Part 2 -- My Wife Taught me to Shoot People

[Sandie]

Sandie -- Very nice lighting! Did you use a reflector for fill or did that nice soft light just happen from the window?

A very dirty sliding glass door actually there was enough winter grime on the window to act as a defuser for the low sunlight that was coming in full force. That is why her check is kind of 'hot' I was going to fix it in PS and blur the background a bit, I just haven't gotten to it yet.

You will find DPS a valuable resource while making the switch to digital. I never took more than snapshots with film, but I find myself doing much more these days with the help of the kind folks here.

I rarely took snapshots with film. I started taking 'artsy' shots in highschool and got a degree in photography and film. I was pretty snobby and hated taking pictures at family events because I had so little control over the situation. I was always disappointed in the results. It is hard to take 25 bracketed shots of the same thing when someone is blowing out the candles When I finally broke down and got my girls digital point and shoot cameras about 5 years ago, I started taking family shots for the first time. Last year I started a 365 blog with a point and shoot and started doing a little more than snapshots. Then for Christmas this year my family all pitched in and got me the DSLR. I was feeling very overwhelmed...teaching old dogs new tricks and all that...until my friend pointed me to this forum. I have been addicted ever since! I feel like I am learning, especially post-processing, and like I can keep learning and growing because the people here are wonderful!

Sorry I started rambling. I think it is fasinating the different avenues we have all taken to end up here.

[photofun]

I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed Part 2 and to keep 'em coming. I'm glad you started getting comments because I might have missed it as there's so much more to see here at DPS I completely missed it the first few times around. I don't have any lighting equipment but your tutorials make me want to frequent the Strobist to learn more. I like you're portraits.

I almost forgot, I like you're comment about the wine, but I don't think even that would make my husband a willing subject.

[RussHeath]

Originally Posted by Sandie

I rarely took snapshots with film. I started taking 'artsy' shots in highschool and got a degree in photography and film. I was pretty snobby and hated taking pictures at family events because I had so little control over the situation. I was always disappointed in the results. It is hard to take 25 bracketed shots of the same thing when someone is blowing out the candles When I finally broke down and got my girls digital point and shoot cameras about 5 years ago, I started taking family shots for the first time. Last year I started a 365 blog with a point and shoot and started doing a little more than snapshots. Then for Christmas this year my family all pitched in and got me the DSLR. I was feeling very overwhelmed...teaching old dogs new tricks and all that...until my friend pointed me to this forum. I have been addicted ever since! I feel like I am learning, especially post-processing, and like I can keep learning and growing because the people here are wonderful!

Sorry I started rambling. I think it is fasinating the different avenues we have all taken to end up here.

Sandie -- Thanks for sharing your story. I think it's a great one for me to hear, as I find myself using the point and shoot that I used to dearly love much less these days for many of the reasons that you didn't want to take snapshots. There is so much to be said for balance! I hope to get to a place where I don't think so much about the gear and the situation but just enjoy taking the best picture I can for a given situation. That day is probably a long way off, but your story is a nice reminder.

Originally Posted by photofun

I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed Part 2 and to keep 'em coming. I'm glad you started getting comments because I might have missed it as there's so much more to see here at DPS I completely missed it the first few times around. I don't have any lighting equipment but your tutorials make me want to frequent the Strobist to learn more. I like you're portraits.

I almost forgot, I like you're comment about the wine, but I don't think even that would make my husband a willing subject.

Photofun -- Thanks for the feedback. Seems like a lot of people were in the same boat of being involved in the new sections about the same time I originally wrote this.

As to making your husband cooperate? Set up a little studio (even shoplights work with some creativity), pour him some wine, put on some music, and you might be surprised how much fun you two have. You'll never know until you try, right? I know it's usually like pulling teeth to get my wife to agree to pose, but we always have a blast actually taking the pictures. Even if you delete them all later you'll still get some quality time together!

