First studio shots of a fitness model with my new 10D

[nat869]

I got to finally try out some studio pics with my new 10D. I was mostly happy with the results, using a 250 watt strobe and a blue photo flood with an umbrella. Against the white backdrop I got good skin tone, the fitness model is super tan, but when i tried dark backdrops she got all washed out. I figure it is because I did not mess with the white balance at all. Anyone ever try the color cards to set white balance? What do you pros use to get warm skin tones?

[/img]http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_005.JPG[/img]
[/img]http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_011.JPG[/img]
[/img]http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_019.JPG[/img]

I tried the more washed out ones in photoshop, but I would be happier to get the color/exposure mostly right to begin with. I pretty much get to do pics with her whenever I like, so there is plenty of chances to try out different techniques.

[nat869]

http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_005.JPG

[nat869]

http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_005.JPG

[nat869]

http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_011.JPG

[Belmondo]

You have to remove the 'slash' from the first set of brackets on each link. The should work fine after that.

[nat869]

http://www.samantha-steele.com/recent/images/sam_6-30-04_019.JPG

[nat869]

there are the pics, i will get the hang of posting them, the last pic posted was my attempt to fix in photoshop, not very well i might add

[Mark Kemp]

Its a bit tricky judging skin tones, however I agree that she looks paler against a dark background. How does her red costume look? is that washed out as well, because it still looks quite vivid. If the costume is pretty much accurate then it may just be a touch of over exposure, there are a few more bright patches on her skin than in the other pictures, which suggests a slightly brighter exposure.

[drisley]

Great Nat!
I would find that very interesting. I currently take pictures (http://www.fotop.net/sharpnsmart/bodybuilding) of the competitors at the actual shows, but I think doing something like that would be cool!
I know that they get very tanned before competitions, so it is rather surprising that she doesnt look darker. I currently know nothing about studio lighting, so I can't add much to help you. But, I would like to learn, so maybe this thread can help us both!

Good luck :D

[evilenglishman]

if you are using flash heads then the best setting to use is "flash".
The problem with the dark background photos is that they are definately over exposed and too red.
so your exposure and colour balance are both off. If you look at the black background you will see that it isnt actually black - but dark grey.

On my D60 "flash" and "daylight" are the same (5500k) but when i want stuff a bit warmer i go for "cloudy" (7500k) and adjust in photoshop later

[nat869]

For anyone who is intersted in seeing some of the other pics, I posted to the share gallery: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36768

[DocFrankenstein]

:shock: Where did you get that model? :shock:

[Mthorpe_Davies]

This is my opinion, the photos are ok nothing wrong with the colour its just the poses are shocking, her facial expression needs working on, the first shots with her legs akimbo just look tacky. I'm not blaming you but I think had the poses been better the series would have looked great. She has got a great body but doesn't know how to show it off properly.