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First studio shots for C&C
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These were taken on Saturday at the Digital Beginners (or is it now the Institute of Photography?) studio taster course. Thanks Dave!
It was my first time using a studio and it was a great experience. Any critique of the following images would be very welcome – I still have a lot to learn.
Cheers!
Well as i have never done studio portraits i am not sure my opinion means much but i like them personaly for the high key one i would burn the background out by pushing the levels a bit or selecting it and then burning it.
The low key one i like better with the catchlight in the eyes and suits the model personaly better, just a question but did you do any additional processing? as the models skin looks different compared to summerdreamns shot now that sounds cryptic :)
The second shot for me has more impact…mostly because the models eyes are better lit…
I think the lighting overall is better in the second shot.
The thing I’ve found in my very limited experience of studios is that a lot depends on the lighting set up…it will make or break the shot.
Did you set up the lighting yourself? Or did you have input into how it was set up?
Btw… just wanted to say that I love the way your Photoblog is set up…with the before and after shots…I find it really informative and helpful… :D
Robbie
8)I quite like them both. Beautiful model.
One thing about the 1st one is that her right hip (viewers left) looks a touch unnatural + overemphasised by the curves created by her pose + bunched shirt. I wonder if another crop below the hips would help?
Btw… just wanted to say that I love the way your Photoblog is set up…with the before and after shots…I find it really informative and helpful…
From Robbies comment above I had a look at your photoblog – great stuff there, one of the best photoblogs I’ve seen.
Thanks for the feedback guys. :)
Pitmatic wrote:
for the high key one i would burn the background out by pushing the levels a bit or selecting it and then burning it.
I didn’t notice this until I had posted it and noticed that on a white background that the right side of the image is much darker. I will correct it to match the left side.
Pitmatic wrote:
did you do any additional processing?
I did quite a bit of processing on these, mainly the eyes, skin and the hair in the low key shot. It was challenging to keep it looking as natural as possible but I think I’ve achieved a pretty good result (i.e. nobody has picked out particular changes as being obviously processed yet!).
Expresbro wrote:
Did you set up the lighting yourself? Or did you have input into how it was set up?
No and no. But I did understand how it was setup and why it was setup that particular way which is a lot more than I knew last week! :D I do realise that most of the credit for these goes to Dave who did the work of setting up the lights. While I am taking all the critique on lighting on board I guess I’m paying more attention to critique in the areas where I had control (composition, processing, etc) for these particular images. Apart from the odd candid, people photography is new to me.
eas wrote:
I wonder if another crop below the hips would help?
Interesting point. I did notice that all of the contrast caused by the folds tends to draw the eye to that area and once the eye is in that area it can find it unnatural. As it stands this is the full crop so unfortunately I can’t go any lower. I might have a look at the possibility of cropping a little further up and using the curves formed by the folds to lead the eye upwards rather than distracting from the main focus.
Expresbro wrote:
I love the way your Photoblog is set up…with the before and after shots…I find it really informative and helpful…
eas wrote:
I had a look at your photoblog – great stuff there, one of the best photoblogs I’ve seen.
Thanks guys. :D That means a lot! I will be posting these two images up on latchiko.com once I have a copy of the model release form. As usual I will include a before and after so that you can see the changes I made.
not overly experience in this either but a couple things i’ve learned…
In the first one. The eyes are a bit dark. Helps he viewer to be drawn to them when they are lit up…like they are in the second one.
I think the reason the hip is odd looking is that the image is cut off at a joint. To be avoided apparently, so the crop you were suggesting would be good and it will remove the distracting bit of skin area there too.
The PP in the second is really nice. I’m always worried about going too white with the white of the eyes and I think you’ve got it just right.Beautiful work ditto model.
