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setting up for a portrait
Nov 23, 2018 19:50:34   #
blackest Loc: Ireland
 
Hi i've been asked to produce some portraits and i'm thinking about the lighting ratios needed. If i light from the right what sort of level should i be looking for the shadow side would it be enough to use a reflector to bounce back or do i need a second lower powered light?

I do have a flash meter to help work some of this out.

I look forward to any tips you have.

thank you

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Nov 24, 2018 00:16:11   #
E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
 
You can use either of those methods- a single leght and a reflector or a second fill light.

I don't know what equipment you have at your disposal and what type or style of portraits you are going to do. If you want to do a low to medium key kind of lighting a ratio of 1:2 to 1:4 can be accomplished with a single mono-light equipped with a soft box or an umbrella and a flat silver type reflector. Here's the method:

Place the main light to the right or left of the subject and establish the lighting pattern. Then place te reflector on the opposite side of the subject . The most important part of the technique is to feather the light so one edge of the beam strikes the subject and the othere edge strikes the reflector. This will work if the main ligh is anywhere from about 25 to 90 degrees from the camera/subject axis. If you bring the main light to about 135 degrees for a profile shot, simply move the reflector to the same side of the subject and use the same feathering technique.

Make a exposure reading based on the main light. Move the reflector in until you visually see the ratio you like and the just move it in slightly more. Make a test- chimp and adjust accordingly.. Once you verify the first shot, it the distances are maintained, there shoud be no change in exposure.

This meth is fairly easy yo work with- you only have the light ad the reflector to move around and this lets you concentrate on camera angles and getting good expressions.

A 2 light method is not too complex either. Place you main light as described.
The fill light can be bounced off a white wall at the ceiling junction or placed in a larger white umbrella- either remains in a fixed position. Take the reading from the main ligh and keep the effective output of the fill ligh from 2 to 4 stops less than the main. Again, test and adjust- Once you lock in the exposure, maintain the distances form the main ligh to the subject and exposures should remain constant throughout the session. This is an easy way to work in that you only need to move around one light- the fill remain fixed.

You can add more lights if you wish- a kicker or hair light if available.

If the background is 2 or 3 feet behind the subject, there will be enough spill from the main light to illuminate it.

I will try to few a few diagrams and post them. If you have any more questions just post them and I will respond. If you can run a few tests in advance- post them for me and I can talk you through any adjustments.

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Nov 24, 2018 00:18:00   #
E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
 
Diagrams.


(Download)


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Nov 24, 2018 14:13:45   #
amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
 
blackest wrote:
Hi i've been asked to produce some portraits and i'm thinking about the lighting ratios needed. If i light from the right what sort of level should i be looking for the shadow side would it be enough to use a reflector to bounce back or do i need a second lower powered light?

I do have a flash meter to help work some of this out.

I look forward to any tips you have.

thank you


I usually set at least a 2:1 ratio between the main light and the fill light. It's possible to do it with a reflector, but a lot easier to set up with multiple lights.

These were shot with two monolights bounced out of a big umbrella on one side (Main) and one light out of a second umbrella on the opposite side (fill). All three lights were set to 50% power, primarily to speed up recycling.



As you can see, 2:1 light ratio makes for relatively flat and uniform lighting with minimal shadows.... especially when it's bounced out of an umbrella in this way. (Try to ignore the problems with shiny, reflective paint on the backdrop! Had to retouch that in post processing... these are just small proofs with minimal adjustment and retouching in Lightroom. Finished images got more work.)

This is what happens when the fill light doesn't fire, so the only source of light is the main light...



The reason that light failed was because I was using a PC cable to trip the main light and having to use an optical trigger for the fill. Someone else set off a flash nearby and caused the fill light to fire early... an instant before I took the shot. Probably someone taking a snapshot over my shoulder... there was a lot of that spoiling my lighting setup at this particular event... radio triggers would have solved the problem!

But sometimes for dramatic effect, a single light source can work (in this case, a very large softbox off to one side with a low powered light and with virtually no light being bounced from the right)...



If I had to guess, I'd say the above is a 16:1 or 24:1 light ratio!

In between these extremes are other ratios... 4:1, 6:1.

When closer I tend to use higher ratios... I rarely use my macro flash at less than 8:1.

Keep in mind that you can greatly vary ratios both by the power settings of the lighting and by the distances from the lights to the subject.

I'd recommend you experiment in advance with your particular light(s), modifiers and reflectors. Once you have what you want, make careful notes of the distances, settings and all... draw a diagram like those above... and it will be pretty easy to replicate when you go to the actual shoot, so you can get down to business quickly and be confident in your setup.

