Can someone help me with the set up please?

<p>Hi, I usually shoot outdoors but have an opportunity to shoot a fantastic model in a studio. I haven't done much studio work before and need help with setting up, can someone help me please?</p>

<p>I want my photos to look like this http://www.zara.com/uk/en/woman/new-in/soft-lace-dress-c840002p3931047.html what camera settings and lighting set up would I need to achieve this? My photos usually look washed out or have a little orange in the background. </p>

<p>thank you in advance!</p>

<p>It appears to me that this image was done in PS. Not just about the light...several spaces appear to have more than one sun within the image (+ faux lens reflection). Unless this woman (in the pic) weighs less than an ounce, the bench would force the rope to wrap itself around it.</p>

<p>Anyway, perhaps you can do better....</p>

<p>Les</p>

<p>Hi Les, thank you for your reply. Bench? Rope? I'm not sure what you mean..</p>

<p>OK, the piece of wood that the woman is sitting on....I called it a bench. Hmmm, rope is rope. Are we looking at different photos ?<br>

Les</p>

 

<p>The bench (seat) isn't even pressing down in rope surrounding it, which suggests this is more of a collage than a straight photo.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Are we looking at different photos ?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Appears to be the case - the link in the OP opens the main page and I am fairly certain that Elisabeth wants us to look at the images that appear when on clicks on the "OK" button on the right side inside the main image. Not sure why the OP's link re-directs to the main page, but it does. Here it is again - it works when I copy it into a browser and also by clicking on it directly:<br /> <a href="http://www.zara.com/us/en/woman/new-in/soft-lace-dress-c840002p3931047.html">http://www.zara.com/us/en/woman/new-in/soft-lace-dress-c840002p3931047.html</a></p>

When I click thru, selecting "English" and "UK," I see photos of a slender woman standing in front of a white background,

on a white floor - no bench, no rope. The caption is "Soft knit round neck dress with long sleeves. Lace contrasting hem."

 

Elisabeth, can you confirm what your photo looks like? Thanks.

 

[update - Dieter's link goes straight to the images I mentioned, although I was on a UK site, not US]

<p>OK, if it is the slender woman with a gray dress and white background ...</p>

<p>I don't find the lighting particularly interesting. But, if you want to duplicate it, look at the highlights and shadows. Unfortunately the eyes are too small to see the highlights. But, there are plenty of other clues...</p>

<p>There is one faint, indistinct shadow behind the model = big soft light. The highlights in the boots are in the middle (left-right) = lighting inline vertically with the lens. Large highlight = big light. There is a shadow below her chin = light above the lens. <br>

<br>

Combining all the clues: A large soft box above the lens.<br>

<br>

If your white background is orange, you have white balance issues. Don't use auto white balance. Use raw and set the color temperature, or set the light type on the camera.<br>

</p>

<p>Hi Elisabeth. Sorry I'm late, but I think I can add to the discussion. Mathew is right, though the term is "reflection" not "highlight," which is something else. Reflections in the eyes have a special name, catchlights, and can reveal the shape of lights. In this case there appears to be a square or rectangular softbox just above the camera position. That could be the only light. I'd say it might be a 4x4 or 4x6 foot softbox. You can get the same effect with an umbrella.<br /><br />This is not really portraiture light, but if you search "butterfly light" you will get a good idea what this setup looks like.<br /><br />One problem with this light setup, when shooting a full standing model, is getting the model evenly lit from head to feet. Usually the legs and feet are noticeably darker than the face. I like to use a 45 inch shoot-through umbrella just in front of the camera position, low to the floor and pointing up slightly. That can even out the light, and most women look better with some light from below anyway. In this photo the model is evenly lit, but the catchlight shows only one light. These photos might have been processed to even out the light.<br /><br />You have control over the sharpness of the edges of the shadows. A larger softbox, softer edges. And you have control over the darkness of the shadows with reflectors or additional light sources.<br /><br />I hope this helps.</p>

<p>One more thing, Elisabeth. You said when you try to make photos like this they look "washed out." That might be lens flare. With white backgrounds like this, too much light can get into the lens causing lens flare. Lens flare lowers contrast giving a washed out look. Prime lenses generally have lower flare than zooms.<br /><br />Keep the background just light enough to be white. More light just increases the risk of flare.<br /><br />I'm not sure if that is what you meant. White backgrounds like this are kind of tricky. You usually need some lights directed towards the background, and it needs to be fairly evenly lit.</p>

<p>It would help to see your images I have no clue what your talking about and I can't help you improve upon what I can't see. As for the images from the link from another photographer, they are just well lit images, nothing special. Either one large light source to light whole body or two smaller lights to light upper body and the other to light lower body.</p>

<p>@TomM: Yes, <em>highlight</em> means a lot of things. <em>Specular highlight</em> is what I meant, although I have often seen reflections from highly reflective objects referred to as just <em>highlights</em>.</p>

<p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specular_highlight</p>

 

If anyone is still reading this let me know and I'll spell out for you how to light this kind of stuff - it's really quite simple...

If anyone is still reading this let me know and I'll spell out for you how to light this kind of stuff - it's really quite simple...

 

People are no doubt reading this conversation, but my expectation is, that the Original Poster is not: she, having not logged in since 8th November 2016, has probably not read any comment since that date. Neither has she responded to michael mowery's request for samples of her work.

 

However, that the OP is probably not reading should not inhibit your eagerness to respond.

 

WW

OK - I've shot thousands of these and it's easy. You need a decent cove in a daylight studio and a couple of lamps to sculpt the model.

You meter the daylight and then expose for it plus what you're going to give in sculpture (VERY little) and then minus the difference. Simple.

Get the maths ? If you don't go back to basics.

 

Two soft boxes (look at the shadows from the models legs) and you just have one a half stop off the other to give contour and contrast.

(look at the models face, it's lit from one side just to give a bit of sculpture). The weather doesn't matter. Daylight is daylight and it comes and goes - through the studio

roof it might shift a stop or two and you keep an eye on it during the day.

 

PS - this is a daylight studio for those who have never been...

 

 

NICE BRIGHT PICTURE !!! YEAH - good studio ad. Some days you turn up and it's grey plus dark nasty and getting darker but you can

ALWAYS work daylight studio plus a couple of lamps to give a soft studio look if you know how to use a flash meter and a couple of lamps.

 

Learn the flash meter. (with daylight and lumens) .... Without it you can waste a LOT of time and money.