More practice with portrait lighting

[shocksyde]

Had another friend model for me so I could practice off-camera portrait lighting. We just went to a local park and set up in a few different spots.

I took around 400 pics and edited 30 or so, but she'd only let me post a few of them (I'm working on convincing her she looks great in all of them, but I can understand and would probably do the same thing if the pics were of me). Here's a few pics, and Here's a link to my Flickr set.

 

[Shimmishim]

I think these look great. Just be careful of how the shadows fall across her face (from tree branches - this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/seannaber/4107506015/in/set-72157622688026881/ - from her scarf http://www.flickr.com/photos/seannaber/4107505873/in/set-72157622688026881/)

 

[shocksyde]

I think these look great. Just be careful of how the shadows fall across her face (from tree branches - this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/seannaber/4107506015/in/set-72157622688026881/ - from her scarf http://www.flickr.com/photos/seannaber/4107505873/in/set-72157622688026881/)

I agree. It's a little mind-boggling how much you have to think of and account for while taking portraits.

Also, her hair was cut to right above her eyes which cause her eyes to look dark in a good amount of the pictures. I should've had a lower light somewhere to fill that in or at least a reflector.

Lessons for next time!

 

[Shimmishim]

Off camera lighting makes you think A LOT. You learn from your mistakes and correct it the next time.

 

[angry hampster]

Where these shot with just a bare flash? If so, using an umbrella or big softbox would greatly soften the shadows. I like your post-processing!

 

[shocksyde]

Where these shot with just a bare flash? If so, using an umbrella or big softbox would greatly soften the shadows. I like your post-processing!

All flashes were shot through 43" umbrellas. Any hard shadows you see are from the sun.

 

[foghorn67]

You need to overpower the sun. You can still soften the shadows with an umbrella.

 

[shocksyde]

You need to overpower the sun. You can still soften the shadows with an umbrella.

My flashes were at full and 1/2 power for some of these shots. What else can I do to overpower the sun?

I'm not sure I even want to overpower the sun, b/c then the pics look completely unnatural.

 

[deanx0r]

Nice shots, beautiful model. Did you use a strobe as a rim light in those pictures? It looks more like post processed with unsharp for me, but my eyes might be wrong

I gave a try to off camera lighting a while back, but it kinda take away the fun from my style of photography. I essentially consider portraiture as a social exercise, and involving lighting techniques messes my fun.

What kind of strobes do you use? portable or studio type? If power is a problem, you can compensate by bringing the strobes closer to your subject. It's totally doable with a SB800 or SB900. I think Canon flashes can output even more light if you shoot Canon.

Here's my attempt at overpowering the sun with a mere strobe:

 

[shocksyde]

Nice shots, beautiful model. Did you use a strobe as a rim light in those pictures? It looks more like post processed with unsharp for me, but my eyes might be wrong

What kind of strobes do you use? portable or studio type? If power is a problem, you can compensate by bringing the strobes closer to your subject. It's totally doable with a SB800 or SB900. I think Canon flashes can output even more light if you shoot Canon.
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Any rim lighting you see is from mother nature's strobe . It's def not a halo caused by oversharpening. I think maybe because her dress is black, it really makes the rim lighting pop.

I was using a Nikon SB-24 and a Sunpak 383 for this shoot. These are both speedlight flashes. I already had the embrellas very close to her and in most cases you can see them in the shot before I cropped them out. I'd get 4 SB-900s or 580EXIIs if they weren't so darned expensive. Simply not worth it for me at this point.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Those look pretty good. Not a big fan of the busy background though. I think it gets worse the more detail you retain of the background branches and trees. You can get a cleaner background by underexposing it so you've just got some black branch shapes. So set your exposure to underexpose the background and up the flash power to properly expose the subject.

She's hot.

 

[shocksyde]

Those look pretty good. Not a big fan of the busy background though. I think it gets worse the more detail you retain of the background branches and trees. You can get a cleaner background by underexposing it so you've just got some black branch shapes. So set your exposure to underexpose the background and up the flash power to properly expose the subject.

She's hot.

I can certainly agree with you there. I really wish I could've found a better place to shoot. I'll do some scouting next time!

I was trying to go for an underexposed background look, maybe I should've toned it down even more.

Thanks to all for your input. I'm soaking it all in and hopefully round 3 will come sooner than later. I've already got a few bites for paying gigs from showing people these shots .

And Fuzzy, I'll tell her you dig her. She's single and looking for an asian man that takes showers with camera equipment. *SNORGLE*

 

[foghorn67]

My flashes were at full and 1/2 power for some of these shots. What else can I do to overpower the sun?

I'm not sure I even want to overpower the sun, b/c then the pics look completely unnatural.

how far were the flashes away from the subject?

 

[shocksyde]

how far were the flashes away from the subject?

Very close. In many instances the umbrellas were actually in the shot and were cropped out.

 

[Shimmishim]

Those look pretty good. Not a big fan of the busy background though. I think it gets worse the more detail you retain of the background branches and trees. You can get a cleaner background by underexposing it so you've just got some black branch shapes. So set your exposure to underexpose the background and up the flash power to properly expose the subject.

She's hot.

I agree with underexposing the background. Here's my take on it from a shot this past Saturday:

But I think the environment of your shot was fine. It creates mood. I like your environment.