Syd II

Age 3, large softbox and a reflector. Comments are welcomed.

I really like her bright eyes! I am learning how to do studio portraits and getting that nice light reflection in the eyes can be difficult for me for some reason. I love this picture but I think I would have liked it more if she were wearing something darker, or if the background would have been darker. Maybe more of a contrast. I am interested in knowing the light placement for this portrait. Again, I really like her eyes!

You are correct about the dress color and the background. To answer your question about lighting, I use two "Alien Bees" 800watt/second strobes(soft boxes), one about 3 feet away and the other about 6 feet away. You just have to experiment, I like to shoot around F 8 or F 11, and I use incident lightmeter to take the reading. Catchlight in the eyes is not all that hard, just play around and you will see. Hope all this helps and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

I appreciate your comment on my cat portrait, but I took so many pictures before and after that one that were no good. How many strobes do you use? Is one set behind the camera or to the side? Do you use a background light? What style do you prefer above others? I love your portraits and would appreciate any advice. How big is your studio. I am working with small spaces (aka my living room). Thanks again.

I normally use one strobe and a reflector, for studio I use two strobes. For hairlight or background, I use exteranl flash with a slave to fire it. You really dont need a big studio, most of my work is done on location. Thanks for your comments Heather.