kristinelogan Loc: Indiana

I have been taking portraits, mainly outdoors for the lovely summer months. (see photo #1) I had a customer request backdrops (so the older kids' portraits are matched to this year's photos) so I bought some backdrops, a nice flash (Canon 580 ex ii) and used natural light with the flash off a bouncer. The first set came out fairly well that way and the family was happy.

The photo taken on the black back drop was my downfall. I got a bit full of myself and thought I could shoot with my new 1.4 50mm lens wide open as I do for newborns. I never had the time to practice on the black and my photos came out mushy. (see photos 2 & 3) I was rushed by the Mom (long story) as she was in a hurry so I made mistakes, such as not checking the shutter speed and going with all natural light. So many mistakes were made that I am humbled. The family wants a full shoot after the holidays which was planned for all along. (this was a "quickie to make yearbook press)

I am thinking of using a constant light now as I know it is needed (especially with the black) but don't know where to begin with brand, watts, or even the basic info. I would love to use a softbox for my strobe but again, not sure what size to go with. 4' x 6' sound ideal but I am so open. I've been checking things out on line but there is so much info that it is overwhelming.

My brother is a semi-pro and thinks I should get a ring light. I would love to hear thoughts from your portrait artists. I am happy to invest in good equipment as I really want to excel in this area. Thank you in advance for all your constructive criticism (please offer suggestions on the photos against the black drop) as well as pointing me forward!

Canon Rebel Xsi, f/2.8 70-200, all natural light and bounce card


Canon Rebel Xsi, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/50, ISO 800 (I sadly left ISO on auto)


Canon Rebel Xsi, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/50, ISO 640 (I sadly left ISO on auto)

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

I really like photo #1 - The background is just there enough to be noticed but does not detract. Good Work
PS: I dont know enough about portraits to comment.

johnrennie Loc: North Florida

1 is good, 2 and 3 aren’t bad, pose wise, but you shouldn’t shoot studio at 1.5, I keep all my studio shots between 8-11. I would not invest in a ring-light. A good ring light start around $800, for that amount of money you could purchase a 2 studio strobes with softboxes. We typically use ring-lights for high-fashion where the focus is more the clothes than the person. Not a good option if you’re going to begin doing portraits because you aren’t able to sculpt with ring-lights. They produce an even lighting, which is fine for fashion and beauty but very limiting in portraits. And if you’re shooting older folks you will see every single blemish and wrinkle… shooting chubby folks and they’ll look twice as fat. With a soft-box set up you can create shadows and specular highlights which is the base for good portrait photography. You can also use what we call feminine lighting to thin out your subjects face. When I started out I was all about buying a ringlight until I had the opportunity to use one. They are great for the perfect complected, ‘Kate Moss’ body types… very limiting to say the least.

So… the major question is how much do you want to spend? I know a lot of pro’s that just shoot with a single studio strobe and reflector with awesome results. Interfit sells a great set of strobes for beginners under $500. 2 heads, 2 softboxes and 2 umbrellas.

http://www.amazon.com/Interfit-EXD400-Softbox-Umbrella-Heads/dp/B002X75H60/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1323872855&sr=8-19

I see you have the 70/200 2.8, I assume that’s the L-series lens? You’re off to a great start with that lens, it’s the go-to lens for most pro Canon-Shooters. Stick with that lens, even in studio.

Your 580 ex is an awesome flash, and you could actually use that to shoot in-studio portraits, but you’ll have to get it off camera, on a stand, with at least an umbrella and with a remote. Pocket wizard sells the Flex remote system which in my opinion is the best remote for speedlite shooting off camera, because you can control the flash output from your camera. But it’s pricy - $428, for $100 bucks more you could get the basic Interfit strobe set-up.

http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Wizard-MiniTT1-Transmitter-Transceiver/dp/B004FPYKIY/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323873555&sr=1-9

I would not go with constants because you have too much spill light and on black backgrounds, that’s gonna light up the black. And you’ll have to shoot at 400-600 ISO which will result in grainy pics. It can certainly be done, and I have some examples in a post titled “Glamour”, but it is NOT the ideal set up, Constants are good for certain effect, excellent for still life and product but not ideal as the portrait ‘go-to’ lighting set up. With strobes, you always shoot at 100 ISO for tack-sharp images.

