Portrait Lighting -- Learning Thread

03/08/2007 09:14:44 PM · #476

Originally posted by mobster:

Originally posted by TCGuru:

Originally posted by mobster:
Can you turn up the power on the flash/strobes?

Not without buying new bulbs :(

Edit to clarify: I have constant lights haven't upgraded them to sync yet :)

ah... about all you can do is use more lights, or buy brighter bulbs. you might also try moving the lights closer.

That's kind of what I thought :) dammit... another 16 bucks oop :)

03/08/2007 09:17:20 PM · #477

Originally posted by TCGuru:

Originally posted by thegrandwazoo:

Originally posted by TCGuru:

Originally posted by mobster:
Can you turn up the power on the flash/strobes?

Not without buying new bulbs :(

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.

Message edited by author 2007-03-08 21:20:51.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/08/2007 09:26:00 PM · #478

I am using the 18-55mm kit lens that came with my Canon :)

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

03/08/2007 09:33:54 PM · #479

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. :-)

Message edited by author 2007-03-08 21:34:10.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/08/2007 09:41:21 PM · #480

Originally posted by thegrandwazoo:

Okie dokie smokey :)

tanks you :)

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

03/08/2007 09:47:04 PM · #481

You're welcome and if they are still to dark try a slower shutter speed like 1/40 or so. Play around with it. :-)

Message edited by author 2007-03-08 21:47:30.

03/08/2007 09:56:17 PM · #482

Johanna - Erick gives some good tips here, definitely give them a try and post what you get. You are moving the right direction! :D

albc28

Canon EOS-50D

03/08/2007 10:40:39 PM · #483

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.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/09/2007 12:29:46 AM · #484

Okay waz, here it is:

all the kiddos were in bed LOL

ISO 400 was the lowest I could go

1/60s

f4

Better??

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

03/09/2007 12:41:20 AM · #485

Much! Now try getting the aperture to f/3.5, the shutter speed 1/40 and see if that lets you get to ISO 100. But you are getting it dialed in.

Brighter bulbs or faster lens next. Like the 50mm 1.8 would be perfect and it is very reasonably priced like 100 bucks or so.

Looking good! :-D

Olympus 14-42mm f.3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Zoom

03/09/2007 02:14:34 AM · #486

Originally posted by TCGuru:

Okay waz, here it is:

all the kiddos were in bed LOL

ISO 400 was the lowest I could go

1/60s

f4

Better??

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

faery

Olympus E-400

03/09/2007 03:31:15 AM · #487

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.

Message edited by author 2007-03-09 03:32:26.

magenmarie

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

03/09/2007 08:37:14 AM · #488

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.

Sony FE 3.5-5.6/28-70 mm OSS

03/09/2007 08:50:34 AM · #489

Originally posted by magenmarie:

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.

JunieMoon

Sony Alpha a7 II

03/09/2007 04:40:24 PM · #490

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?

Message edited by author 2007-03-09 16:56:10.

03/09/2007 10:41:21 PM · #491

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.

03/09/2007 10:51:36 PM · #492

Originally posted by JunieMoon:

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

albc28

Canon EOS-50D

03/27/2007 11:41:04 AM · #493

Okay questions questions questions...

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.

Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspherical DG for Canon

03/27/2007 12:10:58 PM · #494

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. ;)

Nowaytotell

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

04/24/2007 09:39:42 AM · #495

dale99

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

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

05/02/2007 03:10:12 PM · #496

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.

Thanks,
Dale

Message edited by author 2007-05-02 15:28:58.

05/03/2007 12:37:30 AM · #497

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.

05/03/2007 03:15:46 AM · #498

These are some pics from a impromptu outing the other day.

This one was lit with a single flash bounced off the ceiling, the rest of them were shot with natural light.

This one was shot by my Sister.

So, what do you think?

Message edited by author 2007-05-03 03:16:03.