Pushing the lighting

silvereye

Does anyone ever push lighting and try new and different styles anymore or have we lost all artistic value in the digital age?? It seems that the majority of the basic portraits I see can be executed with a point and shoot and natural light or standard studio lights... not a bad thing but really..does anyone push the limits??

Here is an example of my latest studio shoot where the dramatic overexposed skin was the intent... I dont know

angevin1

silvereye wrote: »

Does anyone ever push lighting and try new and different styles anymore or have we lost all artistic value in the digital age?? It seems that the majority of the basic portraits I see can be executed with a point and shoot and natural light or standard studio lights... not a bad thing but really..does anyone push the limits??

Several things come to mind. You mention the majority of Standard Portraits...And when you do I think: The majority of people getting the majority of portraits want clean, well lit, sharp focus and do not want anything much else. So yes, I would think that many look alike.

But I disagree that most could be done with a P&S.

As far as pushing the limits, First I heard about limits...other than: the sky's the limit.

Ever look at magazines? I find a lot of cool looks in Magazines. And I see a lot of "rules" broken daily...which I think works!

So...what is the limit?

silvereye

Tom,

That is my point.. you do see that in magazines.. so why, I guess is my question, is it "Against the rules" for a local photographer to push the same?? It very hard to understand, for me, the sit and pose and static lighting... Im just venting haha.. As I begin my 1st advertising campaign, Ive just noticed the boring standard in the localized portrait, model, fashion or whatever studio work here and have started wondering if my approach to studio lighting/effects will be embraced or if I have to conform to the "Standard"

angevin1

silvereye wrote: »

Tom,

That is my point.. you do see that in magazines.. so why, I guess is my question, is it "Against the rules" for a local photographer to push the same?? It very hard to understand, for me, the sit and pose and static lighting... Im just venting haha.. As I begin my 1st advertising campaign, Ive just noticed the boring standard in the localized portrait, model, fashion or whatever studio work here and have started wondering if my approach to studio lighting/effects will be embraced or if I have to conform to the "Standard"

Your question is more clear.

You can conform and be accepted and you can conform and not, and I think it does depend on you and your Marketing strategy.

I do think you can do "it" any which way you want. Some folk's will like that you do "it" differently.

So yes, by all means, push it! Push the limits if that suits you.

zoomer

It looks like you added some kind of blur or over smoothed the skin on the face which removed most of the detail in the face.
There are distracting elements at the bottom and to much dead space on the right.
If you think of this as a journey....learn from this one and give it another go.

What you describe as pushing boundaries and limits......this photo is not an example of.
If you want to see people being creative with light check the internet, they are out there.
This guy is very good with dramatic lighting: http://www.edpingolphotography.com/

dbveto

For most of us we are limited by what a customer wants which is usually the standard portrait. Personally I love to experiment with different lighting and pushing the limits.

silvereye

zoomer wrote: »

It looks like you added some kind of blur or over smoothed the skin on the face which removed most of the detail in the face.
There are distracting elements at the bottom and to much dead space on the right.
If you think of this as a journey....learn from this one and give it another go.

What you describe as pushing boundaries and limits......this photo is not an example of.
If you want to see people being creative with light check the internet, they are out there.
This guy is very good with dramatic lighting: http://www.edpingolphotography.com/

Yes, that is some very good work... thanks for sharing

silvereye

dbveto wrote: »

For most of us we are limited by what a customer wants which is usually the standard portrait. Personally I love to experiment with different lighting and pushing the limits.

I hear that... and I did tweak some post on the images from the gallery...

http://www.silvereye-online.com/Portraits/aly/15212703_5uUBD#1138105108_7H8MK

I don;t claim to be a master of lighting or photography for that matter but love these test shots with the models I work with but it seems that a more subdued approach is what is needed to get a steady flow of buisness

Qarik

silvereye wrote: »

I hear that... and I did tweak some post on the images from the gallery...

http://www.silvereye-online.com/Portraits/aly/15212703_5uUBD#1138105108_7H8MK

I don;t claim to be a master of lighting or photography for that matter but love these test shots with the models I work with but it seems that a more subdued approach is what is needed to get a steady flow of buisness

check your self here..if by subdued you mean, well comnposed, well posed, well it, in focus, and well processed..then yeah that is always going get you business. "Good" doesn't have to be "Creative". Look at it form customer POV...I want a portrait of my family, I want standard "Good". I don't want anything like your victorian shot for example.

What I hear from you is more in the realm of art then the business of photography. The only real mutual convergence of the 2 from a people POV from what I see are high end fashion, some bridal portraiture, and highly motivated ameteurs/hobbyists.

silvereye

Qarik wrote: »

check your self here..if by subdued you mean, well comnposed, well posed, well it, in focus, and well processed..then yeah that is always going get you business. "Good" doesn't have to be "Creative". Look at it form customer POV...I want a portrait of my family, I want standard "Good". I don't want anything like your victorian shot for example.

What I hear from you is more in the realm of art then the business of photography. The only real mutual convergence of the 2 from a people POV from what I see are high end fashion, some bridal portraiture, and highly motivated ameteurs/hobbyists.

I don't think I need checked... honestly... I've done almost every aspect of photography from 3X5 studio work to documentary work.. I do look at every aspect of photography... I do look at everyones page that gives advice.. Smugmug is pretty much a "Testshoot" site for me at this point as I transition into a digital age.. all be it late.. actually a lot late haha .. The simple statement was what is wrong with breaking the rule of thirds.. what is wrong with not using the 4:1 or 3:1 ratio... or whats wrong with stepping away from Paramount or Rembrandt thats all

Qarik

silvereye wrote: »

I don't think I need checked... honestly... I've done almost every aspect of photography from 3X5 studio work to documentary work.. I do look at every aspect of photography... I do look at everyones page that gives advice.. Smugmug is pretty much a "Testshoot" site for me at this point as I transition into a digital age.. all be it late.. actually a lot late haha .. The simple statement was what is wrong with breaking the rule of thirds.. what is wrong with not using the 4:1 or 3:1 ratio... or whats wrong with stepping away from Paramount or Rembrandt thats all

Yes, there are a lot of begginers on smug mug who are trying to get better. This is not professionals type site though there are many good pros on here. In the natural progression of learning, I don't think it is a bad idea to master "standard" good before getting more creative. If you break the rules before you know them..it can show..it can just look amateurish.

zoomer

People should absolutely experiment and try new things and get crazy with it. All of this will evolve your eye and your look.
The change will be almost imperceptible to you but if you work hard, experiment and practice, every 6 months or so you will look back at your earlier work and wonder what the heck you were thinking.

Like these shots you posted here Silvereye. I would be willing to be that you will look back at these threads with these pictures in 6 months and say, "ya know what, the feedback I got was accurate and it helped me to grow."

I can't begin to describe the bushwhacking I took from critiques on my early work. I would do something and think it was great...then I would post the shots and just get hammered! I learned so much from all that hammering .

Qarik

haha..zoomer is one of these guys in my view that are "standard" good. (actually "standard" great).

zoomer

Hey thanks Qarik, appreciate it .