How can I make this better? Actual shot & lighting set-up photo included

[www.withheart.ca]

So I've been working on this shot all day. I need some perspective. How would

you improve the lighting?

 

Thanks for your feedback!<div></div>

[www.withheart.ca]

Here's the lighting set up. The numbers are what I had my lights set to.<div></div>

[fourthst]

Hard to say how to make it better. What is your goal? It is a perfectly good illustration of

something (boredom?). The background looks a tad hot. If you wanted to open up the

shadows under the hat and around the eye you could use a reflector, if you can find the

room for another stand. A little more room for shooting might help.

[fotografz]

Not really bad given the space and gear you are working with.

 

But all day? Hope the model was free : -)

 

I just finished a similar set of shots, and with the model costing $175. per hour plus agent fees, all day would have me owing money

instead of making any.

 

My take on your lighting set-up is that it's to small ... you need larger modifiers so the light doesn't drop off toward the bottom of

your shot (note the color/tone of the hands compared to the face for example). What lights are you working with?

[ellis_vener_photography]

mahke the light on her left side the key light (brighter than the llight to her right) , more fill on her right side -- either a larger softbox or a second one beneath the first one, and also bounce panels above and below your lens.

 

nice expression on her face.

[www.withheart.ca]

"But all day? Hope the model was free : -) "

 

Hee hee let's just say her and I have a close working

relationship. ;)

 

"What lights are you working with?"

 

Bowens. I have four of them. I also have a large softbox that I could use, but I only have one. I also have one large and one med sized reflector.

 

I'm actually getting organised for an upcoming shoot. The final images will likely have to be full length, but as you can see I have limited room in my apartment to shoot. :) I was thinking of using a large white reflector in front, but was a litte worried that the legs would be too dark still in the end.

 

The actual shoot is taking place off site. So I'll have more room and I'll be using matte white paper for the back ground. Not this crqazu sheet set-up.

 

Right now I have my backlight a little hot to hide all the wrinkles that I didn't want to have to photoshop out. I know I'm horrible. ;)

 

"make the light on her left side the key light (brighter than the llight to her right) , more fill on her right side -- either a larger softbox or a second one beneath the first one, and also bounce panels above and below your lens."

 

I like the key light brighter idea. DUH! Sometimes I think too much outside the box and forget about simple solutions. I was feeling like the face just looked too flat.

 

What do you guys think about that little shadow by her nose? I want some shadows on the face but I'm not sure I like that one. Does it bother you at all?

 

 

The bigger softbox on the right side I will work beautifully. Should get a nice slimming shadow on that front thigh and hopefully solve my light drop off issues in one fell swoop.

 

My clients want to be able to change the color of the background and put a glow behind the subject. Would you shoot with white background and then add the colour and glow using photoshop? Or would it be better to let the background go gray, and put a background light on it during the shoot? Does it matter?

 

Well, thanks for the tips and ideas! Fun talking shop as always. :)

[kipling]

what do your numbers represent? 1 = full power, 2 = 1/2 and 6 1/6?

and what are you shooting at? i'll just guess, f/11@1/60th. <p>

it doesn't look too bad, but maybe this will work better (if you have time to experiment): <br>

first get rid of the white cloth and use the blue curtains (or if you have a bright green cloth it will work even better) in the background instead. put her closer to the curtains so that they're getting lit, but no direct shadow is hitting them (in the frame). spread them as flat as possible. you can then separate her from the blue or green in photoshop and use your background light as a hair/hat/shoulder/side light. Take the white cloth and use it as a bounce camera right. use both softboxes stacked on top of each other as the key light, camera left. move them back double the distance they are now and make sure the light hits your bounce sheet and is filling in the right side. set up your background light above and to the left and a tad behind her and light the hat, the side of her face and her shoulder and the left side of the video tapes. (not to much). if you darken the room while shooting you should be able to lower your shutter speed to 15th and still have no movement in the shot. this way you have more power to play with. <p>

 

if the fill is too weak even at the closest distance to the subject. go back to your butterfly set up and lower them a tad and move them back and lower the shutter speed a stop. this should also work with the green or blue background to separate her in ps later, so you can use the third light for the subject. if it's just not enough light to do without lighting the background, forget all of the above ; )

have fun!

[kipling]

okay, you've got a fourth light so you can light the backgroud seperately. and you'll be in a studio shooting a full length. i'd stay with the white background, but you need to get the subject farther away from the background or angle the light so it doeasn't reflect into the camera - you're getting strong fill from the back and flare which is affecting the right side of the subject (look how washed out it is compared to the left side). <p>

also, if you do a full length on white at that angle, you're going to see a lot of floor. either move down with the camera or use a much longer lens AND move down with the camera. <p>

the key light on the left might look nicer if you move it off to the left a bit, making the shadow a little longer. the ratio of fill looks good, you just need to a larger source on both sides to even it out. i'd think about using a full length white styrofoam board to fill in the right side and use that other light to shape the model with some head and side light. <p>

good luck.

[www.withheart.ca]

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate it.

[g._armour_van_horn]

I'd go with a bit more fill in the face. When we look at someone, even someone in a baseball cap, our brains balance out shadows so we don't really even see them as such. On top of that, we normally see folks one-on-one in much more even lighting than you've given her. This doesn't look like a classical portrait you're shooting, so the dramatic lighting probably isn't indicated. At least I'd shoot it flatter. If "RELAX" isn't a key part of the shoot, I might see about tipping the hat back a little.

 

Van

 

Van

[www.withheart.ca]

Here's the final shot. I did large softbox on the right side with small reflector for the feet and a small softbox turned upwards for fill on the face only.<div></div>