john_aceti

<p>I read somewhere that it rocks. Of course that wasn't from fellow photographers but a website that possibly sells advertising it so asking you guys. What do ya-all think about CS5? It is it worth the upgrade from CS2 or CS3 or should I save the cash?</p>

 

<p>I had this scenario today. My subject was a woman shopping downtown. We did this shot at 9:30AM so the light had not made it to street level as it was shadowed by the buildings.<br>

I wanted the glow from the distant sun, a blue sky and a lit subject.<br>

Using Nikons Creative lighting I used two SB600 strobes on tripods. I set my camera to shutter priority and dialed in my synch max. I then had to move my strobes close enough so that they were able to light the subject. I then had to tweek the ev slightly.<br>

Here is what I got, other than the logo this photo has not been edited in any way.</p>

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<p>The way I understand the law to be is that you are demonstrating your work. So that's fine. It's expression and private use.<br>

Just dont make the photo appear to be an endorsement then it is commercial use.<br>

ie, the person is standing next to a sign and you photoshop your company name into the sign.</p>

 

<p>The link wouldn't come up for me but if you got logos and trademarks there so my guess is technically no.<br />To the hotels it is promotion and will help them attract business. Everyone wants to be popular but just a word of caution<br /><strong>Legal or not, Here in America anyone can sue anyone for anything.</strong><br />This means if someone of wealth or a major entity wants to stop you from doing something they can do so by simply burying you with legal fees.<br />In this situation, will they care about you and a few photos? Probably not.<br />Suggest you are an LLC or S corp before you venture into commercial photography tho</p>

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<p>I agree with Brooks.<br>

The key word you used is website. This means you can run high ISO (grain) and as you resize a 10 mp image down to 400 x 600 pixels the grain will be almost nothing. My business card is of a figure skater I shot at ISO800 and it looks fine because it is so small. I am not suggesting to go 800 but dont shy away from trying some higher ISO's if you have a decent camera.<br>

So, here are my suggestion, take with a grain of salt or ignore altogether. My similar experience was a factory floor with much higher ceilings but got decent results in spite of them using sodiums.<br>

1) White balance the room a day or two before hand. Gray card is a must. Sorry about vapors uggh! From these photos you will get more of an idea of what you need to do.<br>

2) Do your very best to balance the strobes to ambient but slightly cooler for the look you are trying to get. Make sure you don't get shadows on anyone's faces if you do a group shot.<br>

3 Try and shoot F8, meter strobes for F5.6 (yes lower than ambient, you just want slight boost from strobes don't try and recreate the lighting in the room)<br>

4) Shoot raw, this will help with final corrections<br>

5) The group should refrain from motion while you shoot with tripod, however some motion blurr in the far edge of the photo might add some overall interest to the image<br>

6) Consider a couple spots aimed on key locations and subjects.<br>

7) Get a lot of shots where you are elevated and shooting wide angle.<br>

8) Now I use multiple speed lights for this type of work, am able to work at least 10 times faster than with my monolights.<br>

9) Be very careful with lighting the back of the room like Brooks said, it should be very suttle.<br>

10) Advise them it is possible it may take a second day to get all the shots. (gives you a second chance if things go wrong)</p>

<p>Tom Reynolds is right on! I second his opinion because you want to learn the right way before you develop any bad habits.<br>

Consider reading a subject then practice what you just read. Do it over and over until it is second nature.<br>

When using spot mode, I spot the eye, and always grab the nearest one no matter what.<br>

The amount of DOF you get depends from your aperture depends on the focal length and distance from the subject.<br>

But you will learn that as you read and practice.<br>

Have fun!</p>

<p>Besides the typical portrait techniques you probably already know ie, weight on back foot, a twist etc. You can hide weight in the shadows, do a portrait short lighting .<br>

Also stand further away and use a longer lens and don't come in so tight on the photo. ;-)</p>

<p>#1 and most important thing is to make sure you color balance and lock it down, I would not auto wb even though you can ps it back. It is imperative that the colors applied are what you deliver in a print! Certain shoots you must shoot raw, this is one of those times to ensure you capture the full gamut.<br>

By the way, the D70 rocks in these types of photo shoots. :-)<br>

An SB600 is a great speedlight but I think you will be more pleased with the results if you move the model near a window and modify the light coming through it because natural light is full spectrum and the colors will not flatten out.<br>

Play with the blinds for variations in light, think outside the box!<br>

Try and get that light in her eyes!<br>

Use a cardboard with a large hole and move it closer an farther from the model to get an interesting "Snoot" type look.<br>

