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Lighting question!!! PLEASE HELP!
- Thread starter RB4580
- Start date
Piano Player
Order of the Candle
You need a more sophisticated lighting system. A good book or article on portrait photography will help you choose lighting that will work for your application. Hair, especially very dark hair (like in your pictures) can be difficult to light. It helps to have a "hair light" which is a very strong light (in comparison to your main light) high above and slightly behind the subject while angled down on the subject's hair. It also helps to have a "background light" which is a light directed toward the background. This helps lighten the background, and helps separate the hair (and subject) from the background. Good portrait photography also has a main light (not on the camera as in your flash pictures) and fill light. The "fill light" is usually less powerful, and allows the retention of detail in the shadows of the main light. The use of shadowing allows the face to have a more three dimensional and natural look. You can vary the strength of the lights either through output (if the light will let you do this) or just simply changing the distance between a particular light and the subject. Remember light follows the inverse square rule. (Moving a light twice as far reduces its effect by 3/4) (2 stops) Maybe you can also check out your local portrait photographer's lighting system for tips. Once you find something that works in balancing the four lights, nail it to the floor (figuratively speaking) and your subsequent pictures will be fine.RB4580 said:
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If you use a digital camera, it will have an automatic white point balancing function, so you needen't worry about the colour temperature of the light bulbs. If you are shooting film, without a flash, then you need a Blue (80) filter to compenstate under normal household bulbs.
Be careful about positioning the model to close to a wall, the flash causes the ugly shadow directly behind her head. Try angling the flash, and putting some tracing paper over the flash lens. This will soften the light.
If you are on a budget, you don't need more sophisticated lighting, you need daylight and a reflector. You can take quite beautiful portraits in daylight. Make sure the model isn't looking into the sun!
A good look, which is popular now in fashion photography, is to shoot with the sun directly behind the model's head (so the lens is pointing towards the sun). Get somebody to hold an A3 (297mm x 420mm) sheet of white paper (gold reflective paper looks great too) at an angle which reflects some sunlight into the models face. Angle the reflector to get some modelling on the face, if needed. Meter off of the models face (otherwise you will get a silhouette).
The results look fantastic and natural, and in my opinion, much better than flash photography. I am not a big fan of staged studio shots in front of grey backgrounds. They all look similar.
If the model is wearing heavy make-up and has black hair, you can over-exposure 2 stops which will burn the face out. You've seen the look - just eyes, mouth, nostrils.
If you have a manual aperture on your camera, shoot wide open, for a softer effect. For flattering pictures, use a telephoto lens (at least 135mm - not sure how this equates on your digital camera, maybe somebody could help?). Standard and wide focal lengths tends to give the model a big nose!
With dark black skin, underexpose a stop, otherwise their skin will look too light. Ditto if you a exposing for black hair. If you meter off black hair, under-exposure by 2 stops.
Be careful about positioning the model to close to a wall, the flash causes the ugly shadow directly behind her head. Try angling the flash, and putting some tracing paper over the flash lens. This will soften the light.
If you are on a budget, you don't need more sophisticated lighting, you need daylight and a reflector. You can take quite beautiful portraits in daylight. Make sure the model isn't looking into the sun!
A good look, which is popular now in fashion photography, is to shoot with the sun directly behind the model's head (so the lens is pointing towards the sun). Get somebody to hold an A3 (297mm x 420mm) sheet of white paper (gold reflective paper looks great too) at an angle which reflects some sunlight into the models face. Angle the reflector to get some modelling on the face, if needed. Meter off of the models face (otherwise you will get a silhouette).
The results look fantastic and natural, and in my opinion, much better than flash photography. I am not a big fan of staged studio shots in front of grey backgrounds. They all look similar.
If the model is wearing heavy make-up and has black hair, you can over-exposure 2 stops which will burn the face out. You've seen the look - just eyes, mouth, nostrils.
If you have a manual aperture on your camera, shoot wide open, for a softer effect. For flattering pictures, use a telephoto lens (at least 135mm - not sure how this equates on your digital camera, maybe somebody could help?). Standard and wide focal lengths tends to give the model a big nose!
With dark black skin, underexpose a stop, otherwise their skin will look too light. Ditto if you a exposing for black hair. If you meter off black hair, under-exposure by 2 stops.
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