debbyg Loc: Nebraska

Today I cornered my husband and a couple neighbor girls that were outside playing to test out studio lights...two umbrella lights with soft boxes on them and a flash fill light for the background. Found out that during the day even with the blinds shut my living room is way to bright for two umbrellas. So used only one on the pictures here. This is just a start for me and wanted to share since I am pleased at what this produced for me. I will try add the settings for each. What fun!
Oh and these are SOOC. I am shooting with D3100. Sure hope these come across to you as I see them on my computer.

Manual - ISO 200 - f/5 - 1/15sec.


Manual - ISO 200 -f/5.3 - 1/15sec.


Manual - ISO 200 -F/5.6 -1/15sec.


Manual ISO 400 - f/5 - 1/15sec.


ISO 200 - f/5.6 - 1/13sec. Manual


Manual - ISO 160 - f/5.6 1/13sec.

maxamillion Loc: Hampden Maine

These are lovely pictures and I can see you were having fun with it. Love the first and last ones the most. Your husband must be very pleased to have such a nice portrait of himself and the neighbors must be very happy with the lovely pictures of their daughters. Keep posting so I can learn along with you.
:)

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

Thank you - I will try to post what I am learning and please do the same. It is VERY hard for me to get off of programmed mode..but just had to take the plunge yesterday so I would really know what I could do with the lights and umbrellas..really out of the comfort zone. And yes the little girls parents were pleased with what I took yesterday. I am adding a couple more that I took last night. I wanted to know what I could do after dark in my living room and tried to use two lights for these. Let me know what you think please. I hope one day I can get better at this...I guess it is practice practice practice :).

two lights ISO200, f/5, 1/30sec


two lights ISO 200, f/5, 1/30sec

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

I'm just learning about lighting so I can't give any real feedback on it (Captain C is great at that, among his many other talents).

Are you using a continuous lighting system? Your shutter speed is a little slow, try to up it to around 1/60 (especially with kids, they NEVER sit as still as you need them too, lol). You can tell the difference in sharpness between your hubby's pictures (he sat still) and the girls pictures where their eyes are a little softer cause they were giggling and moving around ever so slightly.

I like the lighting, and the girls look like they would be a hoot to work with. Great job (much better than my first try with my lighting kit and real peoples).

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

I was waiting for a reply from you MWAC - thanks :)
I also hope that Captain C will give me some advice here. I really enjoy viewing both of your pictures and advise you give to others. Thought of you both as I posted my pictures. I am using the lighting system from work, wish it were mine. It is an Excalibur 1600C SP system - strobe with one light bulb in center/use it with slave flash. One light is set at 1/2 power and the other 1/4 power. My next practice day I want to try out lower and higher settings with this. This is the suggested settings that were handed down to me as this was a used purchase. There are alot of settings I have not tried as of yet but for sure will be trying them all out as time goes on and jotting down what I find for future use. Two all white umbrellas came with it. I was trying out the umbrellas I purchased that are black on the outside and white on inside with the soft box attached to it. When I tried the all white umbrellas at work they seemed harsh to me that is why I purchased the new ones. Time will tell but I think I like the softer look I got from them. Sooooo many variables in this adventure. I know I just need to hear from others of what they like and don't like about what I am doing and find that happy place for me. Thanks again. Yesterday was the 3rd time I had used the lights but the first time at home. My very first time was ugh not pretty....

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I am have trouble visualizing this setup. Umbrellas with softbox attached makes no sense - they are different and ....well...can you take a photo of the equipment?

What you have so far is not bad, but it needs more modeling of the face - a higher side-to-side ratio. So far it is a bit flat. That is not automatically wrong, but it is the least dramatic - but also the most forgiving.

The first three or four were cute as can be, but the light appears too low. Nose shadow does not fall down and away. The ideal would be to have that nose shadow just about touch the corner of the mouth that is opposite the side of the light. Close to it anyway.

mages of your husband - the catchlight is almost in the center of his eye. Light is too low and too close to the camera for a main light. That light hitting his head off to camera left (in the first one) is perfect! Main should be over to the right more and higher. Men can stand a higher ratio.

