I am very interested in doing portrait work and was excited to see it come up as a challenge. I have no professional lighting, so I went searching for some Internet sites which might help teach me some more about basic studio lighting for portraits.
I figure for now, I can just absorb the basic ideas and try to make my own lighting work for those ideas. Once I take more time to see what works, I'll invest in some lights.
Here is a site I came across which I think does a wonderful job of demonstrating some basic lighting techniques and setups. I thought others might benefit from it as well:
Some of the best portraits I have ever seen were done in purely natural light. Studio lighting is not a real requirement for all types of portraits. Spend some time experimenting with what you have available :)
Some of the best portraits I have ever seen were done in purely natural light. Studio lighting is not a real requirement for all types of portraits. Spend some time experimenting with what you have available :)
I whole-heartedly agree. I really like natural lighting. I would, however, like to learn the basics of studio lighting so that I have more versatility. The ones below I took with natural lighting. I need to work on the posing, but I am happy with the lighting.
There are two books I would highly recommend for lighting technique.
1)Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowell - this covers lighting for film and video, in a plain language, non technical way.
2)Light and Lighting in Photography by Andreas Feininger - a really comprehensive look at the subject, more so than the first book.
With that being said, does anyone have recommendations for brand names as far as lighting kits go? Is there a Cadillac of lights? Are there brands to stay away from? What would you recommend to start out with for a basic lighting set up for a variety of applications?
I really like the pose for the bride portrait. It seems painterly, like a portrait from the Renaissance. The costume, of course, is different, but the pose is timeless.
There are two books I would highly recommend for lighting technique.
1)Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowell - this covers lighting for film and video, in a plain language, non technical way.
2)Light and Lighting in Photography by Andreas Feininger - a really comprehensive look at the subject, more so than the first book.
With that being said, does anyone have recommendations for brand names as far as lighting kits go? Is there a Cadillac of lights? Are there brands to stay away from? What would you recommend to start out with for a basic lighting set up for a variety of applications?
I whole-heartedly agree. I really like natural lighting. I would, however, like to learn the basics of studio lighting so that I have more versatility. The ones below I took with natural lighting. I need to work on the posing, but I am happy with the lighting.
I really liked middle Photograph , It is really great, lighting, Posing.
There are two books I would highly recommend for lighting technique.
1)Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowell - this covers lighting for film and video, in a plain language, non technical way.
2)Light and Lighting in Photography by Andreas Feininger - a really comprehensive look at the subject, more so than the first book.
With that being said, does anyone have recommendations for brand names as far as lighting kits go? Is there a Cadillac of lights? Are there brands to stay away from? What would you recommend to start out with for a basic lighting set up for a variety of applications?
Alien Bee
Bescor
I use three Elinchrom strobes and love them. They offer all of the features that I need and many more that I have yet to discover the power of. They are well built and I expect years of performance from them. I use Chimera soft boxes, Photek umbrellas and Lastolite reflectors mounted on Manfrotto stands. AS well, I make use of the Pocket Wizard family of products to fire the strobes.
On occasion, I can adapt the Nikon camera mounted flashgun units to the stands and umbrellas. I use several Nikon SU-4 remote slave triggers to trip the older units and the built-in slave on the newer models.
There are two books I would highly recommend for lighting technique.
1)Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowell - this covers lighting for film and video, in a plain language, non technical way.
2)Light and Lighting in Photography by Andreas Feininger - a really comprehensive look at the subject, more so than the first book.
With that being said, does anyone have recommendations for brand names as far as lighting kits go? Is there a Cadillac of lights? Are there brands to stay away from? What would you recommend to start out with for a basic lighting set up for a variety of applications?
Alien Bee
Bescor
I use three Elinchrom strobes and love them. They offer all of the features that I need and many more that I have yet to discover the power of. They are well built and I expect years of performance from them. I use Chimera soft boxes, Photek umbrellas and Lastolite reflectors mounted on Manfrotto stands. AS well, I make use of the Pocket Wizard family of products to fire the strobes.
On occasion, I can adapt the Nikon camera mounted flashgun units to the stands and umbrellas. I use several Nikon SU-4 remote slave triggers to trip the older units and the built-in slave on the newer models.
Thanks for the great info. A couple questions - what does a strobe do exactly. What kind of setup do you use the most (number of lights and their wattages)
There are two books I would highly recommend for lighting technique.
1)Matters of Light and Depth by Ross Lowell - this covers lighting for film and video, in a plain language, non technical way.
2)Light and Lighting in Photography by Andreas Feininger - a really comprehensive look at the subject, more so than the first book.
With that being said, does anyone have recommendations for brand names as far as lighting kits go? Is there a Cadillac of lights? Are there brands to stay away from? What would you recommend to start out with for a basic lighting set up for a variety of applications?
Alien Bee
Bescor
I use three Elinchrom strobes and love them. They offer all of the features that I need and many more that I have yet to discover the power of. They are well built and I expect years of performance from them. I use Chimera soft boxes, Photek umbrellas and Lastolite reflectors mounted on Manfrotto stands. AS well, I make use of the Pocket Wizard family of products to fire the strobes.
On occasion, I can adapt the Nikon camera mounted flashgun units to the stands and umbrellas. I use several Nikon SU-4 remote slave triggers to trip the older units and the built-in slave on the newer models.
Thanks for the great info. A couple questions - what does a strobe do exactly. What kind of setup do you use the most (number of lights and their wattages)
A strobe is basically a high power flash. It offers many other features that aid the photographer in the creation of an image. Often, the light level output of a strobe can be adjusted over a wide range, normally expressed in "f-stops".
Fixed lighting light the Smith-Victors and others offer a constant light level and need to be physically moved nearer or farther from the subject to change the illumination. They offer different features and can be considered a good choice too when you are under budget constraints or in situations when they may be easier to use. Many of the best photographers used fixed illumination lamps; for example Karsh - who is my favourite photographer.
Often in modern photography, there can be a mixture of light sources - strobes, floods, and direct or indirect natural lighting. Light and lighting is one of the most creative aspects of photography and can provide significant enjoyment.
With regards to your question, I use whatever is required to do the job.
