First attempt at Portraits and off-camera lighting...please be brutal

[usingthejohn]

Please, please, PLEASE pick these photos apart. I'm trying to get into off-camera lighting and portrait work now that I have a baby boy, and I'm pretty much lost when it comes to this. This was my first attempt, which I did a pretty lousy job at. Have a look, and tell me what A)i did wrong B) what settings I should use and C)where I can improve.
I want to have a solid foundation, so I can take nice photos of our son on the 3rd of each month, to record his growth during his first 12 months of life.

Thanks, JOHN

Some basic info:
50D w/ hot-shoe mounted 580EX II, set to Master. Set to angle of 45 degrees
430EX set to slave, set about 4-5 feet to my left. Angle varied from 90 degrees to 45 degrees
Manual mode: f5.6, can't remember ISO...Shutter speed was about 60, IIRC
E-TTL
Lens: Tamron 28-75 f2.8
Muslin backdrop

1.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z114/usingthejohn/Baby%20MJ/mj.jpg
2. The backdrop and the pillow are pretty obtrusive and distracting, but it's what I have right now.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z114/usingthejohn/Baby%20MJ/ourboy.jpg
3.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z114/usingthejohn/Baby%20MJ/mj.jpg
4.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z114/usingthejohn/Baby%20MJ/upright.jpg

[woodmen]

Hi there and welcome to the wonderfull world of off flash lighting.

There are some problems with your pictures. First, Your white balance is off. If you shoot in raw, this is a simple thing to correct. Just select a higher color temperature.
The second problem I see is that you are not using any light modifier. Your light is therefore hard with harsh shadows. You can correct that by bouncing your flash on a wall (must be white) or use a softbox or beautydish or anything to soften your light. Like you said, the backdrop and the pillow are a little distracting. You could use a faster apperture (2.8 on you Tamron or better, f2 on your 50mm) to isolate your baby and put the backdrop farther away from your baby to create a more 3d image.

Keep up the good work!

[usingthejohn]

Woodmen,
thanks for the response.

In regards to light modifiers, the 580Ex has a Stofen diffuser on it, however the 430ex does not have anything. However, I attempted to bounce the lighting off the 430ex off the wall. I guess it didn't do its job.

Wouldn't an aperture of 2.8 or so, cause too much light to enter the frame?

[Meaty0]

I'll just comment on No. 1.

There's too much foreground and it's a wee bit too bright. In fact, all the surfaces are a bit complicated and distracting. With a baby photo, I'd suggest trying a lighter coloured paper background and maybe just a small white pillow for baby's head.

Watch for other distractions like the button ring. I'd clone that out. Next time, choose clothing a little more neutral colour.

Your "straight on" 580 ex flash has made the lighting look a bit flat. Consider having just one light source off to the left or right and higher than baby and maybe use a reflector on the opposite side to lightly fill in the shadows. Delicate shadows look good in a baby portraits. Diffuse the flash (as mentioned) with any number of flash diffusers, but a soft box is really good.

My preference is for baby photos to be a bit "Soft Focus". Try a couple of soft focus Actions in Photoshop. They're freely available on The 'Net.

[usingthejohn]

^^^
Thanks for your opinion. Next time I attempt some portraits, I'll keep those in mind, as well.

Reflectors...do you have a link to one? Or how they work, exactly? Thanks again,

[Meaty0]

^^^
Thanks for your opinion. Next time I attempt some portraits, I'll keep those in mind, as well.

Reflectors...do you have a link to one? Or how they work, exactly? Thanks again,

You should buy a good book on lighting...well worth it. Here's a link that might explain what I mean...

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/91536_studio-photography-reflectors.htm

[chauncey]

Don't buy that book on lighting, get it from your library first and there are a ton of lighting sites out there.

[Meaty0]

Don't buy that book on lighting, get it from your library first and there are a ton of lighting sites out there.