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Nov 24, 2018 15:24:48   #
blackest Loc: Ireland
 
Hi I was reading this

https://pixelvalleystudio.com/pmf-articles/video-lighting-setup-tutorial

Also wondering if its possible to analyse an existing photo in say silver efex to figure the relative ratios (e.g find what you like and apply these ratios)

cheers

john

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Nov 24, 2018 15:59:55   #
E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
 
blackest wrote:
Hi I was reading this

https://pixelvalleystudio.com/pmf-articles/video-lighting-setup-tutorial

Also wondering if its possible to analyse an existing photo in say silver efex to figure the relative ratios (e.g find what you like and apply these ratios)

cheers

john


That tutorial seems more applicable to videography where the camera is moving around a particular scene-panning, zooming, dollying, and or/following action and therefore a flatter ratio is desirable except in a more static close up shot etc. The values are expressed in foot/ candles as opposed to f/stops which pertains more to continuous light as opposed to flash. I don't know what you are using for you portrait lighting gear.

Meter readings will get you into the ballpark but you final settings must be fine tuned visually when you see the test results of your setup. The exact key or light ratio of your images will depend on other factors aside for the basic readings. If you are using flash in an average size room with white or light colored walls and a white ceiling of average height. there is the factor of UNSEEN SECONDARY LIGHT. You can't see the light that bounces of all the surfaces in close proximity to the subject. The modeling lamps in most monolights are not strong enough for you to actually see this extraneous reflected light. If you are using speedlights, of course, there are no modeling lamps. The unseen light will, however, affect the exact ratio. The meter used as shown in the tutorial may not include or take into its reading this extra light which oftentimes causes overfilling of the shadows and results in a fairly flat ratio.

If at all possible, I recommend that you dry run some tests, perhaps a day before the actual shoot and nail down you exposures and ratios. When you have your main light functioning as to you desired exposure and ratio, attach a string to the light stand so that you can quickly and easily maintain the correct distance at the power setting you have pre-selected. If you decide to use a fixed fill light, you can easily change the ratio by altering the power output of the fill unit- the exposure for the main light shoud remain the same.

This concept will standardize your exposures and make ratio adjustment very convenient so that you can concentrate on posing, lighting aesthetics and expressions. It won't be necessary for you to make ongoing meter readings from one pose to another or from one subject to the next. Once I arrive at the basic set up, I do make readings jost to verify that everything is working properly. Of course, ocasional chimping helps to avoid mistakes and adjustments can be made quickly.

I hope this helps! Let me know!

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Feb 19, 2022 15:53:50   #
flyboy61 Loc: The Great American Desert
 
That is a fine-looking bunch of asses! I find I am satisfied with 2:1 lighting ratios, using one light and a reflector. YMMV!

Reply
 
 
Feb 22, 2022 00:23:31   #
blackest Loc: Ireland
 
E.L.. Shapiro wrote:
That tutorial seems more applicable to videography where the camera is moving around a particular scene-panning, zooming, dollying, and or/following action and therefore a flatter ratio is desirable except in a more static close up shot etc. The values are expressed in foot/ candles as opposed to f/stops which pertains more to continuous light as opposed to flash. I don't know what you are using for you portrait lighting gear.

Meter readings will get you into the ballpark but you final settings must be fine tuned visually when you see the test results of your setup. The exact key or light ratio of your images will depend on other factors aside for the basic readings. If you are using flash in an average size room with white or light colored walls and a white ceiling of average height. there is the factor of UNSEEN SECONDARY LIGHT. You can't see the light that bounces of all the surfaces in close proximity to the subject. The modeling lamps in most monolights are not strong enough for you to actually see this extraneous reflected light. If you are using speedlights, of course, there are no modeling lamps. The unseen light will, however, affect the exact ratio. The meter used as shown in the tutorial may not include or take into its reading this extra light which oftentimes causes overfilling of the shadows and results in a fairly flat ratio.

If at all possible, I recommend that you dry run some tests, perhaps a day before the actual shoot and nail down you exposures and ratios. When you have your main light functioning as to you desired exposure and ratio, attach a string to the light stand so that you can quickly and easily maintain the correct distance at the power setting you have pre-selected. If you decide to use a fixed fill light, you can easily change the ratio by altering the power output of the fill unit- the exposure for the main light shoud remain the same.

This concept will standardize your exposures and make ratio adjustment very convenient so that you can concentrate on posing, lighting aesthetics and expressions. It won't be necessary for you to make ongoing meter readings from one pose to another or from one subject to the next. Once I arrive at the basic set up, I do make readings jost to verify that everything is working properly. Of course, ocasional chimping helps to avoid mistakes and adjustments can be made quickly.

I hope this helps! Let me know!
That tutorial seems more applicable to videography... (show quote)


Funny this post was waiting here for me today.

I've i have a few led lights and I got this shot. Let me know what you think


(Download)

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