How to lower contrast of my fake north-window lighting? Please help improve my setup!

I am trying to recreate the light of a north-facing window (I know itll never be exact but trying my best) by bouncing a strobe off a v-flat and passing that light through a bedsheet. I like the slow falloff but I'm finding that the overall contrast is just too high for me (highlights too hot, shadows too dark). What are some things I can do to lower the contrast in-camera? I have some guesses before my next shoot so if anyone wants to confirm or suggest new ideas that would be great:

1. Put a white v-flat on the shadow side just out-of-frame to kick some light back into the shadow side. My issue with this is that I don't want it to look flat, but at the same time I think I need more light bouncing around. Would that lower the overall contrast, since using bounce fill doesn't affect highlights? I need the highlights to be less hot as well.
2. Push the background/model away from the bedsheet (like you would when feathering a softbox, or pulling a softbox back) to create less harsh of a falloff.
3. Add frontal fill flash, though I can't afford a secondary light right now!

You don't say what you are shooting with. That is invaluable information when requesting in-camera settings.

If you are shooting Canon, turn on Auto-Lighting Optimizer, and turn it all the way up. I don't use it, but what you are trying to accomplish is its stated goal. It doesn't work in Manual mode, for some reason.

i would start with a large reflector on the opposite side of the bed sheet, even another bed sheet will work but something opaque would work better. What is your current v-flat made out of?

what kind of softboxes do you have?

also, have you tried using the Levels tools rather than contrast? I literally never use the contrast slider. Levels will allow more precise control of what values you are pushing around.

Pull the curtain farther away from the wall, then move the model closer to the curtain. Then add another curtain or some reflecting material like foamcore on the other side of the main light: you'll probably need to test with different distances and angles for this one till you achieve the desired effect.

GeoKras1989 wrote in post #17603340
You don't say what you are shooting with. That is invaluable information when requesting in-camera settings.

If you are shooting Canon, turn on Auto-Lighting Optimizer, and turn it all the way up. I don't use it, but what you are trying to accomplish is its stated goal. It doesn't work in Manual mode, for some reason.

I'm shooting RAW on 5D Mark III and more importantly film. When I say in-camera I'm not talking about settings, I'm talking about creating a certain light style before I push the shutter regardless of the camera. ALO is not necessary or possible for all my cameras.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17603370
i would start with a large reflector on the opposite side of the bed sheet, even another bed sheet will work but something opaque would work better. What is your current v-flat made out of?

what kind of softboxes do you have?

also, have you tried using the Levels tools rather than contrast? I literally never use the contrast slider. Levels will allow more precise control of what values you are pushing around.

I can put another large reflector on the shadow side of the portrait, no problem. My current v-flats are foam-core. I'm not using softboxes for this, but I do have a 3x4' one and soft large softlighter umbrellas. In this setup, I'm creating my own giant softbox by bouncing the light inside some v-flats, the front of it is the bedsheet if that makes sense. Yes I can use anything in post to get my desired contrast but I'm asking about how to do this without post because I want my lighting to be closer to my final vision without editing. Also I shoot film so editing that is not as easy as a RAW file.

Alveric wrote in post #17603372
Pull the curtain farther away from the wall, then move the model closer to the curtain. Then add another curtain or some reflecting material like foamcore on the other side of the main light: you'll probably need to test with different distances and angles for this one till you achieve the desired effect.

What do you mean curtain, like the bedsheet front of the light source? What wall are you talking about that I should pull it away from? And wouldnt moving the model closer to the light boost the hotspots?

I would shoot the 3x4 soft box at the bedsheet and skip the bounceing off the v flat. As long as the sheet is a few feet from the front of the box you will end up with plenty soft light. Then drag your foamcore around to the models back. That should do the trick with what you have.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17603460
I would shoot the 3x4 soft box at the bedsheet and skip the bounceing off the v flat. As long as the sheet is a few feet from the front of the box you will end up with plenty soft light. Then drag your foamcore around to the models back. That should do the trick with what you have.

This^

moodlover wrote in post #17603453
[..]
What do you mean curtain, like the bedsheet front of the light source? What wall are you talking about that I should pull it away from? And wouldnt moving the model closer to the light boost the hotspots?

Yes, another bedsheet. Sorry, wrong word. I'm talking about the wall you're bouncing the strobe off: either push the strobe closer to the wall, or pull the bedsheet away from the strobe.

No, moving the model closer to the diffusing surface won't boost the highlights, it will diffuse them. The farther away from the light the model is, the more specular the light becomes and the more hot spots you'll have. If, after moving the model closer to the light, you still have areas that are too hot, then your light's not being metered correctly.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17603460
I would shoot the 3x4 soft box at the bedsheet and skip the bounceing off the v flat. As long as the sheet is a few feet from the front of the box you will end up with plenty soft light. Then drag your foamcore around to the models back. That should do the trick with what you have.

I've thought of this but can't see how this would be better, since my v-flat is much larger than my 3x4 softbox.

Alveric wrote in post #17603489
Yes, another bedsheet. Sorry, wrong word. I'm talking about the wall you're bouncing the strobe off: either push the strobe closer to the wall, or pull the bedsheet away from the strobe.

No, moving the model closer to the diffusing surface won't boost the highlights, it will diffuse them. The farther away from the light the model is, the more specular the light becomes and the more hot spots you'll have. If, after moving the model closer to the light, you still have areas that are too hot, then your light's not being metered correctly.

What would moving the wall, bedsheet, or strobe actually do? I have the strobe dead center between the rig right now, but if I understand you correctly, your idea is to make the light have to travel a longer distance to soften it more? I will try to extend the entire rig as much as I can go and see how that works.

I find that feathering the light in front of the persons face usually gives a softer light since they're being illuminated with the back edge of the light instead of the hotspot in the center. I don't mean to move the model away from the diffusing surface, but more catching the back edge of the big softbox rig so the light is more even? Here's an example of back edge of softbox vs center: https://youtu.be/yg1Zp​ekJF3U?t=147

Bounce off bare wall, put bed sheet on opposite side of model for use as a reflector, just out of camera frame.

moving model closer to bounce wall.

Those are the two things I would try first.

As far as the subject is concerned, the light source is the front of the sheet. The large soft box will do just as good of a job lighting it up.

And possibly be more efficient.

And again, you won't have to build another reflector just to test if it gives you the light you want.

Contrast is directly related the ratio between flash and ambient (or fill). If you are looking for less comtrast or more just change the ratio. Moving the lights, modifier, or subject will change falloff and specularity.