Please critique my first attempt at studio lighting

[zack_mccrory]

<p>This past Saturday i had my first chance to try out my new lighting.<br>

Im very new to photography in general, so i would really appreciate some pointers and suggestions.<br>

These are 2x 85watt Fluorescent lights with white/black umbrellas.<br>

Camera is a Nikon D40. 50mm f/1.8 lens. I had it set at aperture priority (f/4-5) and ISO 400. I was using the on-camera pop-up flash.<br>

The two lights were places at rough 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock, a couple feet away.<br>

I was struggling between getting too much light, or getting not enough light and too many shadows. Here is one of the photos that i think turned out the best, but i feel it was a little too dark.<br>

The only editing done on this photo was to crop it using paint.net (just got photoshop but dont have it at work here), and i also slightly messed with the brightness and contrast (increased each by 7 points)<br>

I dont have a background yet, so these were just shot against a white wall at my friends house.<br>

<img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/z28mccrory/DSC_0578_Edit1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[zack_mccrory]

<p>Here is a photo of the lighting setup that i used<br>

<img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/z28mccrory/DSC_0473.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>Hopefully you are asking for an honest critique:</p>

 

<ol>

<li>The lighting is too harsh for the subject. </li>

<li>Bad pose & clothes too -- makes her look very hefty.</li>

</ol>

[zack_mccrory]

<p>Her outfit wasn't really planned.<br>

She is a friend of mines sister-in-law. We were all hanging out over at his house, and started talking about this. She found out i had my stuff out in my car, so we decided to try it out.<br>

Mainly what im looking for suggestion on is the lighting and how i can improve on it.</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>Next time try positioning the lights so one is at a 45deg angle to her nose and slightly above her eye level, (for the Key light) and the other is right over the camera (for the Fill light). Then decrease the intensity of the fill light until it is only just illuminating the shadows cast by the Key light.</p>

<p>Google "short lighting" "butterfly lighting" and "broad lighting" to see variations on this classic lighting positioning.</p>

<p>Lights at 45deg either side of the subject will almost always result in bad portraits because it causes conflicting shadows.</p>

<p>A secret for portrait lighting, pay close attention to where the nose shadow falls, and how it looks. When it is just barely visible is best.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

<p><Chas></p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>Think of the light that is illuminating her face as the main light, the "key" light for the portrait. Bring it around closer to the camera. The second light can do double duty as a background and as an accent light: point it more towards the background but let the edge of its spill light up the opposite side from the key light. Bring her farther away from the background.</p>

[a._robert]

<p>Try adding a fill card or reflector in front underneath to help reduce the shadows a bit. Her leading eye seems a bit dark. Otherwise great first attempt. It's better than my first attempt was. Good luck shooting and have fun.</p>

[zack_mccrory]

<p>Thanks for all the good info!<br>

I was really fighting for room. I didn't realize how far back i would have to stand with my 50mm lens (since its on a D40). <br>

Do you all think that softboxes would better suit me? Right now i need to stay mobile, as i dont have a studio. Most of the time i will just be meeting the model somewhere, and having to make do with whatever kind of location.<br>

Do i need more light power, or just make better use of what i have? My first thought was that it would be nice to have two more of the exact lights that i have... and have them a couple feet off the floor aiming up towards her. I also that perhaps a single soft box directly under the camera would help fill in things... but im not sure that would accomplish much that my on-camera flash couldn't.<br>

I tried to do my research before i ordered these lights. After many hours of reading i just decided "well... i have to start somewhere... so im gona just jump in and try it and go from there". I found these lights online for $99 for the pair, so i definitely cant complain.<br>

I noticed when viewing all of the photos in thumbnail mode, that the background color is not very consistent. In some it has a very yellow tone, is some it looks vibrant white, and in some it looks grey. Would an actual white muslin studio background be a lot better?<br>

Here is another photo from the set, and a good example of how i wasn't getting consistent "brightness". I wish i would have kept better track of how i had the lights setting in each pose (i kept moving them and experimenting).<br>

<img src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/z28mccrory/DSC_0523_Edit1.jpg" alt="" width="948" height="1024" /></p>

[joewoo]

For your first shoot... I'd say these are very good... U might want to keep her off the background a bit more but I see the limited space u were working with... Be careful with buying too much at once... Just like you mentioned, you lost track of your light setup cuz they were moved around often... Try to jus use one light... And reeeeally understand what it does/can do... I think its great that you noticed the inconsistancies shot to shot.. Why were they there? I'd guess maaybe its cuz you were shooting in aperture priority combined with the pop up flash... Maybe your shutter varied shot to shot.. I see that you were next to a window... That may have effected your exposure depending on how much light came through the blinds... Light bouncing off bright objects (white wall) MAY trick your camera in its decision making in aperture priority... When your using mixed lighting... U should try to go manual.. U mentioned you're new to photography but manual really isn't insanely difficult...its a tad harder, but you will learn the fastest... Also, did u use a custom white balance? Your popup flash has a certain temp... Then those lights have another temp.. And depending on the shutter, ambient light has a temp... A custom white balance is very easy to set... Check the manual on how to do that...