Her facial make-up in #2 is a little dark when compared with her décolletage, n’est ce pas?Love the expression in the first shot. Personally, I wouldn’t boost the background, the model sits nicely as is. If you make it glow white, I think it would “Wrap” around the model a bit and become irritating (although I’m know for my hatred of burnt out backgrounds, hehe). It seems that you have a softish light coming from the left and a catchlight coming from the right! Did you bounce a flash from a reflector? There is a shadow from her hair on her face which is a little eye-catching.
Looks like the same lighting in the second shot (from the left) with a bounce from the right on her face. Her right arm is a bit lost in the dark. Again, an interesting expression and her left arm leads out of frame nicely (perhaps darken her arm a bit).
Generally, I’m not sure that you have the light getting iinto her face enough, if that was your intention then fine, but her hair will cast a shadow with the light coming in from the left.
The shots on your blog are very good indeed, some lovely compositions.
All best
Si
Thanks again for the feedback!
I’ve made a note of all of the suggestions and I’m looking forward to trying them out.
Allinthemind wrote:
It seems that you have a softish light coming from the left and a catchlight coming from the right! Did you bounce a flash from a reflector? There is a shadow from her hair on her face which is a little eye-catching.
There was a softbox to the left and another softbox at half power on the right, hence the catchlight. I think the left softbox must have been higher up because the left catchlight is missing. I did a bit of work in the shadow area you mentioned to soften it and bring her right eye out of the shadows. But I guess I should have gotten more light in there.
Pixelle wrote:
Her facial make-up in #2 is a little dark when compared with her décolletage, n’est ce pas?
I never studied French but luckily Google did! You make a good point and I will see if I can do a bit of work to improve it.
Thanks for the advice – I appreciate it!
latchiko wrote:
Thanks again for the feedback!
I’ve made a note of all of the suggestions and I’m looking forward to trying them out.
Allinthemind wrote:
It seems that you have a softish light coming from the left and a catchlight coming from the right! Did you bounce a flash from a reflector? There is a shadow from her hair on her face which is a little eye-catching.
There was a softbox to the left and another softbox at half power on the right, hence the catchlight. I think the left softbox must have been higher up because the left catchlight is missing. I did a bit of work in the shadow area you mentioned to soften it and bring her right eye out of the shadows. But I guess I should have gotten more light in there.
Thanks for the advice – I appreciate it!
I see a lot of this 2 light setup, with one on the left and one on the right. Next time you’re in a studio, you might want to try placing the main light where you want it and the second light in the centre (as fill to control the contrast), or as near the centre as you can. This stops odd shadows and confusing lighting directions. In the diagrams that are floating about for lighting setups, often the fill is placed on the opposite side and I take that to mean “Fill for the shadows on this side, rather than fill from this position. Experimentation is good. :)
Si
Following on from what Si has said, I think if you really want to get the hang of lighting, then the very best way of learning is to work with just one single light. There is sooooo much you can do with just one light. There are two important factors in lighting that people often don’t think about – quality and quantity. Working with just one light will put you on a fast track to getting to grips with these two factors, which are closely tied together yet both can be controlled independently of each other. For example, just because you have a large light source, it doesn’t mean you will get nice soft light – the sun is the biggest single light source available to us, but I’d hardly call that a soft light :wink:
I’d better stop there before I go on one of my endless rambles :)
good point Thorsten. I’ve been wanting to get three lights for my studio for ages and because I could only afford one, I’ve had to learn how to work with just that. I think It’s been a huge learning curve, I was very frustrated at first, because I wanted more lights, but once I realised how much I could do with one light with a dark background I really like it. It’s helped me be more creative with lighting angles and strength. I think I just got it right the other night with this pic http://www.rotierney.com
I’ll be sticking to my one light for a while longer.Lot’s of useful informationon how to make the most of what you’ve got without spending a fortune on more kit is available at Lighting-Essentials.com. For single light setups there is the One Light Portrait with White Background article and the One Light Setup with Two Versions of the Light article to start with. Never underestimate the versatility of simple white reflectors!
i love the outfit change on the first one. or maybe i was out having a smoke at the time? ;)
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