Use scrims/reflectors, play with the light.<br>

I like to over expose many of my model shots 1/2 stop to give the models face look creamy look. But again if going to heavily process and shooting raw you only need to concentrate on the ratios. <br>

Get various expressions from her.<br>

Always focus on her nearest eye<br>

Crank some tunes to get her gellin in the shoot<br>

Remember, never touch the model if you need to fix her hair or something ask first.<br>

By the way, I did a shoot just light what your referring to with the same camera a few years ago. In spite of having all my stuff I resorted to using my tripods to support a white scrim over her head, a black scrim to subtract light and a reflector for bounce. Used one strobe minused down for catch light only.<br>

Go with the flow, have some ideas to start with but let your creativity take you where you need to be.<br>

Have fun, wish I was there with ya!</p>

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<p>From taking that photo, these would be my first adjustments.<br>

Put her on a higher chair so her stomach flattens out<br>

Move her farther from the background ( this will darken and defocus backdrop)<br>

Move the main light much farther forward and a a little lower so the catch light will be within the iris of her eye and a bit closer to her than before but you will of course have to lower the intensity. Probably about 45 degrees off her left eye and about 30" higher.<br>

Use a white reflector to bounce a minimal amount of light up from below her chin<br>

Also another one just out of camera view about 90 degrees to her right. </p>

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<p>Wow, outstanding work. My guess is 2- 3 strategically placed spots on most. Odd website, just a mobile number at the main opening page hidden at the bottom.<br>

A typical example of letting the photos do the talking.<br>

Thanks for sharing</p>

<p>it worked!<br />Time to dumpster the Chip</p>

<p>I got one here that is messed up.<br />If I put the chip in the camera I can see my photos. If I put the chip in my reader or even in a different reader it looks all Chinese.<br />Is there a fix for this?<br />I am going to try using my USB cable to the camera and see what happens</p>

<p>I too did a model headshot outside with good results, I did have a scrim over the top thought to diffuse the mid-day sun and a reflector under her to balance a bit.<br>

Was a lot of fun, is great photographing beautiful women, you can push the limits in lighting since their skin is usually great. What Matt said about the single bulb is true, would look like hell on me but a pretty model it could prove to be very dramatic especially with a dark background. Many photogs now are using multiple spots instead of the typical softbox/umbrella setup.<br>

But before you get carried away with your creativity have the checklist of what she needs to submit to agencies.<br>

Straight on Headshot<br>

Straight on full length<br>

Side, have her turn towards camera<br>

Full length bikini shot<br>

Be sure she does NOT give the same facial expression in each shot or she will be passed over like a highway rest stop.<br>

The agency is hiring her, not you! So a photographers portfolio will show creative talent, while the model portfolios need to show what they look like clearly and might seem rather plain. She should still include a few interesting shots to grab the viewers attention.</p>

<p>I don't claim to be an expert but may I ask why are you shooting with a white background?<br />Have you tried a light-medium gray and then pop some color into the backdrop with a colored gel over one of your strobes to give a colored halo around the subject. Comes out pretty cool. Need to be careful the main light doesn't spill onto the backdrop or it will wash it out.<br />Rule of thumb is 1 - 1 1/2 stops max difference between subject and backdrop but rules should be broken in certain instances to get a dramatic look.<br />I prefer medium or low key background lighting for my portraits whenever possible.<br>

You should not need a gray card when shooting in a studio since your strobes are s known kelvin value. Lock your WB to that.</p>

 

<p>I was about 5 feet from the cat.</p>

<p>Make : NIKON CORPORATION<br />Model : NIKON D300<br />ExposureTime : 1/60Sec<br />FNumber : F4.0<br />ExposureProgram : Aperture Priority<br />ISOSpeedRatings : 200<br />ExifVersion : 0221<br />CompressedBitsPerPixel : 4/1 (bit/pixel)<br />ExposureBiasValue : EV-1.0<br />MaxApertureValue : F1.7<br />MeteringMode : CenterWeightedAverage<br />LightSource : Flash<br />Flash : Fired(Compulsory/return light not detected)<br />FocalLength : 50.00(mm)<br /> <br />ExifImageWidth : 4288<br />ExifImageHeight : 2848<br />ExposureMode : Auto<br />WhiteBalance : Manual<br />DigitalZoomRatio : 1/1<br />FocalLength(35mm) : 75(mm)<br />SceneCaptureType : Standard<br />GainControl : None<br />Contrast : Normal<br />Saturation : Normal<br />Sharpness : Normal</p>

