B&W portrait session - need help with lighting

I am a beginner photographer - have bought a camera, done a course,

and taken lots of practice photos. My mom's friend has asked me to

do some black and white photos of her and her 2 daughters (aged 16

and 12).

 

I really want to use this as a learning experience - especially with

regards to lighting. I don't own any lighting equipment except my

flash, although I've experimented a bit with using existing window

light and some white cardboard as a reflector.

 

I will be using a black velvet backdrop, and I've asked them to wear

light-coloured clothing that will show up well against the

background. I don't have a studio, so it will probably be done in my

living room.

 

Does anybody have any hints or tips for me, especially with regards

to lighting? Any homemade lighting solutions I could rig up? :-)

 

Thanks!!!

Christy

:)

One solution is to hang up a white bedsheet at about a 45 degree angle to the subject and fire the flash off camera using a remote or cord. This will create a large lightsource and soft lighting which is excellent for portraits. You will need to do a test for the amount of light that is lost through the sheet if you don't have a flash meter.

 

I know of a very good Profesional Portrait Photographer that can use a bare bulb,white sheet and a mirror and get a Merit winning image. When you use a bare bulb, the light is very dim and I would recomend a flash unless you are in a studio environment.

If your living room has large windows, the light from those might be very sufficient.

Thanks for replying, Mike. You mean bounce the flash off the bedsheet? I could do that...I'll just have to practice a bit before the real thing. :)

I really like window light actually - I did this photo last year using window light and white cardboard as a reflector. I overexposed on the face though, I need to practice this lighting thing a bit more. :)

 

Only thing is, this time I will have 3 people (including the very photogenic girl in this photo), so it won't be so close.

 

Thanks for all your input!!!

 

Christy

:-)

Here is a site of a black and white photographer that I like. All of his are done with a black backdrop and window light. If you click on the photos you can see the technical points of the photo.

 

http://www.heylloyd.com/photos1/photos1.htm

 

I would stick with window light. Or what type of camera are you using? Does it have the ability to do fill flash. That is the flash will pop a stop or two lower than the lit side of the face to fill in some of the shadows on the dark side. This would be an option too.

Those are some great photos, exactly the style I want to try. I really like window light, I just have to figure out if I have a window big enough to provide enought light for 3 people.

 

My camera is an Canon EOS Elan-II, and I have the dedicated speedlite flash for it. I'm not sure if it can do fill flash, I will have to check out my manual on that one. I know what fill flash is, but I don't know much else about it - I'll do some reading up though!

 

Thanks for the tips!

 

Christy

:-)

Hi Christy,

I like your window light portrait, but it looks like your autofocus may have interfered by focussing on the girl's hair, instead of her eyes. Very few portraits in which the subjects eyes aren't sharp are effective. As a viewer, I definitely want at least the near eye in focus, unless there is a good reason otherwise. Auto focus offers very little advantage in the window light portrait scenario, and can have unintended consequences. Good luck with your shoot.

Christy, If this is indeed a situation new to you I would advise you to keep it very simple. If you can, use the window as your main light and bounce your flash to the ceiling for fill (1 or 2 stops under window light). Use direct flash one or two stops less than the window light if your flash is not powerful enough for bounce. Once your lighting is set don't play around with it, concentrate on posing & expressions. Nothing worse than a perfect expression after you changed (& screwed up) the lighting. Best, LM.