Yeah...good advice. That's where I got most of my photography books from (to begin with anyway).

[sgf323]

IMO, the photos need cropped or you need to fill the frame more. You also need more depth in your lighting. It's too one dimensional.

Check out http://strobist.blogspot.com/ A lot of good info there on off-camera lighting. Check out Lighting 101 and 102 to learn the technical aspects. Get the flash totally off the camera. You can pick up a single light stand, umbrella, and flash bracket for around $60 on BH or Adorama among others. They also sell a 2 stand kit for $99.

Check out the Strobist DVD Excerpt. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWjHqJv3M_I) He sells an 8 DVD pack loaded with information. If you want to improve your lighting immensely in as little time as possible then definitely check it out.

[Karl Johnston]

First of all: I love you to hear that people want to be picked apart and truly critiqued.
I think it's great because there's only so much you can sugar coat things without hurting someone's feelings, and if you know me I never really seem to care.


The key to working well with studio lighting and off camera lighting (anything can be studio by the way) is: Simplicity.

Simplicity just works, it's a bit simple but whatever..it works.

I suggest making your scene as smooth as possible - first i'll start with your background. this is quite simple to do, in fact, it might be ideal if you don't have the means to get a proper background. I see you used a sheet, and whatever that works too.

1) Make sure this is a sheet you don't like (just in case of *accidents*), but don't mind the color of - bonus if it's black or gray, but whatever works. Generally you want your sheet to be neutral, dark and not neon or bright pink or anything like that. It's important to have contrast without too much contrast, because color is light too.

2) Take your sheet and stretch it out as much as you can, get rid of any folds or curls or waves or ripples in the sheet. It helps to do this on a floor surface with tape at the top and make sureeeee the area you photograph is spread tight. Ideally what you should do is make sure it's seamless. This is actually a lot easier to do with paper, a wide roll of it. For the baby I suggest you don't need that much.
This is for visualization:

http://vistek.ca/prodimg/171892.jpg

The seamless look makes everything look professional.

Alternatively you can use a wall (preferrably one without anything lining the bottom), with a sheet of paper laid down on the floor, taped down on the sides and corners and evened out, this works just as well. Pull it so that the edge of the paper moves up the wall a bit, creating a curve, then tape it. The idea is to get rid of the contours or harsh lines.

DIY Light modifiers:

Light modifiers is pretty freelance, you can use these for anything. Anything can be a light modifer. Strap an empty kleenex box on your flash unit and tape it there, put cut out shapes and holes on the bottom to give off different effects.

Mirrors reflect light too, so if you can they're great to use for getting in behind someone where harsh shadows from your main light can be difficult to work with.
-Aluminum foil works
-White walls or white plastic give a very diffused look.
-Ceilings if they're low enough.
-natural light is best, though, try to position so that the baby is being lit by natural light then use the flash to eliminate the hard shadows.

Lighting set Up:

Same as before, only use your 580 ex placed behind the baby about 2-3 feet from the left so that its going parallel to your muslin, but in front of it. This should eliminate your hard shadows in the back. Also you can use a mirror on the far right to bounce the flash (or a white wall, paper, whatever).
The 430 EX can be kept 4-5 feet back in front of the babe, being your main fill light.

generally:
This works quite well in my experience. Depends on whats convienant - try to eliminate shadows though, and if you do have them make sure they're not linear shadows.
Move over to your right, use your natural light or you

Post processing:
-The white balance is pretty cold, try setting your camera for a setting in this situation like Auto or cloudy or fluroescent. In photoshop this is pretty easy to fix - you can either modify it with image >adjustments>auto color. Or you can use levels.

image>adjustments>levels>(drop down menu) red/blue/green

Modify the sliders a bit to get different colors brought out.
RAW is great too, you can adjust the tint and hue very easily of all the spectrum captured in the image file.

