Single Strobe Portraits: Joe on the Rocks (C&C)

chrisdg

Hello,

So, I've been wanting to get out at twilight and practice some single-strobe portraiture...something I've only done once before. Fortunately, our 15-year-old son Joey was game enough to try his hand at modeling for the first time and I am quite pleased with our debut results together. All critique is welcome and appreciated. Let me have it, I want to learn.

edit >> Our objective was "dark & dramatic". Not everyone's cup of tea, I know. In any case, I plan to expand accordingly as I get more strobes/reflectors/etc. (B&H shipment enroute!)

Gallery of 9 images

Any favorites? (numbers in the captions)


#5 pulled from gallery


#4


#9


#6


note: I think the banding in the sky only happened upon jpeg conversion, but I'll check the RAW files tomorrow.

wadesworld

They're great shots!

I just dislike where half the face is completely in shadow as in #5 and #6. We should be able to see at least a hint of facial features on the shadow side IMO. Maybe a reflector opposite the strobe. But that's just my opinion. Others may disagree.

rwells

The colors suggest that you shot in Tungsten WB & gelled CTO on your strobe. Whether you did or not, I like the rich colors.

I think you did well

Tim Kamppinen

wadesworld wrote:

They're great shots!

I just dislike where half the face is completely in shadow as in #5 and #6. We should be able to see at least a hint of facial features on the shadow side IMO. Maybe a reflector opposite the strobe. But that's just my opinion. Others may disagree.

Check my avatar for a hint about how I generally feel regarding total darkness via split lighting... but in this case I tend to agree with wadesworld... a little fill would have helped on the split light shots. However I still like what you've done here. #4 is my favorite. I like the pose and the composition.

Hackbone

I enjoyed these alot. I'll bet he is very pleased to show these to his friends. That says alot because guys his age don't do that. #1 is my least favorite due to the dark side. 2&3 should have more room in front of the subject similar to 4 if you were to enter them into competition the judges would mark them down due to that. Love the color. Great job!!!

chrisdg

Tim Kamppinen wrote:

Check my avatar for a hint about how I generally feel regarding total darkness via split lighting... but in this case I tend to agree with wadesworld... a little fill would have helped on the split light shots. However I still like what you've done here. #4 is my favorite. I like the pose and the composition.

Thanks Tim and Wade for the feedback on the heavy split lighting. I figured that would be a concern. I've got a gold/silver reflector enroute from B&H (along with a second strobe, tripgrip diffuser, light stands, softbox, etc). I wanted to get at least one of these under my belt. Next time I'll try to shed a bit of light on the darkside.

The positives I take from those two darkside images are:
(#5) I like how the split lighting accentuates Joe's strong cleft chin
(#6) I like how that shoot of straw comes in to penetrate the dark side of his face.
This style of lighting reminds me of a superhero poster.

chrisdg

rwells wrote:

The colors suggest that you shot in Tungsten WB & gelled CTO on your strobe. Whether you did or not, I like the rich colors.

I think you did well

You got it! These colors are out-of-camera via Tungsten WB, fast shutter, and 1.5 cuts of CTO on my 430EX II flash. Post processing in lightroom was limited to cropping, ramping up the blacks in a couple images, and noise-reduction on a few.

bendruckerphoto

#9. I don't like that the shadow side of the face is totally blocked up in a lot of them, but I understand you were constrained by your strobes. Given your equipment and the difficulty of shooting at night, you did a very good job.

Kinkajou

I'm all about #4. That's my favorite by far. I guess some of the other poses look posed, but in this one he looks more comfortable and like he's watching something and deciding whether he should pounce on it.

#9 also strikes my fancy, though not quite as much as #4.

saurora

Dark and dramatic just happens to be my cup of tea:D I'm sure you learned a lot just shooting these, because as I keep panning back & forth through them I see differences that make one better than the other. He is a good looking kid and I'm sure he loves these! #4 over-all does it for me. Super, natural-looking pose. It's interesting to see the change in clothing (especially the hat) how it can help or hinder a night photo like this. The light hat doesn't look like a blob compared to the black. Super shots and I love the color! :ivar

momwac

#4 is outstanding, and I would bet it's his favorite? ... It reminds me of the Gargoyles tv series. If that one were of my son, it would be on my desktop and probably on the wall too (being that it's of your son, not mine, I guess that would be a little creepy ).

I like #9, but I'm not digging the shades -- not seeing his eyes detracts from the drama imho. Same reaction to the split lighting in 5 and 6 as many here, but also am less keen on those because the lighting and angle seem to conspire to make his face look little-boyish -- not as potent for the "dark and dramatic" theme imho. Of course, they'd probably look better to me if I hadn't seen #4!

Your son seems to be a terrific model! Mine knows how to pose, but barely tolerates me any time I point a lens at him. :cry

Nikolai

Nice shooting!
Next time try not to highlight too much of the foregound if you're going for drama

chrisdg

momwac wrote:

#4 is outstanding, and I would bet it's his favorite? ... It reminds me of the Gargoyles tv series. If that one were of my son, it would be on my desktop and probably on the wall too (being that it's of your son, not mine, I guess that would be a little creepy ).

I like #9, but I'm not digging the shades -- not seeing his eyes detracts from the drama imho. Same reaction to the split lighting in 5 and 6 as many here, but also am less keen on those because the lighting and angle seem to conspire to make his face look little-boyish -- not as potent for the "dark and dramatic" theme imho. Of course, they'd probably look better to me if I hadn't seen #4!

Your son seems to be a terrific model! Mine knows how to pose, but barely tolerates me any time I point a lens at him. :cry

Thanks for the comments. Yes, Joe definitely enjoyed the photo session and the results. And you go it, #4 is his favorite too. Of course, it's his facebook avatar now.

I'm thinking about ordering a Fotoflot of #4.