First attempt at a 'Photo Shoot'

[ian.bertram]

Hi,
Really just having a play with light in this first attempt. It was a technique I looked at in a Scott Kelby video and thought I'd give it a try. Outside is my strobe through an umbrella to slightly soften it.
Any and all comments welcome.

[Bindii]

I like the light although I would have liked to have seen a little more brighter light on her face in the area's where you have lit up as its still a tad dark.. although I suspect that they would look good as mono's also as they are..

[gstark]

Hi Ian,

Outside is my strobe through an umbrella

What else was outside? (think laterally - it is a serious question.)

The light on these looks a little "dirty" to me, and I can't quite work out what I'm seeing yet. My first thought was wb, but your shadows seem to be neutral and so that seems to me to be fine. That means it might be exposure, and while these look a little dark, the density looks fine and I don't think that's what I'm seeing either. Which might mean that these could be a little bit desaturated. That may be what you want, but I'd like to see them brightened up a tad, and also enrich the colours a little.

What lens were you using? I suspect it wasn't quite long enough for these shots; in the last one, the legs look a little (not a lot) as if the lens was a bit too wide for this type of shot.

In the first two, you are also looking up towards your model; may have been better from a slightly higher angle of view, as in the third.

[ian.bertram]

Thanks,
Some really interesting comments posted.
Looking at them now I agree, a little more light would have been better. I stopped down the flash then basically used f stop to set the light intensity.

I completely agree with shooting the first two higher like in the last shot.

The last was taken with a 17-85 and the rest were taken with a 100mm (the first is just a closer crop). I'm a bit consricted by the room but I think I can do better than these.

Rather than play too much in post I think I might set up again and try some of these ideas.

I'll also try turning one or two into mono.

Thanks again
Ian

[aim54x]

Very brave of you to post your efforts,

I have to admit that #3 is the stand out from this set, but even so I would say it is a bit dark still. However, I would like to see this in mono.

[surenj]

depending on the mood you are trying to create, I would suggest getting rid of the background detail and just concentrating on the subject.

Once you get the light as you want it, then you can work on the model's expression to suit your mood or theme.

Then you can go back and refine your light, and add colour to further influence your mood.

[inmotion]

Hi Ian I agree with Surrenj and loose the backround -- love the angle of #3 but light/shadow stiill need a tweek--jim

[Big V]

I like that there is a theme to these and now that you have had a go and with the suggestions made I look forward to the next installment