really flat photos w/ 20d and strobes

[adam_k_krause]

I'm shooting w/ a 20d and monolights with umbrella's inside my house

[like 12 foot ceilings] and am getting really flat images. I was

wondering if its a combination of the umbrella's and short ceilings or

whats going on..

 

thanks<div></div>

[adam_k_krause]

.<div></div>

[ilia]

Any chance of seeing "nonflat" images taken with the same light setup?

[albert lui]

Pictures taken in soft, overcast lighting can have snap. So maybe its not the lighting, but the sharp background that is to blame. Can you move the subject further away from the wall and/or shoot with a larger aperture?

[kipling]

Actually, I think they look very good. Looks like a clean digital image with relatively

hard "short" lighting (giving you a lot of diffused shadow) and a lot of fill, that's what gives

it a flat look. Less fill will give you darker shadow and more depth, if that's what you want.

I think it looks nice though. <p>

Your model is light skinned, light hair, you've got a light colored chair and a lot of light

from both sides so it looks pretty much like it should. You could boost in camera contrast

and saturation a little, but I wouldn't. You've got a perfectly clean image to work on, now

it's time to do what the film and the lab/printer would be doing if you were using a film

camera. <p>

If it's just too flat for your tastes, then reduce the fill or change the lighting set up to give

you the effect you're

looking for. You could move your main umbrella more to the front, towards the camera

and reduce the fill for a more classic look or have your main light on camera right, where

your fill is coming from and then use a reflector on the left to fill in the shadows a bit, just

for example. That's the fun thing about lighting, there are endless possibilities to try

out.<p>

If you want softer lighting, use a softbox, or a scrim, up very close to the model, as close

as you can get it. That, the large softbox/scrim, will give you the largest area of diffused

shadow you can get, then use a large, white piece of Styrofoam to fill, or a second light.

<p>

Keep working, it's looking good.

[jsbc]

It can be your lighting (most likely) but also check the colour space your camera is set at. Won't do to view adobe space photos with sRGB viewers.

[rob_partridge2]

You need to control your DOF (certainly with the cat pic) better. To do this, you need to control the amount of light (either from the strobes, or by using ND filters).

 

Also, light the background seperatley.