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Hi guys,

I've just started experimenting with off camera flash portraits while using manual everything.

I took a few shots of my girlfriend to assess light, shadows etc. Converted to B&W as it apparently helps when looking at lighting.
She wasn't wearing makeup or anything (she'll probably kill me for posting it), but that's ok it wasn't the point of the exercise.

Here's one of the shots...



C & C greatly appreciated!

You have some great lighting going on. My comments are:

1. The lighting on her nose and upper lip is a bit hot;
2. On the iPad, the shadow on her left side is too deep and seems to lack detail.
3. The main light is well positioned.

Thanks.

Do you think I need to bring the light around to the front a little more to lessen the shadows a bit?

Maybe use a reflector on the right to just insert a small amount of fill light. BTW, woman always look more beautiful and natural without the need to paint themselves. . .

Wink wrote:Thanks.

Do you think I need to bring the light around to the front a little more to lessen the shadows a bit?

Yes.

And, as Chis suggests, add a reflector to camera right to fill the shadows a little more.

Thanks guys.

For the moment I'm just trying to get working with the one light sorted. Once I feel comfortable with that I can start adding reflectors and other lights.

Wink wrote:Thanks.

Do you think I need to bring the light around to the front a little more to lessen the shadows a bit?

nope, be careful not to remove all the shadows, these are what gives a portrait depth and shape imo. There are some cases where no shadows work however. The idea of the reflector is probably the best option to just take the edge off the shadows.

I think for this one, the lighting is pretty spot on, the lighter area is concentrated around the right eye is on the mark, the framing also contributes alot to the shot, the hair and light falloff create some vignetting with works well here.

Adam,

This looks good although I reckon half a stop under overall. I'd keep the shadows and add a hair light for depth and separation. There is a slightly sombre mood to the picture.

If you wanted to lessen shadows while you kept the SAME light angle, I would just move the umbrella AWAY from the subject.

Away? Really? I was thinking moving it closer would help the light wrap around, therefore minimising the shadows.

This is all very new to me and it's something I want to learn and get good at.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll try it out next time.

Wink wrote:Away? Really? I was thinking moving it closer would help the light wrap around, therefore minimising the shadows.

Moving close will make shadows deeper....inverse square law.

Yep. Yep. I'm with you now.

sirhc55 wrote:Maybe use a reflector on the right to just insert a small amount of fill light. BTW, woman always look more beautiful and natural without the need to paint themselves. . .

Agreed Chris, but THEY don't think that way.

Nice shot Wink, but I do agree, a tad hot. OCF is a blast to experiment with. Which brand of triggers (if any) are you using?

surenj wrote:

Wink wrote:Away? Really? I was thinking moving it closer would help the light wrap around, therefore minimising the shadows.

Moving close will make shadows deeper....inverse square law.

Yes.

And no.

What size (and type of) modifiers are you using on the light.

By using a larger modifier and moving it closer, you make the light source's size, relative to the subject, bigger, and a larger light source can actually soften everything for you.

Thanks. I'm learning all about this stuff currently online and with the One Light DVD by Zack Arias.

I'm using a Canon speedlite through a 42" umbrella or 28" softbox.

Triggering them with PocketWizard Flex TT5 and Mini TT1. Also have the AC3 attached for easy control. It's a great system!

I strongly recommend the book: Light, Science & Magic. Excellent lighting resource.

Cool. I'll check it out.

I think I've got a couple Joe McNally's books coming for Xmas.

Wink wrote:Thanks. I'm learning all about this stuff currently online and with the One Light DVD by Zack Arias.

I'm using a Canon speedlite through a 42" umbrella or 28" softbox.

Triggering them with PocketWizard Flex TT5 and Mini TT1. Also have the AC3 attached for easy control. It's a great system!

Ok ... that's actually fairly low power, in terms of OCF.

A couple of points to observe; you are probably already be aware of them, but it doesn't hurt to go over them, just in case.

Some of your light will be absorbed as it transfers through the softbox, so if you're doing any manual calculations, keep that in mind.

Similar, your light source-to-subject distance, using the brolly (reflective, rather than shoot-through, I presume) is not simply the distance of your speedlite to the subject; it's actually the speedlite (head), to the brolly, and then back to your subject. Thus, altering the distance between the speedlite head and the brolly may also have an affect on the amount of light that reaches your subject.

Both of those modifiers may be somewhat large for the speedlite being used; does the speedlite have different modes available in terms of lens setiings (wide angle vs normal vs tele?). If I'm right and the modifiers are too large, then you might be getting some fall-off (vignetting, if you like) of the speedlite's output around the edges of the modifier. This might be a good, or perhaps a bad, thing depending upon circumstances. I'm merely mentioning it as something for you to be aware of, and perhaps play with.

Thanks for the info Gary.

I've been using the umbrella as a shoot through so I can get the setup nice and close to soften the light.

It's a 580ex II flash which for this shot was zoomed to 35mm, but I've since locked it at 14mm.

The above shot was shot at f8 with the flash at around 1/32 power.

I'm certainly learning lots and read heaps about this, but now I'm at the point where I need the practical experience to take me further.

Wink wrote:It's a 580ex II flash which for this shot was zoomed to 35mm, but I've since locked it at 14mm.

I'm not convinced that this is the best idea, going for a wider focal length gives you more coverage but also greatly reduces the effective range of the flash. Play with different focal lengths to work out what is best for your situation.

I was thinking it might have been the cause of the hot spots, but like you say, experimenting will be the best way to tell.

gstark wrote:surenj wrote:
Wink wrote:
Away? Really? I was thinking moving it closer would help the light wrap around, therefore minimising the shadows.

Moving close will make shadows deeper....inverse square law.


Yes.

And no.

What size (and type of) modifiers are you using on the light.

By using a larger modifier and moving it closer, you make the light source's size, relative to the subject, bigger, and a larger light source can actually soften everything for you.

Just to be clear, moving closer will make the pure shadows deeper. Gary mentioned larger light source 'softening everything for you'. He referring to probably three areas of light; specular edge transfer, diffused area and shadow edge transfer area. These areas are NOT the same as the shadow...just in case you wanted to get technical.

If you want to get rid of hot spots there are few options
1. Put one of those diffusing caps on the flash or set it to 14mm
2. Double diffuse your light source - very effective and make those middle light areas in between shadow and highlight quite diffuse
3. Put on matt makeup
or all three.

Thanks mate. Very useful info.

In other news the FedEx guy left my 5D3, grip and 17-40 at the front door. Luckily it was still there when I got home from work.

Wink wrote: FedEx guy

Did you get ahem, slammed with duty?

It's quite possible I did not.