Very first off camera lighting shot

CASowers

After reading many, many posts. And after getting some specific feedback (thanks Diva!), I have officially taken the jump into off camera lighting. My first purchase was the 5 in 1 reflector. This shot is making use of the transparent white panel. Flash is on a stand camera right set to manual 1/8 power, I think. I tried my best to expose for the bg and then dial in the flash to get what I needed on her face (sound a little like anything anyone has read on Strobist?? If you haven't been there. Go. Now.)
I'm holding the reflector in front of the flash with my right hand and just outside of the frame while shooting with my left hand. Minimal ambient fill from camera left is weak window light. A lot of spill on the background due the bad attempt to do this without a helping hand. Photek softlighter is finally on order as of today so that I can actually use the reflector as a reflector and not a shoot through panel.

C&C please!

anonymouscuban

Flash is still a little harsh. Instead of shooting through the reflector, change it back to the white reflector mode and bounce the flash off of it. Basically, you'll have your flash point at the reflector, away from your subject. This will make your light source much larger and much softer. I would also bring it a bit closer, maybe just outside the frame.

Qarik

she's very cute. above is good advice..you really need to get an satnd and umbrella though. Lastly the deep shadows around her right eye are killing the shot as well...need more of an angle to the light

CASowers

Thanks guys. I probably should have held off on posting until I got the umbrella and stand combo. I've just been itching to mess with what I had so I gave it a shot.

When I set up the umbrella for shots like this, I'm assuming more of a 45 to her to help eliminate the dark right eye. How high should I set it? Well above her head angling down, just above, even with, etc? I'm sure each will provide unique results that I'll need to discover as I play. Thankfully my primary model just LOVES to have her picture taken!

Hopefully by the weekend I'll have some more examples to post. Thanks in advance for talking me through the process!

Bryce Wilson

Something you could play with until your umbrella combo arrives...

Get yourself a piece of foamcore (Office Max Has It) and use it to bounce your strobe/flash off of as your main light source. You can play with the position of this "bounce board" to suit your tastes. I used to like the look of it positioned above and slightly to the left of the subject. Then, you can use your 5 in 1 as a true reflector to help lessen shadows.

Gives you something to play with until your new toys arrive.:D

anonymouscuban

CASowers wrote: »

Thanks guys. I probably should have held off on posting until I got the umbrella and stand combo. I've just been itching to mess with what I had so I gave it a shot.

When I set up the umbrella for shots like this, I'm assuming more of a 45 to her to help eliminate the dark right eye. How high should I set it? Well above her head angling down, just above, even with, etc? I'm sure each will provide unique results that I'll need to discover as I play. Thankfully my primary model just LOVES to have her picture taken!

Hopefully by the weekend I'll have some more examples to post. Thanks in advance for talking me through the process!

When determining height of your main, you want to make sure you're adequately lighting the eyes. Too high over the head and you will get a shadow casted over the eyes by the brow. Also, you want to pay attention to where the nose shadow falls depending on the lighting setup your using. Check out this link:

http://www.professionalphotography101.com/portrait_lighting/lighting_names.html

Always keep in mind that the closer your light source to the subject, the softer the light will be. With my 43" umbrellas, I typically set them just outside the frame so they're pretty close.

CASowers

Thanks, Alex. That was a good quick read. And diagrams always help!
Umbrella and stand just arrived but no umbrella adapter for the 580ex yet.