The problem with your two studio shots was softfocus or motion blur, depth of field and hotspots. Be sure to use your focusing ring and focus right on the eye. Keep your f-stop between 8 and 11 for a broader depth of field and whatever lighting you choose, it needs to be diffused to prevent hot-spots. If you decide to go strobe, shutter speed is pretty insignificant in-studio. It needs to be kept between 1/60 and 1/250 and really only controls ambient light. I drop mine to 1/60 if shooting fashion on a white background to ‘blow-out’ the white, 1/250 on a black back ground to make it deep black and control spill light.

If you have any other detailed questions, feel free to PM me. You are really off to a great start, keep it up!

johnrennie Loc: North Florida

I took another look at your post and left something out. If you’re going to do a lot of shooting on a black background it would be best to get a 2-strobe setup (with a reflector) because you could add a ‘hair-light’ to create separation. Notice in your last two pics of your subjects hair. It’s dark, and blends in with the black background. A properly placed strobe behind the subject, opposite your mainlight placed high and aimed at the back of his head will create separation by adding specular highlights to the edge of his hair and prevent that blending effect. I posted a few pics. #1 – the hairlight separated her dark hair from the background to create depth and spills on to her arm to add another specular highlight which keeps her separated from the background. #2 – really dark hair but again highlighted from the hair light. I shot both at 1/250 to make that background really dark. #3 is where I would drag the shutter down to 1/60th to blow out the white. When shooting on white, you don’t need a hairlight.

And I left out another expense. It would be very beneficial when shooting with strobes to buy a good light meter, another $300. You can get by without one, but there will be a lot of guess work and running back and forth to change your light settings. A light meter will give you accurate readings and save a lot of time.

Here’s a good one:
http://www.amazon.com/Sekonic-L-358-Flash-Master-Light/dp/B00007E89K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323877425&sr=8-1

You’ll need an assistant to fire your strobes so that you can take light readings unless you add a remote system, another $100 bucks or so. BUT… as I said, you can get by without, it will just take more time to set the lights.

If you want to save money and go with constant lights at first, (around $200) that is an option. I did it. Just let me know if you’d rather do that and I’ll send you some details on constant lighting.

fshn4bss Loc: Mound City, MO

WONDERFUL, explanatory advice! Thanks from me too!

:D :D

Professor Loc: West Central MN

Your highlights are too high. Loss of detail. Here is your portrait #2 with added density in highlights. Just my opinion.

kristinelogan Loc: Indiana

I am most grateful to John for all great advice. As he knows, I am soaking it all in. So many wonderful tips for any number of up and coming artists. Thank you to Professor for taking the time to work with the photo. I am very appreciative!

LWH Loc: Nebraska

johnrennie, that is one of the best explanations of studio lighting I have ever seen, succinct but extremely informative.

Thanks.

johnrennie Loc: North Florida

Thanks LWH, and thanks for teaching me a new word... "succinct", I actually had to Google it, ha... and I like it.

ianhargraves1066 Loc: NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida

When it comes to lighting equipment you will never do better than to go to Paul C Buff in Tennessee

Great company, great products amazing prices and all made in AMERICA.

www.paulcbuff.com

There Alien Bees Monolites and soft boxes are superb and a cross between a soft box and a ring lite is a Paul Buff Beautylite. A dish refelctor about 22inches in diameter gives a phenominal soft portrait light. Good luck and keep making the great portraits.

Ian

Rangerfan

Thanks from me too! Great explanation. Thank you for taking the time to help all of us with the same question!

Jusoljoe Loc: Texas

Kristine, it may be my eyes but #1 looks just a bit soft focus on the subjects...eyes not sharp. One more stop down would provide a bit more depth if it doesn't ruin the background. May I suggest you go to youtube and type in "portrait lighting". You will find a world of information for lighting setups, equipment, and exposure. It could save you a few bucks, as well as provide an understanding of lighting and shadows. Hope this helps.
Joe