broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Thank you kindly for your input. Much appreciated.

catchlight.. Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway

Go for the window with natural light and use a reflector. experiment a bit.

If you plan on going with Jpeg then use portrait mode and/ or bring back the contrast a bit further.

sbohne

#1: Seniors are intimidated by all the equipment? BALDERDASH! During a 35+ year pro career, no senior ever said to me (clutching her pearls), "Oh dearie me, I am just so intimidated by all of this equipment!" Geesh!

#2: Use a softbox, much softer than an umbrella. An umbrella main light gives much harsher highlights. A fill bounced from the ceiling or shot THROUGH a white translucent umbrella is a very acceptable fill light, set it one-stop under your main light.

#3: Use a diffusion filter on the lens. Don't go overboard. My favorite was a Nikon #1 (the #2 was mush). Don't have one? Don't sweat it. A layer of black tulle over the lens will do. Don't know what tulle is? Think "bridal veil" but in black, not white.

#4: the gold reflector was a good suggestion. IF she doesn't have eyeglasses, try a "belly pan" reflector as well. Don't have that? Don't sweat it. Use a large mirror on an adjustable table.

#5: Hair light is good...but watch yourself. Far too many people overlight it. If she has light hair, keep it at the same power as the main light or 1/2 stop under.

#5: Outdoors? Yes. Maybe. No. You have more control in the studio, and outdoors is far easier to f*** up if you don't know what you're doing, and don't watch your backgrounds, your overhead lighting (raccoon eyes), etc.

#6 Keep the background subdued, don't overlight it and don't paste her on the bg. At least 3 feet away, 5 is better.

#7: Simple retouch: duplicate the layer. On the second layer, run gaussian blur at about 10-20%, then erase the top layer at about 60% opacity (you'll have to play around on a test image to get the percentage you like. This way, you soften the skin without losing texture.

You got this.

sbohne

"With speedlights and the absence of modeling lamps, you can not SEE your lighting. All that gear can be overwhelming to your subject."

Pish-posh. That was true in film days. Today, set your lights one by one. Take a test exposure and see what each light does. This can be done with a stand-in before the actual session.

Mr. Shapiro's images are nice, but the lighting doesn't do much to soften the skin. As one of my very first mature customers said to me nearly 50 years ago, "Steve, I am not asking you to do me justice, I'm pleading for mercy!" She was very pleased with the results.

The poster who suggested a ring light made a good suggestion but used too far away it can end up being not as flattering.

OR:
Take a trip to a home store. Purchase a light socket and an LED daylight bulb. rubber band the light to the flash head. Now you have a modeling light.

JoeM845

A couple of ideas that may provide some help:

1) If you (or her) want to reduce wrinkles, etc., soften them rather than trying to eliminate them. You want them to show in an honest portrait that looks like her as she and others see her.

2) If you will be trying various lighting setups, experiment first with her daughter or another model. You should have a pretty good idea of the lighting setup that works in your "studio" before you introduce your subject. Especially if you think that she might tire quickly.

I hope the experience and the results are great for both of you.

LKTucker

Hollywood has used petroleum jelly on a plain glass filter to create glamor shots smoothing out or eliminating skin defects. Simple solution for covering aging defects.

I recommend white or gold reflected bounce lighting from your flash to set the tone with soft shadow free lighting. The flash should be above/behind the camera to eliminate possible shadows from positioning it to one side.

Judicious use of rubber-banding plain white tissues over the flash tube of a hair highlighting rear positioned flash will separate the indoor backgrounds creating an almost 3D effect. For the full effect the background must be well lit. Put the bounce flash high enough to do that. In fact an addition flash positioned behind the subject aimed at their back blocked from the camera by the subject's body can add to the separation effect.

Put the camera on a tripod and have someone looking through the viewfinder to keep the subject in frame while you use a remote shutter. This allows you close interaction with the subject instead of keeping the camera glued to your face. Alternately if you don't have a remote shutter, when the subject is just where you want, say shoot!, to your camera helper.

This professional baby photography method allows you to closely interact, using your own facial expressions, head tilts, and body movements to get the pose you want.

Another soft lighting technique is to have the subject positioned looking out a window and shoot with no flash using only the light on their face from daylight outside.

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Thanks much for the insight.

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Wow. Just wow. So much useful information and so generously shared. THANK YOU. Thank you for the comprehensive reply.

Craig

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

Wonderful info here. Some I had planned to implement and some I have gleaned from you just now. Thanks much!

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

And I thank you again. I truly value the time you and others have shared for my benefit.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

[quote=sbohne]"With speedlights and the absence of modeling lamps, you can not SEE your lighting. All that gear can be overwhelming to your subject."


"Pish-Posh"- how professional a critique.

Your entire post is full of misinformation; A softbox is not necessarily "softer" than an umbrella. Softness in lighting is not only dependent on the type of modifier used by the size of the light source in relation to the size of the subject's head and the distance of the light source form the subject. The angle of incidence and degree of feathering also factors in. The larger and closer the light source the softer- the further and smaller the harder. I can make a very hard image with a softbox or an umbrella- Or a very soft one with either. A soft portrait can be even made with an old-fashioned parabolic flood light source or even a spotlight. A combination of a spotlight and a soft-focus lens makes for a very ethereal image because the spotlight creates a hard light but the sot focus lens spreads the highlights into the shadows or creates a secondary soft image over a hard one.

An experienced portrait shooter can make a decent portrait with speedlights- knowing where to place the lights to get the desired d effect but it is not the same as precise finite light done with continuous lights or proper modeling lamps in strobes.


Setting each speedlight up separately and making a test for each is very time consuming and painstaking. The pain will be mostly suffered by the client. Something I would not subject any portrait client to, regardless of their age. A light bulb taped to a Speedlight is not an accurate modeling lamp- it is not concentric to the flash tube.

Not everyone wants super smooth skin and for those who do, I can certainly accommodate them.

A ring light is not usually advisable for portraiture. As a main light it is extremely flat and it causes a donut-shaped catchlight in the center of the eye.

Best idea- show us your images and prove your points.

leenso52

I'm surprised no one really addressed "becoming" angles of shoot, the subjects body posture, tilt of the head, etc. I'm no expert so I have no advice just questions!

Linda S.

O.M.G.! I wish I had known about your work before my 101 year young Mother passed. You captured "age" in the most beautiful manner! You have such a gift.