 

Please keep posting.. Its interesting to see peoples work progress.. And yes, there will ALWAYS be extremely critical posts which in the end are meant to help u but know where you're at... U didn't need a full blown out makeup artist, wardrobe, etc...

[arek_szep]

<p>1.keep her about 4-5 feet from the background, to knock the shodows behind<br>

2.move the lights close to her ,play with the power, 1/2 , or 1/4 power should do it with f8, check the histogram if u don't have a light meater</p>

[bob_bill]

<p>Zack, Charles is dead on about watching the nose shadow. The classic lighting patterns are somewhat defined by the nose shadow. It is produced by the key, main light ( exposure of fill half or less than main and not forming second shadow) position starting closest to the camera and above the model, a small butterfly like shadow is formed just below the nose for Paramount or butterfly lighing. Moving the light further from the camera axis forms a small loop that follows the cheek line that goes down from the nose to lip. Loop lighting. Moving light further from camera axis and lower, the nose shadow meets the side cheek shadow leaving a triangle of light under the eye-Rembrandt. The shadows tell you how high and how far around subject to place it. Light at 90 degrees to face and about level, subject facing camera is split lighting- only one side of face is lit- makes wider faces appear narrower. Finally, light on far side of face from camera and face at 90 degrees to camera produces a rim or profile light. Good for those with distinctive but pleasing profile. Looks like you have continuous lights so you can watch as you move them to form the shadows. Thats a start, then, rather than just going with a particular style of lighting, consider what features/planes of the persons face you want to emphasize- eg. eyes, cheekbones, lips, hair, profile and place lights to emphasize them. Which features do you want to de-emphasize- large ears, large or wide nose, bad complexion, wrinkles. Light the planes of the face accordingly. eg. for Obama you could have him 3/4 facing towards the light with you on the other side so you cant see one side of head and the side you are on is in near total shadow leaving the front of the face lit. Ears minimized or gone. You mentioned having a low light. Traditonal glamour is a clamshell of 2 lights or light and reflector or light and floor bounce with shell opening narrowest at camera and widest at subject, can start with butterfly and add low fill. (soft, flat minimizes texture, therefore, wrinkles) MIght start with head and shoulders before graduating to full length. Also consider what the color of the background does for guiding the eye in the photo. Would your eye have been pulled more to the face in your first photo if the blouse was white rather than blue against the white bkg? That is of course if the eyes hair and face were where you wanted to direct the eye. Want to make that white bkg go black or darker? Move her far enough from the wall so the light 1. isnt spilling onto it(or place something between wall and light) and 2. because light falls off with with the distance squared, if have the light closer to her and her further from the wall, you can make that white wall go black or a shade of gray. Play with lighting ratios, ie, ratio between main and fill. More difference, darker shadows, less difference, less contrast, lighter feel. You can figure out where light were by looking at the nose shadow and at the catchlight in the eye. In that first shot, you are a bit long under the nose for butterfly, lower lite slightly and not quite enough to camera right to produce loop, but at about right height. In the second photo, the catch light is dead center in the eye. Compare that with the first. I prefer it to be at about 11 or 1 oclock. If you are doing that low fill, some people find a second low catch light undesirable, doesnt bother me. Look in the eye to see the shape of the light-umbrella or softbox. The shadow edge can tell you if it is hard-eg no umbrella/soft box or soft light. That should keep you busy a while. Have fun painting with light. Oh, take a look at the Strobist website, great place to start.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>I'd say give yourself some more room to experiment. Move that couch over. This will help you get away from the wall, and will help to get you into the practice of moving the lights around more. The setup doesn't have to stay in one configuration forever. If you're able bodied, you can move stuff around for the lights. The picture that got my attention the most was the overall setup photo. It seems like the interior of the building is putting you in a situation where the setup is kind of bunched up.</p>

<p>You do not have to be right up against the wall. You can put that light anywhere you want.</p>

<p>If it wasn't in a home, but was on like, a warehouse floor, then you might not feel inhibited about taking the space you need to setup the strobes. So, focus on setting them up the way you want, and think less about the residence as a residence for the short time you are actually using the light kit. Think about the space as a studio floor, and setup the lights that way.</p>

<p>When you get into lighting, you'll see that most strobes don't have to be "right there" unless you want to deliberately place them close to a subject for an effect. For some of my shots, I have found that one really can't see what that powerful strobe is doing unless you back it up about ten feet. Closer than that, and it seems like the intensity is harder to control. In a way, distance will give you "leverage" with the adjustments. It'll make it easier to tune them in. [Distance also drops intensity. But, what I'm talking about here are the proportions between lights, their angles, their heights, etc. Not using the maximum-end of the available intensity helps to create some "wiggle room" in adjusting lighting plans. By setting things up to keep the lights close to the subject, then the only form of adjustment you can make easily is a sharp reduction with a power adjustment. Try more of a mid-distance setup, and then bring the lamps in closer if you need to.]</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>Or, instead of moving the residence around, move the lamps throughout the room in out of the way places so that you can get the strobe plan you want, but not interfere too much with daily life in the home. This would also probably put you in a situation where you could get the lamp itself physically away from the subject. You can always gobo or snoot or grid down if you want to tighten up the beam.</p>