-I notice the majority of the shots are very central. Try to put the subject in different parts of the frame - generally away from the center. Rule of thirds and the golden ratio come to mind too; read up on those through google. Alternatively you can crop a lot off, 15 mpx gives you a lot to work with.

-Post processing isn't cheating, it's impossible to control everything all the time(beat you to that thought!)

-I see you have a 50 mm 1.8 - put that on your camera instead of the zoom. Try playing with DOF to blur sections of the scene (like the muslin) and focus on getting creative shots from other angles (more on the level, scenes you wouldn't generally normally see if you were viewing the babe from above like everyone usually does. Try shooting down on the ground and putting various objects around (toys) and playing with DOF that way. Alternatively you can blur these areas a bit in photoshop.

Can go on if you want but these are just some basic tips that would help you out.

PS: Don`t buy photography books. Hellishly overpriced and not worth it. All the information is repetitive nonsense you can find anywhere on the net for free. Save yourself 30 bucks +

[usingthejohn]

First of all: I love you to hear that people want to be picked apart and truly critiqued.
I think it's great because there's only so much you can sugar coat things without hurting someone's feelings, and if you know me I never really seem to care.


The key to working well with studio lighting and off camera lighting (anything can be studio by the way) is: Simplicity.

Simplicity just works, it's a bit simple but whatever..it works.

I suggest making your scene as smooth as possible - first i'll start with your background. this is quite simple to do, in fact, it might be ideal if you don't have the means to get a proper background. I see you used a sheet, and whatever that works too.

1) Make sure this is a sheet you don't like (just in case of *accidents*), but don't mind the color of - bonus if it's black or gray, but whatever works. Generally you want your sheet to be neutral, dark and not neon or bright pink or anything like that. It's important to have contrast without too much contrast, because color is light too.

2) Take your sheet and stretch it out as much as you can, get rid of any folds or curls or waves or ripples in the sheet. It helps to do this on a floor surface with tape at the top and make sureeeee the area you photograph is spread tight. Ideally what you should do is make sure it's seamless. This is actually a lot easier to do with paper, a wide roll of it. For the baby I suggest you don't need that much.
This is for visualization:

http://vistek.ca/prodimg/171892.jpg

The seamless look makes everything look professional.

Alternatively you can use a wall (preferrably one without anything lining the bottom), with a sheet of paper laid down on the floor, taped down on the sides and corners and evened out, this works just as well. Pull it so that the edge of the paper moves up the wall a bit, creating a curve, then tape it. The idea is to get rid of the contours or harsh lines.

DIY Light modifiers:

Light modifiers is pretty freelance, you can use these for anything. Anything can be a light modifer. Strap an empty kleenex box on your flash unit and tape it there, put cut out shapes and holes on the bottom to give off different effects.

Mirrors reflect light too, so if you can they're great to use for getting in behind someone where harsh shadows from your main light can be difficult to work with.
-Aluminum foil works
-White walls or white plastic give a very diffused look.
-Ceilings if they're low enough.
-natural light is best, though, try to position so that the baby is being lit by natural light then use the flash to eliminate the hard shadows.

Lighting set Up:

Same as before, only use your 580 ex placed behind the baby about 2-3 feet from the left so that its going parallel to your muslin, but in front of it. This should eliminate your hard shadows in the back. Also you can use a mirror on the far right to bounce the flash (or a white wall, paper, whatever).
The 430 EX can be kept 4-5 feet back in front of the babe, being your main fill light.

generally:
This works quite well in my experience. Depends on whats convienant - try to eliminate shadows though, and if you do have them make sure they're not linear shadows.
Move over to your right, use your natural light or you

Post processing:
-The white balance is pretty cold, try setting your camera for a setting in this situation like Auto or cloudy or fluroescent. In photoshop this is pretty easy to fix - you can either modify it with image >adjustments>auto color. Or you can use levels.

image>adjustments>levels>(drop down menu) red/blue/green

Modify the sliders a bit to get different colors brought out.
RAW is great too, you can adjust the tint and hue very easily of all the spectrum captured in the image file.

