plus-x for studio portraits

[nikon grrl. . .]

hey all. i'm going to be shooting some women this weekend under studio

lights. only my second time ever. i'll be shooting with a mamiya 645. i'd

like to use plus-x 125, as it comes in 220 rolls. i'll also use a few 160vc,

but that's for another forum, i'm sure! question is, last time i did studio

shoots, i got too much texture from the skin. in other words, skin

imperfections that people don't like to see were magnified so much! what can

i do to soften this effect? i'll be using a 110 lens and an 80 lens. also,

what is the best way to shoot plus x? and i'll be using a photogenic monobloc

light bounced from an umbrella with a matte velvet back cloth. thanks thanks

thanks!

[johnmarkpainter]

PX works quite well with Studio lighting. Not so well (for me) in outdoor high contrast. It

isn't going to do you an favors in regards to skin texture. It is sharp.

 

Don't overexpose it....it tends to block up. I shoot it at box speed.

[lex_jenkins]

This is at least as much a matter of the use of lighting and cosmetics as the choice of lens, film or processing.

 

If you don't have time to experiment with lighting and cosmetics before the shoot, you can try to compensate for it with soft focus devices such as filters over the lens during the exposure or during printing.

[jim_appleyard]

As Lex suggested, a soft focus filter is a great tool. I might think about Tri-X instead of Plus-X if you're after a softer look. Grain can help hide those skin imperfections that we all worry about so much. Tri-X 320 also comes in 220 size.

[bruce levy]

As Lex says, it's the lighting. The more "raking" the light is, the more texture you'll get.

[nikon grrl. . .]

thank you guys so much. i guess one thing i can do is see if i can get a filter between now and monday. i'm not so confident about my lighting abilities. and bruce, what is raking?

[nikon grrl. . .]

good god. i spoke too soon. just checked adorama and those softening filters are hundreds of dollars. please help. what can i do to make these women look good without going broke?

[robatsgh]

The more oblique an angle to the subject, the more surface texture shows. To avoid over-emphasizing skin texture, pay attention to your light placement - more front- than side-lighting.

 

Use softboxes if you have them, place your lights close to the subject to "wash" them with light - the further the distance from the subject to the light, the more point-like and harsh the effect.

[Mike Gammill]

Will you be printing this yourself? I've always done my softening of women's portraits in the darkroom by passing a diffusing material between the lens and the paper.

[stephen sullivan]

Regina, are you trying to de-emphasize red blemishes? Get yourself a Red Filter to place in front of the lens.

 

Filters can be expensive, but it all depends on what you buy. B+W & Hoya are $$$$, but great glass. Tiffen filters are pretty reasonable.

 

Also, you might want to call around to see if there are any rental houses in your area. Filters rent for a few to ten bucks a day.

 

Plus-X with a Red Filter for photographing models is a great combination.

 

Steve

[nikon grrl. . .]

hi stephen, no, blemishes aren't the problem so much as pores and lines. it's older women i'm shooting. still use a red filter?

[nikon grrl. . .]

mike, yes, i'll be printing these myself, both the black and white and color. so i can do all this softening stuff post shooting?

[paul_viapiano]

Regina...

 

If you scan the negs and do your post in Photoshop, there are many ways to soften overly detailed skin.

 

If not, try large softboxes instead of umbrellas and experiment.

[eyvind_claxton]

Regina,

 

Here's my two cents on this topic: Plus-X is a fine film for portraits & was the only film I used in the studio for a number of years, as it has a great tonality and renders skin tones well. The others are right about it being quite sharp - an inexpensive way to deal with that issue is to use a larger mesh black nylon stocking stretched tight over a frame of some sort; Iﾒve used small embroidery frames but you might find something else that does the job. Use a black color stocking, as that will help to keep from loosing too much contrast ﾖ and if you use color film, black will impart minimal color cast. You'll probably have about 1 stop of light loss due to the nylon ﾑfilterﾒ, which isn't a bad thing, as in conjunction with the plus-x rated around 80 or so, will cause you to use a wider lens opening, which is preferable in most types of portraiture. Hope you are processing the film yourself and if so, D-76 is a canﾒt miss proposition with plus-x. As always, test your setup prior to any serious work. Good Luck!

