What light equipment do I use for Fashion shoots using a white backdrop?

[jene_ryan]

Ok this has been a horror finding a direct answer. I have been using the lightest grey color paper backdrop on a 9

foot stand ( I plan on upgrading to Ultra white paper this week).

 

And I have 2 flouresent light stands which hold a total of 4 bulbs each and umbrellas.

 

To be honest with you- this way completely sucks. I tried setting the lights in EVERY angle posible! Nothing works

to make my model clear and crisp. I constantly have annoying "dark" spots (which require photoshop editing).

 

 

 

What do you recommend I use to get clear - perfect shot photos without having to edit every single one?

 

I included a photo of one of my competitors- where she has the ideal shots I would like- any suggestions?

 

<a href="http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk61/Chictree/?action=view¤t=a_8698.jpg"

target="_blank"><img src="http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk61/Chictree/a_8698.jpg" border="0"

alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

 

what kind of lighing is she using?<div></div>

[barry_kenstler1]

Jene,

 

Your competitor appears to be using a large softbox positioned above and to the left of the subject (see rectangular reflection in eyeglasses). There may be a small amount of fill light coming from a white reflector to the right, or this subtle fill may be the just light bouncing off the neighboring surfaces. The picture has pop because the softbox, while large, is placed fairly close to the subject. The subject is close to the background in this photo, but not as close are your subject in your image. You lighting is much flatter with your two lights placed on either side of the camera and lower than is generally used in fashion for this type of image. One result of the low placement is the shadows on the seamless above the model's head. You could probably get a closer approximation by moving both of your lights up and a bit closer, ganging them side-by-side on one side of the model and placing a large while or silver reflector on the other side. You'll probably still fight to get this look though. A large softbox and studio strobes definitely make it easier to achieve this look, especially as you don't have to worry about the longer exposures and wider apertures that are almost a must when using most florescent fixtures.

[jene_ryan]

So basically ditch the florescent lights and invest in a soft box and strobe. You know whats funny - this man at the photo place said strobes can set my house Im fire- Im like say what? So much for advertizing his store.

 

Do you feel I need a better camera and wide lens as well?

[bob_macdonald]

Everything that Barry said....plus...I think you need to raise your camera position, so that you're not shooting up her nose, it's not very flattering.

[barry_kenstler1]

Jene,

 

I'm not necessarily advocating that you give up on your florescent lights. Some fixtures can be fitted with large softboxes, or that failing, shot through a large scrim (diffuser) to give a very similar look. The problem of light output will still haunt though. You'll have to use longer exposures, wider lens apertures, and higher ISO settings than when using flash, especially for full-body shots, and your image quality can suffer. Certainly, if you can afford to invest in a good but inexpensive monolight flash, a large softbox (3'X4' or larger), and a large reflector, you'll see definite improvements. On the flash side, a lot of US users are very happy with their Alien Bees flashes, and they are a relative bargain. If you don't want to splurge on a large softbox, you can get fairly similar results with a large diffused umbrella, such as the 60" Photek Softlighter. A large piece of white Foamcore (4'X6') makes a great cheap reflector and can be had at most decent art stores.

 

The softbox in your competitors photo was placed quite high. If you only have ceilings that are 8' or less, you may still struggle to get an exact match.

 

I'm not sure about your camera, that's a whole other issue. It is generally best to use the longest practical focal length lens for full body shots. If you can back up enough with your current lens to get the shots you need, a wider angle lens may not be of much help.

 

Flashes occasionally go pop, emit a puff of smoke and perhaps ooze a little electrolytic fluid, but usually they die a sudden and quite death. I think coffee makers are probably a greater fire hazard.

[thirtyfive]

Jene - you've not said what camera / lens your using. When it comes to light though, get the best studio lighting you can afford, or use window light - which, whilst not infinitely controllable is still free, fantastic quality and by positioning the model, you can achieve very good results. There is no right or wrong way if you get what you are aiming to achieve, just get creative.

[zafar1]

Check this tutorial. Hopefully you will get some good ideas.

 

http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

[richard_cochran]

To get rid of the shadows behind your model, put some distance between your model and the backdrop, and then put

a separate light on the backdrop. The backdrop light can be up high near the ceiling or down low on the floor

behind the model. Another option is to raise your main light up, though that's not so essential if you're

lighting the background separately.

<p>

Though the strategy of using a background light will work no matter what kind of lighting you're using, I agree

wholeheartedly with those who suggest going the strobe route instead of continuous lights. Studio flash

is ideal for portraiture, because it's the easiest and cheapest way to get reasonably small apertures at slow ISO

with an exposure time plenty fast enough to freeze the motion of a person.

<p>

If you're using studio flash, you can even use a small hotshoe flash as your background light. It doesn't take

much light to keep a white background white. I took this using a 500 W/S monolight in a medium softbox as the

main, and another identical monolight in a shoot-through umbrella as the fill, and a little battery powered

Sunpak 383 hotshoe flash on the ceiling pointed directly at the background as the background light. All three

lights were set at around 1/4 to 1/8 power, for an exposure of <i>f</i>/8 at ISO 100. Using strobes, I have

plenty of spare power to easily shoot at reasonable apertures with the lights where I want them, diffused using

whatever modifiers I choose.

<p>

I do have some soft shadows on the floor, but note that the background light keeps the background white.

<p>

<center><img src="http://webs.lanset.com/rcochran/marina/medres/DSD_8063a.jpg"></center>

[mark_hartman]

I agree with the strobe over florecent advice. Your sample looks like you're getting some movement from the model or you're shooting hand-held with relatively slow shutter speeds. Strobes will help with that problem. I also think you'd be happier with your results if you can put one of your lights directly towards the backdrop. You'll need to move your model forward to avoid too much spill, so hopefully you have some space to work in. I've posted a sample that folows this simple format. You can also clean up the white by dodging in the background areas to get it whiter where needed.<div></div>

[jene_ryan]

HI everyone- thanks a million for your answers- here is a follow up- I went to look for equipment today at a photo store and this woman told me 2 soft boxes will do the trick- And she said with the soft boxes being how powerful they are its best to invest in a Nikon camera.

 

I actually found this site for soft boxes- and wanted to get a heads up on opinion -

 

http://www.photography-lighting.com/softboxes.html

 

Hoping it isnt crap- or am I better investing the the stores soft boxes (set costs 650).

 

God knows how much they charge for the Nikon camera. I want to purchase a d60- or should I invest in a better one? Thanks guys!

[william_fournier]

I've seen this posted here before, but I think you would find it very informative http://www.zarias.com/?p=77