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So as per my other post I was playing in my studio the other night, getting some great tips from Gary and Oz, well this is just one more from that session:



Now my son is VERY skinny, so photos without a shirt on are not exactly flattering So I tried something else with him. BTW - in the final, final version (you know, the one that you do after you go back to an image 5 times!!!) I have changed the crop so he is all the way over to the right, just have not got the final image on the web.

Andrew,

In terms of colour balance, posing, etc, this is very close to what you're looking for.

I think your key light needs to be lower, and also, for this one, consider a square crop.

wow, bingo, bang on!

backlight is brighter, well ahead of the main light. also, the backlight is nice and even across the frame, which is not that easy to do unless you get the two backlights nice and even.

the light is nice and soft, shadow under his left little finger shows that. nice even light on arms and face. enough modelling/shape in the light to add depth (contrast of light between frontal face and his left side).

I light your suggestion for a side position, think one third would work.

maybe, just maybe, worth a look, perhaps crop the bottom of the green off, to remove the curves on the bottom of frame (they just catch the eye a little, but dont do it if it unbalances the pic).

from the catchlights, looks like the light is about 2 feet above eye level, maybe lower next time to fill the shadow under the lower eye lids, but this is being particular...

I have done a few of these with kids, and they work well, I like the simple prop for its texture, color and shape.

very nice!

Thanks guys.

Gary - Key light = "main light" or "fill light" Either way I hope you mean main light as I only used one softbox. I tried the square crop but becouse Kobi is not square on the chair I didn't think it worked as well (just my opinion). I really like it positioned to the left.


Oz - Yeah I like this pose with kids, their eyes are so engaging. There is a slight variance in backlight from right to left, but only a photographer would notice and care about it I don't think a mother woudl be able to take her eyes off her son's.

Good point about cropping the bottom off, I agree however I also sort of like the curve back in again rather than a straight line out of the frame, but the hard edge on the bottom is distracting. You were right about the light, this was taken before Gry suggested to lower it down a little. I might try this one again with the light lower.

Thanks again guys...

It is a shame he was so tired... look at those bags under his eyes!!!!

It is hard work being 5, playing xbox, going to school, soccer training whewwww.

Lighting set up is very good for a studio. You have a perfect white background there.

This looks really nice. I've been trying some lighting stuff in a home made studio, but haven't quite got near this sort of stuff. Great stuff!

W00DY wrote:Gary - Key light = "main light"

Yep.

I tried the square crop but becouse Kobi is not square on the chair I didn't think it worked as well (just my opinion). I really like it positioned to the left.

Ok .... your opinion is the one that matters most in this instance.

My role is merely to throw ideas at you in the hope that some may be good. Your role is to listen to the suggestions, and either accept or reject them as you see fit. Rejecting them will not upset me at all; the point is that if you don't have people bouncing ideas around for you to try ... you don't have as many ideas to try, and that would be to the ultimate detriment of your images.

That you try the ideas is important - that you accept some, and reject others, is a part of the process.

And that brings us back to this being your choice - your opinion - as being the one that's most important here.

You were right about the light, this was taken before Gry suggested to lower it down a little. I might try this one again with the light lower.

In the stuff you were doing over the weekend, the purpose of moving the light down to ground level was not so much as to move it down to
ground level, but to bring it to around the level at which your subject is being shot at. That principal still remains, hence my suggestion to lower the light for this one, and likewise Bruce's.

For this you need to think about the shadows that are being cast by the light ... and if the light's location is above the subject, then it's logical that there will be downwards shadows.

gstark wrote:
but to bring it to around the level at which your subject is being shot at.

One more question on this... If you have a large softbox (in my case 80x100) do you try and position it so that the middle of the softbox is level with the subject?

This would then mean that light would be hitting above, on and below the subject.

Thanks for the replies libertyterran & phoenix, appreciate it.

W00DY wrote:

gstark wrote:
but to bring it to around the level at which your subject is being shot at.

One more question on this... If you have a large softbox (in my case 80x100) do you try and position it so that the middle of the softbox is level with the subject?

This would then mean that light would be hitting above, on and below the subject.

As nothing more than a guide, probably, but you also need to consider from where you're shooting, and, of course, the light-to-subject distance.

W00DY wrote:

gstark wrote:
but to bring it to around the level at which your subject is being shot at.

One more question on this... If you have a large softbox (in my case 80x100) do you try and position it so that the middle of the softbox is level with the subject?

This would then mean that light would be hitting above, on and below the subject.

i often aim for the lower third of the softbox at eye level. the strongest light will typically be in the middle of the softbox, and I like to cast a soft shadow under the nose for a almost natural look. if you have modelling lights in your studio lights, start with the light up high, and bring it lower until the shadows fill, but not dissapear (all to your taste of course).