[josphy]

By raking he means lighting from the side so it sort of catches and emphasizes the texture. That's the opposite of what you want in this case. I think "butterfly" lighting would be a good choice and that's very easy to set up. I am by no means an expert on lighting but it's the kind of lighting that you always read as being recommended for women. You can probably just google "butterfly lighting" and find a better explanation than I could give you, but basically you want the light basically directly in front of your subject, high and pointing down so that the shadow it forms right under the nose looks like a butterfly (sort of).

 

Here is an example that I did:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=38086546&size=o

 

You can see where the light is positioned from looking in the eyes -- one light w/ umbrella high and just very slightly to the right and also a big white reflector (aka a piece of white foamcore).

[aurelien_le_duc]

Hi,

 

If you find PX in 220 format, can you tell me where?

[blakley]

You've already gotten a lot of good advice. If you want dirt cheap, I'd recommend the black nylon stocking stretched over the front of the lens, together with a bit of overexposure (maybe as much as 1 stop) to take some of the detail out of the face.

 

You'll also want soft light - which you can do for free. There are lots of confusing descriptions of how to get soft light, but all you really need to remember is a simple rule: "bigger and closer equals softer". So use your biggest umbrella, softbox, bedsheet, etc..., and get it close to your subject.

 

More expensive would be to get an orange filter and use it with the stocking - this will lighten freckles and blemishes and also give you a bit of diffusion to minimize the appearence of wrinkles & pores.

 

Finally, you should look into adding diffusion or retouching at the printing stage. If you're going to scan & print digitally, you can do this in photoshop. For traditional prints, you can ask your lab about adding diffusion to the print.

[blakley]

Oops - I missed that you're doing your own printing. You can indeed add diffusion at the printing stage, either with something like a stocking or with a diffusion filter on the enlarger lens, or in a variety of other ways.

 

By the way, Joseph, that's a great portrait!

[terence_spross1]

Since your new at this, I would recomend one extra roll and experiment with the lighting while you have a chance, have a plan ahead a time so your shoot time with the models will not be longer time. Examine the results in the negs and compare with your notes on the lighting, so you can reproduce it again later. When you process your own you learn to read the negs and save money by only printing the best.

I've used a clear filter with a very little bit of spray cooking oil (like PAM) added. (Spray ahead of time of course, and clean the rim so you won't get any on your fingers during the shoot. If you really want that to be isolated use another clear filter over the top and the oil is sandwiched out of possible touch.

 

In addition to the all important lighting make sure you are not using a high contrast printing paper. If its variable contrast paper then you have control. In fact before you use filters, use the lowest contrast printing paper that gives the results you want and then use filters as needed.

 

(I was always stocked up to the ceiling with #3 paper for technical work and realized it was an inappropriate grade for the few portraits in B&W I did, where #2 would have been better.)

 

There is no need to get expensive filters especially when you are trying to reduce contrast. Imperfections can only help in this instance. (but you probably won't find any even on the leaset expensive filters.

 

I also used with sucess, filters in conventional printing , a little oil again on transparency material at the end of a wire was all that was needed. That was used just like doging and burning to soften up one area of the print.

 

Then there is allways airbrushing.. but that's another skill.

[discpad]

Regina,

 

Since these are older women, most likely they will bring along creme or liquid foundation. Since you're shooting in greyscale (B&W), swing by the local pharmacy and for a ten-spot pick up a couple compacts of creme base, along with a pack of applicator sponges and undereye concealer; and have the ladies slop it on to cover up the pores, wrinkles, and undereye circles.

[nikon grrl. . .]

thank you guys so much. i really appreciate all your input, and i put your collective wisdome to good use. i blasted the light (i.e. put it close instead of far) and made the light go through an umbrella. i also used a reflector to prevent 'raccoon-ing' of the eyes. there was no way i could get these women to put on makeup, but, looking only at the negs, i think i got some good shots. also, i'm glad i used plus-x. thank you so much. you really helped me go into the shoot with confidence!

[blakley]

You're more than welcome, Regina - if you can easily get scans, please post a result or two here for us to enjoy!

[josphy]

Regina -- sounds like you are one the right track. Definitely post some pix if you get a chance. Just remember that the LARGER a light source is, the SOFTER the light (basically the softer,less harsh the shadows are -- which in this case is good so you don't have harsh shadows delineating the wrinkles). To make your light larger you did the right things -- using the umbrella makes the light bigger rather than just the strobe by itself. Also placing the light closer makes it larger. And bouncing the light off the reflector to fill in shadows helps to soften things up too.