maurycy Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I want to experiment a bit with portrait photography. Currently I have PentaxDSLR and two external flashes with 100 guide number and bounce/swivelcapability. What I need is some sort of idea how to use this system to do basicportrait photography. I am open for suggestions like umbrellas and reflectorsbut would like to stay away for now from buying additional lights until I canperfect the two light setup. I was thinking of having one flash mounted on the camera and the other one on atripod but have no idea if I should use softbox attachments or bounce light offthe wall? I guess I can experiment but I welcome any tips/hints that would spareme hours of hit and miss tries. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sunley Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Browse thru www.strobist.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinkydexy Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 The basic portrait formula is this: The main light is set higher than the subject and inclined down at an angle of about 20-30 degrees; in the horizontal plane a great choice exists from 0 degree (ie camera mounted) to 90 degrees , but the starting point is about 30 degrees. Use either a fill-in light on the opposite angle, and/or reflector. The decision about using umbrellas, soft boxes or whatever is absolutely your own. Soft boxes are probably more forgiving; when you think about it, they wouldn't have been invented if they didn't provide some improvement on relected light. If you're using a dslr then surely you can just dive in, shoot off as many frames as you like and judge the results? You know what they say...you can't learn to cut hair by reading a book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecahn Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Give one light a vacation and learn to use the other by itself first. Do not use a second light until you feel a very strong need to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axel-cordes Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Also have a look here: http://www.youtube.com/user/snapfactory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles_Webster Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Check out Chuck Gardner's tutorials here http://super.nova.org/DPR/ <Chas> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maurycy Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 Thanks guys for the tips and links. I will do some reading and then experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now