studio portrait pics-PLEASE HELP!

[my2dramaqueens]

Im about ready to throw all this equipment I have and throw it out the window. Im trying to take christmas portraits with a scenic backdrop I just purchased. No matter what I try I still get shadows! I have all this equipment but cant seem to get them to work together correctly. heres what I have

Canon 20D
Lens : canon ef 75-300 (from old canon rebel 35mm)
canon 28-80 (again from rebel 35mm)
sigma ex 17-35
2- canon 550's ex speedlights
and a cheap strobe light set that consists of 3 britek lights ac110-120v with small umbrellas

what can I do or what else do I need to help me. or how do I need to set it up to avoid shadows

[MTalley]

A low powered strobe on the floor behind your subjects and bouncing off the backdrop may be the ticket. Be careful not to blow out the backdrop colors or design, though.

Put the other two Briteks behind umbrellas at about eye level (to the subject) and one on each side of the camera at a 45 degree angle to the subject.

That would be a place to start.

[PhotosGuy]

Im about ready to throw all this equipment I have and throw it out the window.

WAIT! I'll open my window & you can throw it there. Malcomb is right. I use umbrellas. They're cheap & work well. I prefer quartz lights for what you're doing 'cause you can see the effect. You'll have to shoot & chimp 'till you get it right. Then I'd put a few pieces of tape on the floor.

[my2dramaqueens]

which lens do you think will work the best? or should I get the 50 mm everyone keeps talking about ?

[PhotosGuy]

I don't know the max aperture of the 28-80, or what your cam/subject/background distance is, but I'd try to use it to start, probably somewhere around 50mm which would be 80mm with 1.6X crop factor.

[chtgrubbs]

Post a sample so we have a better idea of the problems.

[LightingMan]

Hi there: Well, you didn't really provide any substantial info so I will be speculating on some things. I don’t know if you are photographing an individual, a couple, a family group, a child on the floor, or several children on the floor, or whether it’s a head and shoulders, 2/3 length, full length?
You also didn't make any mention about the distance between the subject and the background which is very important and probably one if not all of your problem. You said shadows but didn't say where they were so I will make an educated guess.

First of all. Stop using the little speed lights. They have no modeling light for you to see where the light is going so you are operating totally blind with them. Not a good thing. Next, they are tiny, harsh light sources. Not what you want for a portrait like this. Lastly, their power output is very unlikely to be the same as the Britek lights so once again you will be blind as to what you will be getting unless you waste a lot of time doing test, after test after test.

Let's talk first about shadows. I hear this constantly from photographers everywhere. They have shadows from the subjects on the background and don't know how to end this problem. I am always a bit perplexed by this because photographers by and large tend to think in terms of complexity rather than simplicity. Most all of us did that in the early years including myself. It's a natural thing when you don't yet understand all the methods needed to do the job. You figure it just has to be complicated.

Let me tell you that it need be no more complicated than this. If you go outside at night looking for something with a flash light and you think you see it but an object is blocking the light from hitting that object. What do you do? You move the light so that the obstructing object no longer casts a shadow onto the item you are interested in seeing. Now who told you it was necessary to move the flash light to a different place? No one. You just knew. It’s just common sense. Ok, how is that any different than a studio light pointing toward a background with a subject in the way casting a shadow? It’s the same thing. What do you do? You move the light so that the shadow is NOT falling on the background. Simple. Light always travels in a pretty straight line so if you just stand behind your light and look past your subject, you will see where any shadow generated is going to fall. If it’s low on the background or completely out of the frame, it’s a good thing. Before using this common sense approach, choose your pose so you can see the direction of light as it illuminates the subject. You still want proper portrait lighting here. That comes first.

So what is another way to avoid having shadows on your background? Get your subject AWAY from the background. You probably have them well under 5 feet from the background when they should be at a minimum of 6 to 7 feet. The closer they are to the background the more likely you will see a shadow falling on the background within the frame. Move them away from the background and the shadow moves away from them. It’s easy to demonstrate this concept. Get a friend and a flash light. In a darkened room, put your hand on the person’s shoulder. With the other hand hold up a flashlight a bit to your side and point it at their face but allow enough light to pass them and strike the background behind them. Begin your experiment with their back right up against the wall. Now, with your hand on their shoulder keeping them at the same distance from you and the flashlight, begin to step away from the wall. You, the flash light and the subject are all moving together as a unit stepping away from the wall at the same time. Watch as the shadow cast on the wall moves further and further away. Down and to the side of the subject. The greater the distance from the wall, the more space around the subject before you see the shadow. Try it and observe the principle.