-I notice the majority of the shots are very central. Try to put the subject in different parts of the frame - generally away from the center. Rule of thirds and the golden ratio come to mind too; read up on those through google. Alternatively you can crop a lot off, 15 mpx gives you a lot to work with.

-Post processing isn't cheating, it's impossible to control everything all the time(beat you to that thought!)

-I see you have a 50 mm 1.8 - put that on your camera instead of the zoom. Try playing with DOF to blur sections of the scene (like the muslin) and focus on getting creative shots from other angles (more on the level, scenes you wouldn't generally normally see if you were viewing the babe from above like everyone usually does. Try shooting down on the ground and putting various objects around (toys) and playing with DOF that way. Alternatively you can blur these areas a bit in photoshop.

Can go on if you want but these are just some basic tips that would help you out.

PS: Don`t buy photography books. Hellishly overpriced and not worth it. All the information is repetitive nonsense you can find anywhere on the net for free. Save yourself 30 bucks +

Great tips, thanks a lot!

You mentioned using the 50 f/1.8...question about aperture: if i used the 50mm wide open, wouldn't that let in a lot of the flash light, causing overexposure? Something I came across said that you use Shutter Speed to meter the scene, while aperture controls the amount of light from the flash that enters the sensor...???

[sgf323]

In a studio where you have total control you should be in manual. So, let's assume you are.

Aperture and ISO will affect the amount of flash that comes in. So, if you want a wide open aperture to blur the background then you should set the flash on manual and turn it down to 1/4 power or less. From there you can adjust the flash power until you get the exposure where you want it.

Aperture and Shutter and ISO all affect ambient light. So, now that you have your ISO and Aperture set (and presumably your shutter at your sync speed) you can start slowly dropping the shutter speed to bring up the ambient light levels.

Dropping the shutter speed does not affect the light from the flash because the flash happens in an instant.

Consider this: Start at the ISO 100 for the least grain. Start the shutter at 1/250th. You set your aperture first based on the depth of field you want. Then, you set your flash power in order to get the proper exposure.

If you need your flash to be more powerful than it is you can move the ISO up to get more out of it, or just move it closer. At ISO 400 the flash will seem more powerful with all other settings the same. You can also use ISO 400 in the cases where you want your flash on low power to give you faster recycle times.

Now, if you take a photo without flash you will have a black picture since you are inside and there isn't enough light. (1/250th ISO 100 F1.8 presumably)

When you add the flash in you get a good exposure but your background is dark and possibly black depending on how far your flashes are from it (See how you can turn a white wall black?). In order to bring up the exposure of the background you can drop the shutter down to 1/20th or so. Because the flash froze your subject you don't have to worry much about them moving.

This also opens up a lot of other fun techniques like flash or zoom or focus dragging. That is when you freeze your subject with the flash then move one of those three while the ambient burns in to get an interesting effect.

[usingthejohn]

I'm vaguely familiar with zoom dragging. What is focus and flash dragging?

[sgf323]

Same thing basically. Rather than adjusting zoom during the ambient exposure you adjust the focus. For flash dragging you literally drag the camera -- away from the light.

To understand Flash Dragging consider that the subject is silhouetted without the flash. So, you take the shot and the flash illuminates them then you drag the camera slightly away from the flash so that as the ambient burns in, the subject's silhouette is blocking part of the background. This creates a shadow around the subject on one side and a bit of a feathering on the other. The more you drag the larger the effect.

The reason you drag away from the light source is so that the lighted part of your subject is next to the shadow you've created. If you drag toward the light then the darker portion of the subject (since it was away from the light) is next to the silhouette shadow which makes the subject blend in to the silhouette shadow.

If there is the same or more ambient light on your subject vs your background the drag won't work correctly since the subject won't be silhouetted by a brighter background.