[Ramoo76]

One word for you... Reflectors!
Thay are magic when using 1 o r 2 light sources. A well postioned reflector can provide all the fill needed with natural light.
Remeber Caddyshack...."Be the ball" : In photography, when you figure out how to "be the light", you have succeeded. I'm not trying to sound zenlike, but it is really the secret to great photography. It's all about the light.

[RussHeath]

Originally Posted by Ramoo76

One word for you... Reflectors!
Thay are magic when using 1 o r 2 light sources. A well postioned reflector can provide all the fill needed with natural light.
Remeber Caddyshack...."Be the ball" : In photography, when you figure out how to "be the light", you have succeeded. I'm not trying to sound zenlike, but it is really the secret to great photography. It's all about the light.

Yep, that was one of the things I took away from this shoot. I now have several large pieces of foamcore to use as reflectors and V cards, a shiny reflector, and a large silver tarp. They all come in handy and definitely improve the fill light.

Thanks for having a look!

[zapp]

Originally Posted by newbie

... I now have several large pieces of foamcore to use as reflectors and V cards, a shiny reflector, and a large silver tarp. ...

ok at the risk of sounding like an idiot.... and likely I know the answer under a different name ... what is foam-core? what are v-cards? and what are you using as a shiny reflector? I found that the windshield protector thing works very well as a reflector and a couple of old picture frames with aluminum foil taped to the back of the glass works well .... is the foam-core the aluminum covered Styrofoam insulation board used in construction? I too was a film point and shoot snap-shooter for years and this DPS site is outstanding! Thanks for this excellent tutorial by the way... very informative and very well done! I hope to see more from you soon as I have already learned a lot about lighting in this short tutorial series. Thank You!
John (Zapp)

[dbeverlyhills]

I lurked, clicked on over to your Flickr site....came back and saw your thread about no comments...ooops. I generally get lost and overwhelmed in forums. However, I feel compelled to let you know that I really enjoyed your photos....and your sharing with us what you are learning.

Originally Posted by newbie

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.

[RussHeath]

Originally Posted by zapp

ok at the risk of sounding like an idiot.... and likely I know the answer under a different name ... what is foam-core? what are v-cards? and what are you using as a shiny reflector? I found that the windshield protector thing works very well as a reflector and a couple of old picture frames with aluminum foil taped to the back of the glass works well .... is the foam-core the aluminum covered Styrofoam insulation board used in construction? I too was a film point and shoot snap-shooter for years and this DPS site is outstanding! Thanks for this excellent tutorial by the way... very informative and very well done! I hope to see more from you soon as I have already learned a lot about lighting in this short tutorial series. Thank You!
John (Zapp)

John -- As you suspected, you already know what these things are. Foamcore is just one of many names for the thick white stuff you can buy in large rectangular pieces at any craft store. It is thicker than posterboard and stands up on its own. It comes in many colors, but I find white to be the most useful when shooting portraits. A V-Card would be two of these stuck together at a right angle. For a shiny reflector I too like the car sun blocker, and I also use a silver piece of poster board or a silver tarp depending on what size reflector I need.

I'm glad you're enjoying the tutuorials. Check out Part 3 if you haven't already, and I should be posting a Part 4 today or tomorrow.

Originally Posted by dbeverlyhills

I lurked, clicked on over to your Flickr site....came back and saw your thread about no comments...ooops. I generally get lost and overwhelmed in forums. However, I feel compelled to let you know that I really enjoyed your photos....and your sharing with us what you are learning.

dbeverlyhills -- Thanks for the thoughts, I'm very glad you're enjoying them. I'm a little embarrased about being impatient earlier with the comments, but it's been nice to hear from so many people about this one. Taking all of these shots has been great fun for me, and I love being able to share.

[brambo76]

nice shots.. I really like the dynamic portraits. I hate doing boring portraits and I think this is very good.

[RussHeath]

Thanks to Sime for transferring these threads over to the new tutorial section! I know there hasn't been recent activity, but if new questions come up feel free to post and I will help where I can.