<p>Dollars to doughnuts you will be end up shooting at around 50mm and about 6 feet from the subject for a headshot. At that focal distance I would be very careful about going wider than F8. I was just in the studio here taking some test shots for a cramped room lighting setup I will have to do in a couple days.<br>

at 4 feet from my test subject at F4 I accidentally focused on the far eye and found that the near eye was out of focus. That would be way too shallow. Sometimes your test subject does not cooperate, be sure to bring treats. :-)</p>

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<p>I saw your site, it appears your customers are very happy with your work. I get a warm friendly vibe from your website. I don' t know you but I like you. Although the images do not scream out high fashion, I am sure that when your equipment, skills and customer base improve you will be able to command more for your work. I feel like I am kinda in the same boat, but I charge considerably more and get it with no problem.<br>

I think you are doing well, a husband and wife team is great. :-)</p>

 

<p>I am need to know if there is a proven method for me to calculate exactly what gel or combination of gels to use in order to balance my speedlights to florescent lights. I believe the lights are close to Cool White.<br>

With my Nikon D300 I can of course custom white balance but the camera nor the EXIF readings tell me what kelvin adjustment it actually made so this is what I did.<br>

I snapped this photo so I can compare between NOON Full Sunny day light and the florescent lights.<br>

See light change on white pillar. I am thinking the daylight side should be close to 6200K<br>

So my thoughts were to bring it up in photoshop and try to see what levels will balance my strobe to the florescent lights, then try to figure out what combination of gels I need to put on my speedlights.<br>

My thoughts were to add amber and green, but how much? I have made the mistake in the past on this and even though the client was happy I was still unsatisfied with the results. I will have little to no time in post production and yes of course I will shoot raw for safety sake but to reiterate my main concern it not to balance just the subject but both subject and the ambient light in the room. I do want the ambient light to be about 500-1000K lower giving the background just a little added warmth.<br>

I know I could bring my whole studio there and light each room but that would take quite a while to set up and cost my client considerably more so I want to use as much available light as possible and keep my strobes very low hoping I don't have to spot background, remove shadows or spill etc.<br>

So I guess my question is, using the color picker I measured the daylight side of the pillar as R=129 G:120 B:150 and the florescent side to be R:189 G:162 B:133.<br>

So what should I do now? I was thinking of balancing a gray card and then proceed to gel my srobe to get the same ratio as my daylight to florescent?</p>

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<p>Simon, you may be confusing ttl with Studio lighting. When you have a speedlight on the hotshoe a lot of other information is relayed to the camera's CPU so it can in fact do some color calculations from what I have been told (Canon).</p>

<p>But when you are firing via radio or sync cord the camera just tells these type of strobe to fire thats all. Everything is manual good for studio, a pain for anything else. <br>

This is why many are moving to Nikon's Creative Lighting method with remote SB800's or 600's. I think Canon has something similar as well. Way easier, way faster which means more photos in less time to produce more prints = more $$. No cords, no heavy stuff no mess.<br>

I can set up 3 point lighting with Nikon CLS in about 60 seconds.<br>

<a href="

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<p> Last I checked strobes are 5500K not 6500K<br>

Set your camera to 5500 and go to town.<br>

Nikons will not fire unless they lock when using autofocus. Take a black pen and draw an small X in the center of the card, it needs a sharp edge to focus on</p>

 

<p>Try and get your subject farther from the muslin. I am afraid you are getting spill from the lights.<br>

Also, shutter speed is irrelevant when using strobes unless balancing with ambient lighting so just leave it at around 1/60 or 1/90 and leave it there.<br>

Try and adjust the light so you can run your lens close to F8<br>

Are you AUTO white balancing? <strong>NO!!!!</strong> You <strong>must</strong> balance to your strobe lights with a gray card.<br>

Grab a book on studio lighting. You will be jazzed over what you can do and is a lot of fun experimenting. You will be exited over doing studio shots, I wish I was there with ya.<br>

Most of all have fun. After a few shoots you will get the hang of it.<br>

Not to confuse you right now but there is more then just the center of the color of light. Later you may want to read up on full spectrum lights. ;-)</p>

 

<p>Nothing there.</p>

<p>I am pretty sure one or two small white reflectors is all you need, if you use the softbox and are doing color be sure to bring a blue gel to color balance that light or you will have a yellow chin.</p>

<p>Get the business first then get the equipment.<br>

Rent a studio when you need it, bill it back to the client.<br>

Economy is messed up right now.<br>

Save your cash, you will need it for ads.</p>

I use State Farm but 600K plus 15K for equipment $230/yr. My attorney say I really need to do an S corp or LLC as soon as I can. It could protect me from loosing everything including my personal assets. I also have PPA.