If you don't understand about portrait lighting patterns, then that is an important first step in understanding how to create flattering, professional lighting.

So how could you light this basic kind of portrait? It's very simple. You have three Britek lights with umbrellas. For now, we won't worry about them being small. Place one light with umbrella behind the camera, just over your shoulder when standing behind the tripod. The center axis is the ONLY place a powered fill light goes. None of this putting it way off to the side. That couldn't be more incorrect. The purpose of the fill is to control the shadow density from a perspective that does not create it's own shadows and highlights. The only way this can happen is for the light to come from as near the axis of the lens as possible. Since we can’t put an umbrella right in front of the camera we raise the light up and place it behind the camera, just over your shoulder. We do NOT put a fill light on the opposite side of the main light.

For the main light we will use the other two Britek lights with umbrellas. We will place them to one side of the camera and locate them right next to each other. Even touching is a good thing. We are creating in effect, a larger single light source by putting two small ones together. We want to provide good lighting to the mask of all subject’s faces, paying particular attention to getting light into both eyes.

While adjusting the placement of the main light cluster, stand there behind them and observe what is behind the subject from that point of view. The lights should cast a very soft shadow far enough to the side to NOT be seen in the camera’s viewfinder. We also want the lights high enough to cast any shadow in a downward direction as well but remember we don’t compromise the quality of light on the faces just to move the lights to a different location. Lighting the faces comes first.

For a painted scene background like this one, it is desirable to have roughly 1 stop less than the taking aperture (for film). For a digital camera reduce this to about 2/3 stop less. For example: If your taking aperture meters out to be f 8, the reading we take at the background with the meters’s dome facing the main light should read between f 8 1/2 to f 11. This combination will expose your background with just a bit less light than the subject letting it be a bit deeper and more saturated looking. The last thing you want is a faded looking over lit background. Again, I have not seen the background so I am assuming that it’s mixed items like a fire place next to a Christmas tree or similar.

Selecting a wider aperture that will throw the background a bit out of focus is also desirable. If it is tack sharp then it competes with the subject that IS supposed to be sharp. It also makes your image far more busy than if it were softly out of focus. Making the background soft makes the subject jump forward and separate nicely from the background. This is one technique that makes professional photography look professional.

There are many more facets to all this that I did not cover here but hopefully you can eliminated the issues of shadows on the background.
I hope this has been helpful. OH, and please don’t throw your equipment out the window.
Best wishes,

[BearLeeAlive]

Scott, great explanation of lighting techniques. Not only do you have lots of knowledge but you can expain it in a way that is easy to understand for us newbies to studio lighting.

[dannym]

Bravo Scott!

[justj]

Wow thanks for that answer lighting man I didnt even ask the question but I will be printing out your answer for future dilema's

[my2dramaqueens]

thank you so much for that explaination !.. i think my husband could sense my mounting frustration and bought me an alien bee package... the one with 4 lights!ive gone from being frustrated with the quality of the old lights to be overwhelmed with all the possibilities with the new lights.. im in way over my head!

[claudermilk]

Wow, great explanation, Scott. I've been thinking about getting your book soon, that just seals it. I've been getting decent results with my attempts, but have been setting the lights all wrong, now I know better.

[cking2]

Buy his (Scott's) book...it is 160 + pages long and explains all facets of Studio Lighting.
He writes in a very easy to read style and I would love for him to do a seminar in the KC area.

Rick

[PhotosGuy]

the one with 4 lights!ive gone from being frustrated with the quality of the old lights to be overwhelmed with all the possibilities with the new lights.. im in way over my head!

I'd suggest that you start with just 2 lights & see what you can get. Then add one more, maybe for the hair, 'till you fix a "problem". Then maybe one from the back & side to throw a highlight on the cheek. Or whatever.
Simple 2 Light Portrait Set-up