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Overkill?
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Oct 12, 2021 20:19:11   #
azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.
 
I was waiting for my wife at the dentist, and right before she came out, I glance to my left, across the courtyard (on the same 3rd floor as me), the attached photo shoot was occurring. So I pulled out my cellphone to catch this. The photographer had three front and one back light setups, for the four people standing in a shaded area. After checking, he tore the diffusers off the lights. Does anyone think that this was overkill for this four person grouping? I am assuming it was for a magazine promo or something of that nature as they did not have uniforms on, and at one point one of the males left and they took more photos. But what a detailed setup, and why?


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Oct 12, 2021 22:19:06   #
rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
 
What does it matter what you, I or an one else at UHH thinks? The photographer obviously had his reasons for doing what he was doing and in my oh so humble opinion, it's a nunya situation. If you really, really, really need to know, why don't you find out who the photographer is and ask him. If my response has upset you in any way, I apologize in advance.

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Oct 12, 2021 22:36:28   #
ImageCreator Loc: Northern California
 
I won't be as brutal as the previous reply. For an outdoor photo. one light may have been sufficient.

And, apologizing after the fact does not excuse rudeness.

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Oct 12, 2021 22:38:10   #
Alphabravo2020
 
Sometimes you bring out all the apparatus, including the one that goes "BING", because the administrator might be coming.

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Oct 12, 2021 22:57:59   #
rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
 
ImageCreator wrote:
I won't be as brutal as the previous reply. For an outdoor photo. one light may have been sufficient.

And, apologizing after the fact does not excuse rudeness.


You're welcome.

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Oct 12, 2021 23:04:03   #
Alphabravo2020
 
To OP's question:

Personally, I don't like mixing natural light with Xenon. It doesn't look natural and it confuses the White Balance considerations. If I give the photographer the benefit of the doubt here, I would say that cranking up the Xenon puts the natural light several stops lower and simplifies the WB.

Edit: Also if you notice, the reflected natural light will be very yellow due to the location. Direct Xenon lighting will be pure white. The same thing happens when shooting in a field or forest. There is green light coming from everywhere and it is not always flattering. Intense direct lighting solves this.

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Oct 12, 2021 23:58:21   #
azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.
 
Alphabravo2020 wrote:
To OP's question:

Personally, I don't like mixing natural light with Xenon. It doesn't look natural and it confuses the White Balance considerations. If I give the photographer the benefit of the doubt here, I would say that cranking up the Xenon puts the natural light several stops lower and simplifies the WB.

Edit: Also if you notice, the reflected natural light will be very yellow due to the location. Direct Xenon lighting will be pure white. The same thing happens when shooting in a field or forest. There is green light coming from everywhere and it is not always flattering. Intense direct lighting solves this.
To OP's question: br br Personally, I don't like... (show quote)


Thank you for the intelligent reply. I posted this as a learning situation, which apparently goes over some people’s heads!

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Oct 13, 2021 00:19:41   #
Alphabravo2020
 
One more observation.

The subjects are stacked up in line with the photographer. The minimum required depth of field is almost 6 feet. More if he wants the background in focus. That requires the aperture to be stopped way down and the light input to be much higher.

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Oct 13, 2021 03:45:08   #
rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA
 
I don't think it is necessarily overkill, as I've witnessed a number of wedding photographers use a very similar setup. Whatever the photographer deems necessary to get the results he wants. I doubt he's an inexperienced hack who doesn't know what he's doing; a hack usually doesn't bother to use more than one light.

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Oct 13, 2021 06:47:04   #
home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana
 
Maybe he had only one session to get it right. The number of lights is about the same as than a studio shoot. Unwanted shadows can ruin a photo.

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Oct 13, 2021 06:52:01   #
Donkas1946 Loc: Southern NH
 
rmorrison1116 wrote:
What does it matter what you, I or an one else at UHH thinks? The photographer obviously had his reasons for doing what he was doing and in my oh so humble opinion, it's a nunya situation. If you really, really, really need to know, why don't you find out who the photographer is and ask him. If my response has upset you in any way, I apologize in advance.


If you can’t be helpful why not just shut up!

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Oct 13, 2021 06:58:29   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
azted wrote:
I was waiting for my wife at the dentist, and right before she came out, I glance to my left, across the courtyard (on the same 3rd floor as me), the attached photo shoot was occurring. So I pulled out my cellphone to catch this. The photographer had three front and one back light setups, for the four people standing in a shaded area. After checking, he tore the diffusers off the lights. Does anyone think that this was overkill for this four person grouping? I am assuming it was for a magazine promo or something of that nature as they did not have uniforms on, and at one point one of the males left and they took more photos. But what a detailed setup, and why?
I was waiting for my wife at the dentist, and righ... (show quote)


Seems perfectly reasonable to me. The photographer is just trying to minimize ambient light and have total control over the scene's dynamic range and quality of light. The two lights on the left are using a soft reflector probably as fill, the key light is the one with the metallic reflector up high, and the hair light is much further back likely used to just add the softest accent better define the result, and minimize the difference in light intensity between the guy with the pony tail and the woman with the open-backed dress. It seems like this is a head and shoulder shot, given the reflective tables and chairs in front of the subjects. I wouldn't be surprised if the light reflected onto the subjects from these tables and chairs isn't also a part of the lighting setup.

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Oct 13, 2021 07:00:18   #
armymsg
 
Donkas1946 wrote:
If you can’t be helpful why not just shut up!



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Oct 13, 2021 08:17:56   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Lighting is a big deal. I rely on the sun and my pop-up flash. If someone is making money with his camera, he has to know how to use elaborate, expensive lighting. Pictures and video that look good and "natural" often require lots of lighting knowledge. Obviously, this was an important shoot - important to someone, at least. Maybe you can find out where that photo will appear.

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Oct 13, 2021 08:32:46   #
richard74account
 
armymsg wrote:


In addition to the logical responses as to why the photographer used the lighting set up that he did,
By making a production of the shoot he may make his client feel that he or she is getting their money's worth.

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