tara mauldin Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Good evening everyone! I wanted to seek the advice of others more experienced than myself so I come to you with some questions. I will be doing a portrait session with a young lady tomorrow that needs some full length portraits done in a pageant dress. I currently shoot with a 20d, have 2 AB800, 2 AB400, 2 medium sized softboxes, various size honeycomb grids, sekonic l358. I have been practicing and none of my lighting variations seem to be doing the trick. I would like to make a nice soft full length portrait. I have so far tried setting up my lights this way: key to camera right, fill to camera left, with the fill being half the power of my main (I haven't quite gotten the hang of using ratios yet-still studying). I'm metering f8-f11, but my pictures seem to be turing out a bit overexposed, and just too harsh for my liking. Has anyone had any experience here with full-length portraits that could give me some great advice? I took my pictures of my husband who would absolutely kill me if I uploaded them onto the site, so I'm afraid I can't show you any examples of my mistakes... Any and all help would sure be appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phototogomanny Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Hi Tara, Seems you have tried the right light placing. Is the meter reading accurate ? Are you placing under the chin with the dome? Calibrated lately ? Using it on Flash mode or Ambient ? Is your ISO set equal on all Parameters? Is your camera on Manual setting ? It could be the settings on the Alien Bees ! You are missing a lot of main details this will be a long Forum.. Manny D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_madio Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 The general idea is to make a light source that is has a larger apparent size than the subject. The simplest method is to use natural light by shooting near a large window or open garage and using a reflector for fill. If natural light is not an option, I prefer to use a large diffusion panel as the key light. This essentially emulates the large window. For the softest light, position the panel as close to the subject as possible without it being in the frame. Place your AB800's behind the panel (one high and one low) at sufficient distance for complete panel coverage. Use a reflector for fill just outside the camera frame, opposite the key light. This will get you close to the basic 3:1 lighting ratio and the large light source will be low contrast. If you want to take things a step further, you can proceed to add background/hair lights. Regarding the over-exposure, set the camera's ISO to 100 to reduce sensitivity, reduce power settings on the flash, and reduce the aperture as necessary. Use the histogram as a guide to verify your meter readings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallacereidportraiture Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Until I got in my 54x72 softboxes, I would stack two medium boxes vertically to get the needed size. Placing a diffusion panel between the stacked boxes and the subject also helps blend and soften the two sources. If the overexposure is on the subject's side nearest the boxes (shoulder, etc.) try feathering the boxes toward the subject's front. It should reduce light on the near shoulder while increasing light-wrap to the shadow side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phototogomanny Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I thought the problem was over exposure? Are you metering F8 to F11 turning the Power up and down on the AB'S ? Do you turn the power up or down on the AB and then take a meter reading ? 4 stop difference and still overexposed? You can put a 74 inch Octabox on your AB If they are not set right you will still overexpose. Is it the AB or the meter ? You can use 6 flashes set at different levels but the meter will still average all 6 flashes and give you a pretty accurate F stop ? Over exposed a bit, turn down your main and shoot again. Manny Manny<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phototogomanny Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Hi Tara, See if this will help you... Manny http://www.studiolighting.net/lighting-ratios-for-portrait-photography/ 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