First shots with little home studio

cwoodard

I was finally able to get a basic studio set up at home with an Impact Monolight and paper background set up near a window. Basic, but it's been fun playing with it.

This is my first attempt taking some photos of my son. I would really appreciate some feedback on how to improve. The window is to the left and I had the light set up on the right hand side at about a 45 degree angle. I had to use my kit lens on my Canon Rebel XSi as I had no help and I had to stay close to my son to keep him in place! I will actually use my 55-250mm lens with any future shots.

I think I need to get another light to point at the background so it looks whiter. Any other suggestions?

<img src="http://www.woodardblog.com/photos/507504343_nbCsT-L.jpg"&gt;

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<img src="http://www.woodardblog.com/photos/507503614_K2fkH-L.jpg"&gt;

<img src="http://www.woodardblog.com/photos/507503751_kYCLm-L-1.jpg"&gt;

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D'Buggs

This is my #1 post. Thanks to your efforts, I am coming out of the closet - Thanks for that!


I'm a noob also, but must say that this set is striking (with exception to the few that are really blown out) I commend your efforts and hope to challenge you once I get *my* home studio all sorted out (hopefully SOON).

And yes, that back-drop would've turned out nicer with the use of a second light, or even, perhaps, another simple reflector (?).


Thanks for the inspiration.

#2 would be my choice for best effort but I'd like to see the light eased up, a bit.

sweet caroline

I really like these. Sometimes simple is beautiful. And I actually like that the background isn't pure white for these. The soft shadows add interest and keep it from being stark.

Caroline

cwoodard

Yeah, I was having trouble with recovering the blown out spots. If I recovered them too much or set the exposure down, then the background looked pretty dull grey. So hopefully another light will help with that. Maybe I need to turn the monolight down too - wasn't quite sure how to set that since it's not TTYL.

Scott_Quier

cwoodard wrote:

Yeah, I was having trouble with recovering the blown out spots. If I recovered them too much or set the exposure down, then the background looked pretty dull grey. So hopefully another light will help with that. Maybe I need to turn the monolight down too - wasn't quite sure how to set that since it's not TTYL.

The problem you are combating here is light fall-off. In one case, the lighted side of your son is properly exposed, but the amount of light falling on your background is so reduced the background is gray. So you boost the power of the light and now the background is OK, but you've blown the lighted side of your son.

One way to fix this, move the light further from the subject and wall. Moving the light further from the subject and background will decrease the difference in the amount of light falling on these two elements. Study the inverse square law of light propogation for a better understanding. Here are a few links to get you started:

• Inverse Square Law, Light
• Wikipedia
• The Inverse Square Law - what it means to Photographers

Or, you could put up a large reflector to camera left and reflect a bit of the spill from your flash back onto the background.

Or, you can diminsh the power of your flash to more closely match that of the light coming in through the window and adjust the exposure setting of your camera to accomodate this change.

And, that's just off the top of my head. I'm certain that are other ways to solve this problem.

Oh, and BTW, I think I really, really, like the simplicity of these shots. This is a really nice concept. The wicker provides a bit of interest but the focus is all on your son - where it should be. A very well conceived photo!

cwoodard

Thank you so much for the extremely helpful reply! I'm about to take some photos of a friend's baby, so will try moving the light out. I do have a reflector too and can try that. I tried to with my son, but he wouldn't leave it alone! This baby is younger

Snowgirl

Not to mention that your son is a very handsome little boy!:D

Mitchell

Adorable shots of a cute little guy!!

You did quite well with these. I think a simple reflector would have made a huge difference. Give it a try with a large piece of white foamcore board. You can buy them at any craft store (I buy mine at Michaels for about $5).

I really like #5, but it would have been better with some catchlights in his eyes. Where was the light in that one??

cwoodard

Thanks

I think I will try your suggestion with the foamcore board. I tried using the reflector I have today with my friend's baby, but I think maybe it's too small. I didn't notice any difference while using it.

Thanks for pointing that out about the missing catchlights in #5. I think I'll pull out photoshop and try adding them in. Might as well see what I can do about the background too so I don't have to blow out part of the subject. I did the post processing of these shots in Lightroom, and just couldn't figure out an easy way to brighten the background there.

Thanks again everyone. Really appreciate the help!