting for something.
I've been tearing a lot of fashion magazine pages lately and I notice so many of them have very active "poses" which makes a fashion-type shot more dynamic.
Hi Cindi,
Thanks for the feedback, and I appreciate your comments on the poses. I was going for a somewhat "hauty" look in the first shot, but it did come off as too stiff. I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm working at it. Lighting is one thing, learning to pose a model is a whole other skill for which I've got a ton to learn.
My lighting in the studio shots was a Sigma Super Flash (with a CTO gel over it) as the key, tungsten light setting in camera, and two 500W blue bulb tungstens on the background...I still want some Alien Bees *said in my most petulant, brat-child voice*!
For Mobster, I like the colorful outfits and humorous poses and props. I've found that digital "latitude" is more like slide film than print film, and that you have to be very careful not to blow out highlights. I try to meter for the highlights and let the shadows take care of themselves. Several of the shots below would have no highlight detail if printed, I think.
