First Time Portrait with lights

[crystaclair]

I have taken the random portrait shot before but only recently did I get the proper equipment for it. I thought everything would just fall into place once I had lights and a backdrop. I have lights now (Vu-Pro, 2 dimming 500 watts with white umbrellas and a mini-boom with a non-dim 250 watt flood) and two backdrops, one black and one blue/gray marble. However I'm not entirely sure what to do with them. Here's my first real attempt with my boyfriend and his son...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48146189@N00/2213368870/" title="Untitled by CrystaClaire, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2155/2213368870_8c2a209ca1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="" /></a>

Full EXiF detail <a href="http://flickr.com/photo_exif.gne?id=2213368870">here</a>. Basics are; taken with a FujiFilm S20 Pro, aperture f/3, exposure of .05 sec, no flash but I used the above listed lights at about half power each on the 500 watts, the one on their left I made a little stronger because I didn't like the flat even look, and did not use the mini boom at all, so no back light.

My biggest question is on lighting, what the heck do I do with them? I gave up on the back light because it kept overpowering the other lights. I know my posing needs works, doesn't help that one of the first people I tried to photograph is a five year old.
General overall critique is welcome but I'm mostly interested in improving my lighting right now. Thanks for any help you guys can give.

[oriolhdz]

Hi crystaclair:
I have not worked never with professionals lightening or other equipment that my build in flash or natural light and also I don't know if is correct what I'm going to say but I think is important to check the white balance before shooting or correcting it after. The skin have some yellowish hue that makes it look a little strange. Hope this works for you.

[jiminyClickit]

crystaclair,

Short answer would be do research. Gather as many professional's shots as you can. Begin to notice, through the shadow under the nose, the light/dark balance from one side of head to the other, whether the hair is well lit from above, is there a rim of glow around ears, or hair, or cheek? When you find those you like best, experiment on a willing subject model, move your lights around, change intensity.

Your lighting depends on your subject, the look you have in mind, and loads of practice to know how to get that look.

[jdepould]

The white balance looks like it's a little off. A little warm and a little green.

The shadows look good though, you avoided flattening everything without going too far. Only thing I would say is use a faster shutter speed, especially with children. I wouldn't go lower than 1/60s. Don't be afraid to bump the ISO. You're getting a little motion blur in the boy's face, and he obviously found something more interesting to look at while you were taking the photo.

Are the lights adjustable, or are they constant output? If so, increase the output.

[clockdoc]

You have taken the first step and that is to have completed a sitting. You can build from here. Most portrait light sets use 4 lights: a key or main light placed to one side of the camera, slightly higher than the subject and aimed downward at about a 45 degree angle. The exact placement depends on the pose of the model and the direction in which they are looking. The fill light (lower in power than the key light for starters) is placed on the other side of the camera and as close as possible to the lens as you can manage. It should also be slightly higher than the lens. The hair light is placed in back of the subject opposite the direction of the key or main light. It generally illuminates the top of the hair and spills over onto the shoulders providing some separation from the background. It is much lower in intensity than the main light. The last light is placed directly behind the subject and shines on the background. It is used to eliminate the shadow caused by the main and fill lights. Position your subject far enough away from the background so as to have the shadows drop lower down.
There is much more to portraiture than this basic start. When in doubt or confused, ask questions. I'll be happy to help where I can.

[crystaclair]

cool, thanks for all the help guys! Especially the reminder that I need to just practice, sometimes I get impatient and want magical solutions that work instantly.

[ELAY]

Hi there --

I don't think you do any better than starting at the Strobist blog if you are looking to improve your portrait lighting.

Part of his thing is that you don't need studio lighting, but if you can put that part of it aside, he really is good on explaining how to light people, and on how to make your camera and your lighting work together.

Look at his Lighting 101 and Boot Camp series (again, ignore the gear stuff which won't really apply to you).

EL

[crystaclair]

thanks for the tip. So far just skimmed the lighting 101 but it looks very useful, as well as the rest of the site.

[tvoelcker]

I'm also very new to photography and especially portraits. I just ordred the same set up minus the backdrops. Should be receiving it tomorrow. I bought a book on-line a few weeks ago called Master Lighting Guide for portrait photographers and it is a great book.Can't wait to practice some of the techniques.
www.photflexlightingschool.com is a great site to check out also.
clockdoc always seems to be willing to help aswell and his advise is always very good and informative.

[Diana1979]

That is similar to my problem with lights. I don't have any fancy lights, just a regular desk lamp. I took these pictures trying to get the affect of a soft light in the background and near my daughter's head, but I ended up just turning off the light and using the light from the room and the window. I took these pictures on my bed with a blanket hung on the wall. As you can see, the one with the lamp off did the best job.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x165/diananeill/IMG_2201Small.jpg
f/2.5
1/50
ISO 400

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x165/diananeill/IMG_2316Small.jpg
f/2.5
1/160
ISO 400

[clockdoc]

Here are a couple of things to think about regarding the quality of light for portraiture. The larger the light source and the closer it is to the subject, the softer the light will be abd the more "wrap" you will get from it. That is why you see so many studios using large diameter umbrellas for their bounce light or very large light boxes placed close to the subject. Bounce light from a flash pointed at the ceiling works well for the same reason.
Conversely, the smaller the light source and the farther away it is placed from the subject, the more harsh will be the shadows and quality of light. You can experiment using a variety of light sources found around the house to see the effect. A large,north facing window provides an excellent quality of light for portraits.

[hsroxas]

I have taken the random portrait shot before but only recently did I get the proper equipment for it. I thought everything would just fall into place once I had lights and a backdrop. I have lights now (Vu-Pro, 2 dimming 500 watts with white umbrellas and a mini-boom with a non-dim 250 watt flood) and two backdrops, one black and one blue/gray marble. However I'm not entirely sure what to do with them. Here's my first real attempt with my boyfriend and his son...

My biggest question is on lighting, what the heck do I do with them? I gave up on the back light because it kept overpowering the other lights. I know my posing needs works, doesn't help that one of the first people I tried to photograph is a five year old.
General overall critique is welcome but I'm mostly interested in improving my lighting right now. Thanks for any help you guys can give.

You might like to browse on this: http://www.photoflexlightingschool.com/Lighting_Principles/index.html
The site provides pretty interesting information using studio lights.