He should have been leaning forward/in, not leaning back - that is very unflattering.

The last two of the girls is nice, but again, it is flat. We call it "school lighting." It is hard to screw up, but not very imaginative.

Hoe do you vary the light intensity? is there a rheostat on the lights or do you have to move them.

You mentioned that the umbrella gave a hard or harsh light - that probably meant it was too far away.

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

Thank you Captain C....I am glad you commented on the light over the right shoulder or camera left side...I was trying for that and hoped it was the right thing to do. I think I told him at least 100 times not to lean back, but finally gave up since he was being such a sport about my endevor. You have given me such a great idea here, I will be taking a picture of my umbrella placement when I am taking pictures to better understand maybe after the fact what I did or did not do. I wish I did not have it all taken down right now, but I will get the umbrella out that I talked about with the soft box on it. It has a tie or zipper that you can use to close around any size lighting system. There is a switch that you can set the lights on full - 1/2 - or 1/4th for power. There is also a switch for model lighting. I have not tried half of the settings on there as of yet, but will keep plugging along. I am trying not to go overboard on trying new things until I feel I can understand what I am doing with what is at hand. I will go take a picture of the umbrella now and post yet tonight. Thank you for your comments will be printing it out for sure for future reference. Since I am still a working girl don't have the time I would like to devote to photography. Hmmmm I will be thinking also about what you said with the nose lighting. I find it sometimes hard to see all the shadows and was trying to get rid of them. Guess I did.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

LOL - in portrait photography we DO NOT get rid of shadows. we spend hundreds of hours learning how to place them just right. It is the shadows that define the face. It is the shadows that can thin a heavy face. Portraiture is all about shadows -it is the shadows that define all the lighting styles: broad light, short light, loop lighting, Rembrandt lighting, split lighting, butterfly lighting ALL get their names because of the shadow characteristics.

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

Well maybe not my best choice of words ha ha...what I was meaning here my first attempt with the umbrellas I was not seeing the shadows at all and they were ALL over the place...not good to have huge shadows over your eyes. I will keep trying to get this...I know I can, I know I can.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

OH - OK. I have a Photek Softlighter- very similar.
You want to position this as close to the subject as you can without being in the image.
Do not point it at them. Point it in front of them with the subject about at the rear edge of it.
So the light is aimed roughly 90 degrees to the camera and in front of the subject. With more than one subject, you will have to make adjustments so that one does not cast shadows on the other. You may also have to move the light around more to the front and a bit farther away.

Try your second light just about over the camera and with about half as much light on the subject - an incident meter is invaluable here.

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

By incident meter are you meaning light meter? Will give your suggestions a try next practice day. So am I understanding right this umbrella would not be good to use on a large group of people? Large to me is 6 to 8.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Yes, an incident light meter. Not necessary as you can fiddle with it until it looks right, but if you want to set it up fast and accurately, then a meter is worth it. Sekonic 358.

For a group of 6-8 it should be OK. Place it directly over the camera. That is a time when you do not want shadows.

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

Thank you so much for your comments, I appreciate all the help I can get. I will let you know how I am doing with this and don't be surprised if I ask more questions :). Have a great week. My work week starts tomorrow so won't be able to do much until next weekend sometime. Maybe on Sunday I can try this again.

deanna_hg Loc: So. Alabama

you are lucky your husband agreed to be your model. Would not be the case with mine. I've had to wait until grand kids get here to play and that is not often since they are over 3hrs. away. It will be fun following you with this.

debbyg Loc: Nebraska

Ok the little girls mom let me have about 20 minutes of her time this afternoon...and the results follow.

the light to the right was set at 1/2 power and the left at 1/4 power.

Light placement trying for rim lighting.