Be gentle, it's my first time...

[Phil Light]

I recently acquired some studio-type lighting and I'm trying to learn what to do, and what not to do. I'd like to start posting some of these first images just to see if I'm doing anything glaringly wrong from a standpoint of lighting, posing, etc.

On this one I intentionally blew out the background because I'm more interested in the subject lighting at the moment.

[Broncobear]

Cute :-)

[ArcticEOS]

Looks a little too dark but your getting very close! Great picture though :)

[Guineh]

Looks good! I agree with the previous poster though, a bit more fill would probably help.

Do you have a light to camera left? If not, you might want to try some sort of reflector to boost the shadows on the subject's face a bit.

[Phil Light]

Looks a little too dark...

Some of my first attempts washed out the highlights so maybe I went too far the other way. To give a little background, I'm trying to match a style in a book I've been reading on studio lighting utilizing only one light in this case. I think just the nature of this kind of lighting will make it a little more "dramatic".

If I understand correctly, typically it's better to use a little harsher light on men than you would with women, right?

(BroncoBear - thanks ;) )

[Phil Light]

Looks good! I agree with the previous poster though, a bit more fill would probably help.

Do you have a light to camera left? If not, you might want to try some sort of reflector to boost the shadows on the subject's face a bit.

The more feedback I get and the more I look at the picture, I'm starting to agree. I've been consulting with a wedding photographer friend who told me that the right side of the subject's face in this type of picture should be so dark you can't see any detail. I think the reflector idea might be just enough to bring a little more out and still not "flatten" the picture.

[D. Craig Flory]

Number one ... too dark. Number two ... color balance is way off. Number three ... for someone wearing a medium blue shirt you should a middle key or pastel background.

Here is my improved version.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i93/DC47/JCPEnhanced.jpg

[eos_o_eos]

D. Craigs version is better. The shot is good and I love his expression. White background a little too bright for my eyes. Nice framing. The guy looks like an actor

[Phil Light]

Ok, how about this one? It was taken at the same time. I'm not crazy about the pose and the background is still blown out but I wasn't trying for a finished product, only practice.

[Guineh]

Better, as far as lighting goes. I have to agree the pose is odd, but only because the hand makes a hard clenched fist. I'm no good at posing people, though, so I can't offer advice :)

[D. Craig Flory]

What you need to do is not pour so much light on the background .. or get more light on your subject. If you were getting a slightly grey background it would mean that you had too much light on your subject or not enough on the background. Use your flash meter and do tests.

[Hellashot]

I recently acquired some studio-type lighting and I'm trying to learn what to do, and what not to do. I'd like to start posting some of these first images just to see if I'm doing anything glaringly wrong from a standpoint of lighting, posing, etc.

On this one I intentionally blew out the background because I'm more interested in the subject lighting at the moment.

You cannot do a portrait and disregard the background because you're concerned with the subject. It all goes together. What good is it if the subject is lit well but your background is horrible? Work on the 2 together. Your subject looks rather red and underexposed.

[Phil Light]

...to see if I'm doing anything glaringly wrong from a standpoint of lighting, posing, etc.

Wow, apparently I was. :(

At the time of those shots a white bg, which I really hated, was just about my only option. I am in the process of getting some nicer, patterned muslin backgrounds so hopefully I can bring it all together a little bit better.

Thank you for the "spanking" ;)

[Yanis]

Wow, apparently I was. :(

At the time of those shots a white bg, which I really hated, was just about my only option. I am in the process of getting some nicer, patterned muslin backgrounds so hopefully I can bring it all together a little bit better.

Thank you for the "spanking" ;)

Hello Jeff,

I was looking at the lighting set you bought from eBay. How is this working out for you? Would you recommend this as a starter lighting set? I really don't want to spend too much right now since I am just starting. I'll take any input I can get on this lighting set.

Thanks in advance!

Peace,
Yanis :D

[J D Skate]

the photos suck,,JK

[Phil Light]

Hello Jeff,

I was looking at the lighting set you bought from eBay. How is this working out for you? Would you recommend this as a starter lighting set? I really don't want to spend too much right now since I am just starting. I'll take any input I can get on this lighting set.

Thanks in advance!

Peace,
Yanis :D

Yes, I would recommend this as a starter set. It is not professional equipment... I would not trust it to use on a paid job, however, I don't think it's possible to get this much stuff for less money. It will really help you get the fundamentals down. Once you put a few thousand shots through this setup, you will know exactly what you need in terms of equipment upgrades. With that in mind, it might even save you money in the long run by helping you not buy things out of ignorance that you don't really need.

the photos suck,,JK

Thank you for that well constructed and helpful critique JD. I will practice the methods you recommended and hopefully reach the level of the examples you shared. :p

[Yanis]

Yes, I would recommend this as a starter set. It is not professional equipment... I would not trust it to use on a paid job, however, I don't think it's possible to get this much stuff for less money. It will really help you get the fundamentals down. Once you put a few thousand shots through this setup, you will know exactly what you need in terms of equipment upgrades. With that in mind, it might even save you money in the long run by helping you not buy things out of ignorance that you don't really need.

Jeff,

Sounds good to me. :) Thank you very much for your reply. I may be getting this set soon, again, to practice with.

Peace,
Yanis :D