brooks short

<p>Michelle, I don't see any reflections of beauty dishes or umbrellas in the subjects eyes, do you? Look at the double shadows, one from each side of the subject, in the white jacket in the second shot. See the yellow tungsten light balance of the shadows? Terrible disunity of light from two lights on opposite sides of the subject and poor color balance. Come on.</p>

<p>Looks light available light from hard light fixtures in the ceiling. Not a very attractive lighting, or color balance.</p>

<p>Thanks, Marc.</p> <p>It's always refreshing when someone not only answers a question with real knowledge and experience but then also backs up that answer with examples of THEIR OWN work! </p> <p>Good job, Marc.</p>

<p>Lighting looks good. If you want a softer shadow on the ground, use a larger light source closer to the subject.</p> <p>If you are worried about wear and tear on the paper surface that the model is standing on, use a 4'x8' Formica on a 4'x8' piece of plywood for the floor. Paper will mark up almost immediately.</p>

<p>If you're going to be shooting slide film the you should meter the highlights. Not the brightest highlight in the scene but the brightest highlight where you want to hold detail is the most critical area for proper exposure. Then, open up the exposure (f/11 to f/5.6 for example) to place that highlight in Zone VII, two stops above middle grey. That will place your textured highlight at the proper brightness on the film.</p> <p>You should test that 2 stop exposure compensation because Velvia might require only a 1.5 stop increase in exposure instead of a 2 stop increase.</p> <p>The way to test for proper textured highlight exposure is simple. In bright sunlight with the sunlight coming at an angle 45 degrees, photograph a thick white towel that has detail. You can spread the towel out by fastening it at each corner to a flat vertical surface.</p> <p>Set the camera at a distance to facilitate infinity focus to eliminate any bellows factor from a close focus. Meter the towel so that it's image fills the view of the spot meter. Using that meter reading, use a shutter speed that creates an exposure at the tighter (f/16) of the f/stop range for the lens being used. Include a sign that indicates this is a normal metered exposure. A piece of paper with a large N taped just below the towel and in view of the camera will do.</p> <p>Increase the exposure by 1/2 stops using just the f/stop, to eliminate any film reciprocity from lengthening shutter speeds, and make an exposure at each 1/2 stop over the Normal exposure for at least 3 or more stops. <br> Process the roll of film without mounting the slides. You can then see the compensated exposure that has some detail in the towel, just before the white towel becomes a blown highlight.</p> <p>There are two reasons that you meter the highlights instead of the mid-tones. One is because once the information in a textured highlight on slide film is lost it's gone forever. The second reason is that it's much easier to identify a highlight where you want to retain texture that it is to find a real mid-tone.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Depends on the dynamic range of the film or sensor that you're using. <br /> If you're shooting a positive medium like transparencies or digital capture, you want to preserve highlight detail so measure the brightest tone in the scene where you want detail and over expose that reading by probably 2 stops, with the number of stops determined by testing.</p> <p>If you're shooting a color negative medium such as color negative film, or a BW medium such as BW film and will be scanning the negatives, meter the darkest tone in the scene where you want detail and then underexpose by 2 stops.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Put the baby 6-8 ft in front of the background and attach a flag to the back of your speedlight to block light from the background.</p>

<p>Get a grip head and 40" arm and you can use them to raise your light above the height of the stand or, more importantly, lower your light below the top of the stand when you need to.</p>

<p>I have 3-4800ws and 3-800ws Speedotron Power Packs and use the 4800ws packs everyday. I sometimes use them at full power when I'm pushing light through a large soft box AND a 1-stop diffusion panel at the same time and need to shoot at f/32 on a FX DSLR. Or when I'm pushing light through a 13" Fresnel spot or 3" optical spot containing a cookie.<br /> The shot below is an example of using a soft box through a diffusion panel to soften and enlarge the light source.</p><div></div>

<p>I have 3-4800ws and 3-800ws Speedotron Power Packs and use the 4800ws packs everyday. I sometimes use them at ful power when I'm pushing light through a large soft box AND a 1-stop diffusion panel at the same time and need to shoot at f/32 on a FF DSLR. Or when I'm pushing light through a 13" Fresnel spot or 3" optical spot containing a cookie.<br> The shot below is an example of using a soft box through a diffusion panel to soften and enlarge the light source.</p>

<p>You can always dial a 400ws or 800ws flash down to 250ws but a 250ws flash can't be dialed up to 400ws or 800ws. Think ahead and buy something that your photography can grow into. </p>

<p>You don't have to use a fill light.<br> Just use a single white 3'x4' (or larger) piece of foam-core as a fill card. Clip it to your second light stand, the one that would hold a fill light, and position it where you get the desired shadow fill.</p>

<p>Michael, I realize that the OP mentioned infants and children as her subjects. The average height for a 5 year old child is 43". If you mark on the floor a distance of 6' from a wall out into a room and then stand with your back to that wall, stoop down to be on the same level as a 43" tall child and raise a camera to your face you'll see that your body and camera together take up almost 3' of that 6' space.</p> <p>That leaves you with just a few inches more than 3' in front of your lens. You'll need a wide-angle lens to shoot a full length portrait of a child that's only 5" less than 4' tall. You might be able to fit a head and shoulder portrait if you use a normal lens. This assumes the child is right up against the far wall, shadow and all, and as far from the camera as possible.</p> <p>These are not good distances or lens choices for portraits even if the subjects are children.</p>

<p>No matter what lighting you choose, a shooting space 5' wide and 6' deep is too small for camera to subject to background shooting distances.</p>

<p>On December 23, Ellis Vener said.. "in the past Speedotron Blackline 202VF and 204VF heads had a similar method of achieving the same effect in a limited way.."</p> <p>Ellis, Speedotron Blackline 202VF and 204FV flash heads are still being manufactured and today, just as in the past, they still offer that feature.</p>