Another shot from my experiment with light

[ajax_andy]

Don't know if anyone remembers but about a week ago I posted a pic of 2 girls from above that I took whilst experimenting with using a single light source?

Anyway the premise was to use a light other than a flash and that it had to be a normal ceiling light, desk lamp or floor lamp etc.

Here's another of the shots, I used a high ISO to get a bit of noise in the pic and converted to B&W before dodging the shadows a little and burning some slight hotspots.

Any feedback on how the lighting works, the DOF used and composition, post production etc would be great



Exif data
Camera Canon EOS 450D
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 17 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Flash Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program Manual
Metering Mode Spot

[Rigu]

That's really nice, looks like the kind of shot you'd get accompanying an interview in a magazine.

[ajax_andy]

Originally Posted by Rigu

That's really nice, looks like the kind of shot you'd get accompanying an interview in a magazine.

Thank you

[baajero]

it's beautiful... i find my eyes keep on going to his hands because they are a lot brighter than his face... if this was intentional from your side then it worked... otherwise his hands need to darken up a bit...

I would really appreciate if you can share what you learned from your experiment with single light source... I'm now to portraits and cant afford to buy the expensive gear... besides when looking at your pictures i'm not sure i want to anymore... they are stunning my friend... good work

[ajax_andy]

Originally Posted by baajero

it's beautiful... i find my eyes keep on going to his hands because they are a lot brighter than his face... if this was intentional from your side then it worked... otherwise his hands need to darken up a bit...

I would really appreciate if you can share what you learned from your experiment with single light source... I'm now to portraits and cant afford to buy the expensive gear... besides when looking at your pictures i'm not sure i want to anymore... they are stunning my friend... good work

Wow thank you

No the hands weren't meant to be brighter, it's the light source that caused this as it is hanging from the ceiling above the table and they are just more under it than the face. I have darkened them a bit using the burn tool but might re-visit it and see what I can do to just tone them down a little more

I really learnt a lot about light as I had to position the light (where possible) to eliminate shadows enough to make the image balanced. The hardest part was that there was no way of changing the power of the lights, so it took a little work to position them where they wouldn't be too bright on one part of the subject (i.e. like in this image where I couldn't avoid it as the light was fixed to the ceiling).

Mainly what I learnt was to now look at someone's face and immediately see shadows, light, exposure etc. Before it's not something I would notice, but now I can think "ok the face is too dark on one side" and then move the model or light so it's more even.

I often rely too much on trial and error to get the right result, whereas now I feel I can look at something and work out what to do.

Not sure if any of that makes sense? If not, or you have a specific question you'd like to ask then please feel free

I would advise trying this experiment for yourself, it pushed me to make bold decisions because I couldn't rely on using my flash. Wait until it's dark, get a lamp or light, and place it in different spots around a person. You'll quickly learn what works and what doesn't.

[crockny]

Really nice portrait and lighting. My only quibble is I don't like where the glass is and how it magnifies his arm ... I find it distracting. But the face and hands are great ...

[tomservo51]

Originally Posted by crockny

Really nice portrait and lighting. My only quibble is I don't like where the glass is and how it magnifies his arm ... I find it distracting. But the face and hands are great ...

I didn't mind the glass but I did find the bottle on the left distracting. Cool shot tho.

[Niresangwa]

Yeah, just like the last shot, it's really nice, but there's that one element that kind of lets it down...

this time, for me, its the placement of the bottle right up against the left of the frame, with such an expanse of dead space between it and the subject...

I actually find the refracted image through the shot glass the 'hidden gem' in the shot... great expression on the subject.

[baajero]

Thanks Ajax I will keep that in mind... I will try it and post on critique then pm you to give me your advice

[ajax_andy]

Hi all and thanks for the comments

Sorry for the delay in responding but have been a bit busy over the weekend.

The bottle was positioned there because the pic was supposed to show something that was synoymous with the person. He drinks this disgusting dutch gin that I hate and so it was kind of a very important feature of the photo.

I took a few with the bottle close to him but it didn't seem to fit the concept as well, and also I felt this way added more depth to the pic, as the bottle and then the glass step you in to the pic.

I think maybe I should have found a middle ground where the bottle still added depth to the pic but wasn't right up against the front left of the image, so this feedback has been really helpful

Thanks again and I'll post another one from the series for feedback again today