<p>I had a friend of mine let me take a picture of her pets. These kittens were very active and playful. They were running around everywhere; so, a close-in lamp setup would have led to swift failure.</p>

<p>So, to photograph them inside the residence, I just: put the strobe on a lightstand in the corner, set the power to provide a general, good coverage throughout the room at an acceptable f/stop and speed, raised it up overhead and pointed the way I wanted, and then made my shots. I had some other lamps in there (another one low on the ground, but also in an out-of-the-way type place); but point is, if you are in a residence, most strobes are so powerful that you can stand them in the corner away from the main activity in the room. This will give you the illuminating power you need, but keep the lamps less intrusive for interacting with people (or animals) in a residential setting.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>Okay, I see I was wrong about the type of light. Still, I have one such lamp (large 1 bulb CFL), and it puts out a great deal of light. So, I think in a lot of cases, you still might be able to move the setup around more. Overall I feel basically the same about it. Move stuff around and get away from that wall.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>The thing about being an amateur who is making photographs in a residence is that you may initially feel socially sensitive about what you are doing. If you were a pro in his own studio, you would put the lightstand wherever and not even think about it. If you are an amateur trying to put up your lamp, other people in the place might tell you you are being annoying. Or, you may just feel self-conscious. Next thing you know, you're relegated to a corner, or up against the wall, or only making a few shots when you could be working it over and going all the way.</p>

<p>So, in a way, it helps to be politely pushy with the lamps.</p>

<p>It's going to take a little bit of self-confidence, but your friends and people close to you will be more tolerant of the lamp stand when they see some good photos also made with using the lights positioned for a more flexible setup.</p>

<p>I recommend at least one setup smack dab in the middle of the room; and keep rolling with that thing until you are done. Yeah!</p>

<p>Proceed with confidence. J.</p>

[zack_mccrory]

<p>Wow... some really in-depth replys!<br>

Im doing another shoot with an aspiring model this comming Saturday. Im going to try a lot of the things everyone is saying.<br>

I think my next step is going to be some reflectors, even if they are just simple foam board or foam board with foil over them.<br>

I almost purchased a third light today (50" umbrella with a 500watt fluorescent light), but like some said above... i need to learn the basics before i just keep adding more "stuff"<br>

Space was very limited on that last shoot... it was my friends house and they had just moved in the week before. It was fairly late at night when we did the shot, and it was just for fun. Moving furniture wasn't really an option. I did learn a lot that night though, and plan to apply that and what you have all suggested in my next shoot.<br>

Thanks everyone for the great info</p>

[chawn_crawley]

<p>Zack, I'm on the same learning curve as you are. With all these guys giving you lighting advise, you'll be set. The only thing I'll personally tell you, is to QUIT shopping for more lights! I made that very mistake, and it has slowed my learning down remarkeably.<br>

You'll spent so much time monkeying with more variables. I put my additional lights away and am using only key/fill until I feel that I have gotten them down pat.</p>

[jim_stewart3]

<p>You have had a lot of good pointers so I am not going to answer generally, but I will answer your query on softboxes. The main advantage of a softbox (or octobox) (especially in the kind of compact space you are working in), is that you can get grids for (some of) them to control the spill. This will give you a soft light that you can keep off the background if you need to, while brollies spill everywhere. At some stage you might want to try a gridded box, but as others have said, start slow and learn what you have and the more you learn, the more you will learn what you need. Of course if you want a high-key setup with a gridded box then you are looking at using separate background lights but you can start using a key light that does not interfere with background allowing low-key or coloured (by gel) backgrounds.</p>

[frolickingbits]

<p>Try using those umbrellas as shoot through rather than bounce-this will give you a result similar to a softbox without the expense of buying more equipment. I agree with the others who have suggested you hold off on buying more lights until you have really mastered working with 1 or 2. With the two lights, you can shoot one through the shoot through umbrella on axis with her nose and slightly above, for butterfly lighting. Experiment with using the second light without an umbrella as a hair light. A few reflectors will really be helpful, and let you get a lot of mileage out of just one light-with a shoot through umbrella, and a reflector under her chin, plus one to the left and right of her face, you can get great soft lighting. I would suggest getting some black foam board and cloth as well-if you are photographing men, you can use black to reduce lighting in certain areas, such as under the chin to give more definition. I would strongly urge you to start out with one light and some reflectors-you would be amazed what you can do with a single light.<br>

Also, go read up at strobist.com for some very cool effects you can get with small lights.</p><div></div>