For those of you who missed
Part 1, I'm posting a series of portraits that demonstrates a little bit of what I've learned over the past few months by reading
Strobist and some other sources. While by no means accomplished, I'm hoping that my progression through basic portrait lighting is helpful to some. All critiques and comments on the pictures help me grow and are certainly welcome.
Last time, I was posting pictures from around mid November, and using the techniques detailed in the
Umbrella Specular Assignment from strobist. The location has remained the same for most of these shots, but it's a month later and I've pulled the light over to the side and pushed it very close to my model(s).
Above is a photo of my wife and her mother. The lighting is as described above, with one SB-600 through a shoot-through umbrella acting as a small softbox. I think the lighting is soft and a little dramatic at the same time.
Here is one of my wife by herself:
This shot shows what is possible with this lighting setup and some B&W conversion. I have the light higher than I did in November, and I like the effect. I did several of these conversions, and this particular one is the highest contrast (some would call it low-key) and happens to be my wife's favorite.
Another with my wife and mother-in-law:
Having more than one subject really makes for a more dynamic portrait, but also provides many more variables in terms of lighting.
Lessons learned from the above photos:
--Even a soft light source this far to the side needs a good fill light. I found myself having to correct the shadows far too much during the RAW conversions. I (ineffectively) used the ambient coming from the room to camera left for fill. Either I should have used a much longer shutter speed (these were all on 1/200) to allow more ambient fill, or I should have provided fill another way. I have since turned to using a silver reflector or large piece of foamcore ($5-$10 at any craft store) as a reflector on the fill side. Live and learn.
--Wine is good for models.
--Despite the problems caused from having a 110lb Great Dane in the last shot, she more than makes up for it through the reaction she evokes.
OK, last one. This is a shot from the second floor of a convention center looking out. It was graduation day for my wife (M.A.) which is why her parents were in town:
This is one of the better of a bad series of shots (she was goofing off for the camera), but it demonstrates the concept of
balancing ambient with flash. Neither my wife nor I really liked any of the shots from this spot, but that was because the bare strobe fired from camera right was too hard a light source. A simple diffuser (aka omnibounce or DIY equivalent) would have made quite a difference. I was proud that both she and the background were well exposed.
That's all for today. Any and all comments and critiques are encouraged. Thanks again to those of you who had a look at Part 1, and if all goes well look for another episode in a few days.
Part 1 -- Umbrella Specular
Part 2 -- Adding a reflector for fill (and a Mother-in-law)
Part 3 -- Crosslighting with the sun (for a group portrait)
Part 4 -- Now I have two strobes!
Part 5 -- Ghetto striplight high key fun
Part 6 -- DIY Softbox for serious light