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Beauty genre session
Jul 6, 2019 12:58:10   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
Talent: An accomplished musician & fine art model

Camera: Nikon D3x
Lens: AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED IF VR
Settings: Manual Mode, 1/250, FL 220mm, f/13, ISO 100, WB 5560K

Illumination: Standard Paramount (beauty dish with sock), two side kickers (gridded strip-boxes) at 45 degree either side behind to sculpt out facial features and a single overhead hair light (24” silver parabolic) on boom arm. Fill from below is from a 30x40 inch piece of foam core just out of frame at the talent’s décolletage.

Note: The second image is simply a high resolution crop of the first which allows you to see the illumination sources as catch lights in her pupils and iris. Hair moment is by a sideways hair toss (there is a large floor to ceiling mirror behind the camera position which allows the talent to practice this move until mastered). The entire studio is dark except for strobe modeling lamps which track with power settings so what you see is what you get.

Any Questions? Please ask, otherwise enjoy… Thanks!
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Nikon D3x with AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED IF VR
Nikon D3x with AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED IF VR...
(Download)

Nikon D3x with AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED IF VR
Nikon D3x with AF-S 200-400mm f/4G ED IF VR...
(Download)

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Jul 7, 2019 08:46:56   #
jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana
 
I like them both--the crop is stunning! Nice work there.

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Jul 7, 2019 09:09:26   #
Haymaker
 
Your masterful control of lighting is something I hope to attain one day. The positioning that subtly highlights your model's arm and cheek add to this image as well as the unexpected motion and texture from her hair and the sharpness of her eyes. Thank you for posting your settings and sharing a beautiful image with us.

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Jul 7, 2019 10:44:48   #
nanaval Loc: Cornwall
 
Very good, nice to see natural beauty instead of lots of makeup and false eyelashes...

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Jul 7, 2019 11:08:43   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
Thanks jaymatt... glad you like the high res crop.... I always find it helpful to actually see & study catch light details... helps me better understand how to place illumination sources... not only do the pupil and iris mirror illumination I also find the English Proverb "The eyes are the window of the soul..." to be an intriguing metaphor...

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Jul 7, 2019 11:25:23   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
Haymaker you are way too kind... thank you so much for the delightful detail in your analysis... rest assured it is deeply appreciated... Albeit much of the credit here goes to Katriella who mastered this complex pose dynamic... as for control of illumination? After years of countless failures I've only just begun to get a handle on placement, direction, distance, power etc. and the myriad of modifiers... While it has been an endless journey I never cease to be amazed at what even a subtle change can have on the aura illumination can produce in portraiture...

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Jul 7, 2019 11:34:12   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
Val thank you for the kind words... and I totally concur on your thoughts on "Clean Beauty"
At it's best makeup artistry should subtle and understated...

In bridal makeup it is oft said "If you can actually "see" the makeup you have failed"

That said, there can be a time/place for "Stage" makeup which is typically viewed a great distance...

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Jul 7, 2019 18:00:13   #
dat2ra Loc: Sacramento
 
Thomas. Thanks (again) for your detailed and valuable description of the shoot. And the beautiful results! Question: Does gridding the side lights make a significant difference in sculpting the face? Maybe I should try that because a lot of my portraits seem a bit "glam" flat. Thanks again.

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Jul 7, 2019 20:31:05   #
arathorn357 Loc: Sydney, Australia
 
Very impressive images - and from my brief experimenting with low key portraits, kudos also from the amount of time and effort that must have gone into getting those lights right - that really takes some time so much so I have bought a hairdressers model head on ebay to learn on before destroying a real person's retinas.
One tech question - just a black background, or did you use HSS at 1/250th ?

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Jul 7, 2019 23:40:28   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
"...Does gridding the side lights make a significant difference in sculpting the face?..." dat2ra in this scenario it helped separating the left cheek from the background... if you don't grid them you'll likely end up with with lens flare and makes it much harder to achieve a marked chiaroscuro effect... Test this yourself and you'll quickly see the difference...

That said, to truly sculpt the face use a gridded BD... then you'll really carve out facial features... again, trial and error since every illumination situation is different... btw, a talented makeup artist can sculpt the face with contour product below the cheekbones i.e. on the jawline and shimmery highlight product on the cheekbones... this is SOP for bridal since it's in real-time and typically either not retouched or minimally so...

On this image I had to use concealer to mask Katriella's dark under-eye area... that and porcelain cream foundation... again, minimum "clean beauty makeup" with a very light touch of eye shadow and lip decor...

And many thanks for your kind words... they are appreciated...

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Jul 8, 2019 00:01:32   #
Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC
 
arathorn357 yes 1/250... not using HSS syn in the studio...
Only on location work in order to shoot wide open for subject isolation...
Typically 1/2000 at f/2.8 in daylight for ISO 64 on my D810...

That said, the black seamless is draped floor to ceiling with black velvet... which btw, is the ultimate light sink... nothing kills light like black velvet... I've been using this for well over a decade and it still works amazing! You can purchase black velvet an most any fabric store...

Very wise move using a hair manikin for setting up and testing... I have three manikins and use them religiously.... blond hair is nearly two stops brighter than brunette... auburn is in between...

And many thanks for your kind words... yes I setup the day before and tested for nearly 8 hours before the talent ever walked into the studio... also ask their height since it is so critical for nailing illumination...

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Jul 8, 2019 00:19:21   #
arathorn357 Loc: Sydney, Australia
 
Thanks Thomas - you have encouraged me to post my first portraiture attempts in this forum on UHH.

If you have a moment I would appreciate any comments from you or others in the group.

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Jul 8, 2019 14:41:20   #
dat2ra Loc: Sacramento
 
Thanks again, Thomas. I find your posts to be the most informative here.

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