South East Asian skin tone shooting advice please?

Hi People,

I will be visiting Singapore very soon and will be photogrpahing a model on TFP basis.

Her skin tone is South East Asian, not too dark and not too light. Half of the photos will be outdoors and the other half indoors.

Im looking for anyone who can give me advice and some tips for getting the best possible shots.

I will be using two strobes of camera (Canon 580EXII) and also will be taking my light disk (silver and White)

Are there any important factors regarding different skin tones, styling, light, her clothes etc., that is essential for this type of shoot.

Any advice anyone can provide is greatly sought.

Thanks,

NicholasBB

I'd start with a custom white balance & adjust in post processing if needed. And, shooting in RAW is always a good starting point.
The rest is seeing the light you've set up before you start shooting.

NicholasBB wrote in post #5535807
Hi People,

I will be visiting Singapore very soon and will be photogrpahing a model on TFP basis.

Her skin tone is South East Asian, not too dark and not too light. Half of the photos will be outdoors and the other half indoors.

Im looking for anyone who can give me advice and some tips for getting the best possible shots.

I will be using two strobes of camera (Canon 580EXII) and also will be taking my light disk (silver and White)

Are there any important factors regarding different skin tones, styling, light, her clothes etc., that is essential for this type of shoot.

Any advice anyone can provide is greatly sought.

Thanks,

NicholasBB

SE Asian skin tones vary as much as Caucasian skin tones..I have seen people here in Laos as pale as Scandinavians and as dark as Afro- Americans..it all depends on where they are from and how much time they spend in the sun..Lao from southern Laos and Cambodians are quite dark while Vietnamese from around Hanoi are quite pale..

The best advice I can give you is compare your model's skin tone with your own and use this as a guide..

Thanks for the tips guys!

NicholasBB

Just meter a gray card and use that. The result is that you photograph things to the inherent tonality appropriate to the light falling on the scene. A white gown stays a white gown, a black cat stays a black cat, a dark skinned aboriginal stays a dark skinned aboriginal, a 'chocolate' skinned African-American stays 'chocolate', a medium skinned tanned Asian stays medium tanned, a pale skinned Irish lass stays pale skinned, etc. etc. etc.

Wilt wrote in post #5542741
Just meter a gray card and use that. The result is that you photograph things to the inherent tonality appropriate to the light falling on the scene. A white gown stays a white gown, a black cat stays a black cat, a dark skinned aboriginal stays a dark skinned aboriginal, a 'chocolate' skinned African-American stays 'chocolate', a medium skinned tanned Asian stays medium tanned, a pale skinned Irish lass stays pale skinned, etc. etc. etc.

Good advice Wilt..

Thanks you Guys,

If i am going to use strobe for my set up, should i also then fire my strobes when taking a picuter of the grey card or white paper? Or For setting the custome white balance just tkae the photo with out strobes?

Sorrry if this is a silly question.

NicholasBB

with metering and custom WB, everything will be ok,

I'm from singapore, and I agree, skin tones do vary.

Hi again guys,

I realy realy am thankful for all the tips ive been getting. So this afternoon, i did some practise shots with my wife and set a custom white balance using a piece of A4 copy paper.

I feel very happy with the shots, but again would love to hear some constructive advise and pointers that you may be able to give.

shooting info. 40D manul exposure 1/125 @F4 ISO 800 two strobes off camera one connected to a home made beauty dish, other one bounced of a wall. Custom white balance.

Was actualy hoping to get mroe defined shadws on her face, but im happy with this as a solid start.

look forward to hear from you

NicholasBB

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NicholasBB wrote in post #5546475
Hi again guys,

I realy realy am thankful for all the tips ive been getting. So this afternoon, i did some practise shots with my wife and set a custom white balance using a piece of A4 copy paper.

I feel very happy with the shots, but again would love to hear some constructive advise and pointers that you may be able to give.

shooting info. 40D manul exposure 1/125 @F4 ISO 800 two strobes off camera one connected to a home made beauty dish, other one bounced of a wall. Custom white balance.

Was actualy hoping to get mroe defined shadws on her face, but im happy with this as a solid start.

look forward to hear from you

NicholasBB

Nicholas,,these images of your wife (and lovely she is) are just a fraction too dark..Not too dark and easily fixed in Photoshop etal..

Have a look at the image's historgram and see where it lies..It should hang from middle to right with a few spikes to the left..