Edgy 3 Light Setup

anonymouscuban

A have a session coming up in October with a 5 local fitness trainers. They are moving into a larger facility and the owner wants to update her site with new pics and also wants some photos to printer very large to put on the walls in the gym. This will be something totally new for me. After talking with the trainers, we decided they want something a bit edgy since it's bootcamp style fitness that they do.

I received my two strip softboxes on Saturday so yesterday, my wife was cool enough to let me do a quick set with her just to get some practice with the boxes, since I've never shot with them, and to get some ideas of lighting and processing. She did awesome I think. I'm pretty happy with these considering they're the first of this type of photo for me. Would love to hear what you think.

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My wife decided it was time for her to take a couple shots of me. Sorry guys:

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Foques

no to self.. do not "f..ck" with this mod..

That said, I love the last pic.

i'm not pro, but I think you're going a wee too far with smoothing skin on your better half's images.

anonymouscuban

. I'm the nicest guy you'll ever meet.

Did do much skin smoothing... I think it may be the high pass filter I applied to give it the images that glowing/shiny look. Good feedback though as this is something new and working to get the recipe right.

Sam

Alex,

Great start!!! I think I agree with foques. You could back off the skin smoothing on the boss a little bit. Also you might want to look at shots like #6. Arm pits are really necessary for us as human beings, but not so for photographs.

Now I really must warn you about your post! It's OK, actually more than OK to post photos of your wife, but you need to stop posting photos of yourself without your shirt!

Right now there are thousands of husbands and boyfriends all around the world getting unmercifully harangued by their woman.

Sam

PS: I had a thought (no wise cracks please) For your trainers shoot, since the they are advertising a boot camp, get some camo and other military type clothing and work off that.

anonymouscuban

Sam...

Thanks for the feedback. OK... I'll watch the skin on the next practice set. On #6, I know about the pit shots but I liked the angle. I guess that's one that I won't be able to do without the armpit. Not many fans of armpits I guess.

As for the shirtless pics of me... you're going to probably want to punch me even more when I say this but I wasn't going to post them because I'm a little "fat" right now. I just started my cut this today for our vacation in October. I have about 6 weeks to drop about 4% body fat. I've done it before but I also turned 40 this year so we'll see.

As for the camo... absolutely. Their logo and branded fitness clothing is all camo and military type. I'm excited about this project. I'm going to shoot it at their new gym so it should be pretty cool. These are just proof of concept type stuff so I'm prepared.

BTW, here is one without the High Pass filter. Is the skin still too overdone?

lifeinfocus

I like em' all. Could you tell me a little about the lighting? Brand, model, luminance rating, anything.
Thanks.
Phil

Qarik

good stuff alex. I stopped scrolling when I saw your face coming up from the bottom of the screen becasue I knew what was coming.

wolf911

wow, great stuff, love the lighting! Great looking models too!

anonymouscuban

Qarik wrote: »

good stuff alex. I stopped scrolling when I saw your face coming up from the bottom of the screen becasue I knew what was coming.

. You're the first person I thought of when I posted these. I know how much you love to see me without a shirt.

lifeinfocus wrote: »

I like em' all. Could you tell me a little about the lighting? Brand, model, luminance rating, anything.
Thanks.
Phil

Absotuley!

Like the thread title states, this is a 3 light setup. I had to large strip boxes with grids to the rear and used as rim lighting. The boxes are 14x63 and powered by Alien Bees AB400 strobes. They were set about 2.5 feet behind and to the sides, pointing in towards the model. You can see them in the first and last photo. The strip softboxes I purchased from Amazon. They were an off-brand but I'm pretty happy with the construction and the price was right.

The main light was a large 30x60 Paul C Buff softbox, no grid. Powered by an Alien Bees AB800. I had it just out of camera view on either camera right or left, depending on the shot and about 2 feet from the model. At first, I had it set high and pointing slightly downward but then I changed it so it was straight on the vertical axis and just moved it up or down depending on the pose height.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Foques

Alex, how easily can these boxes be transported? are they easy to take apart or you would say they are studio use only?

zoomer

These look good.
For fitness, much less skin smoothing, and add a light with an extreme angle from above.

Some of them the light looked a bit soft for boot camp type photos.

I was cruising along enjoying the set until I got to 9......:).

Kidding.....sort of ha. Keepin it real, most guys in their 20's would kill to look that good.

Do you remember the set Albert Dickson posted from Crossfit a couple months ago....It took him a couple tries but in the end he got the light just about perfect.

Nikolai

Nice work, Alex!
Glad you liked the setup!

anonymouscuban

Foques wrote: »

Alex, how easily can these boxes be transported? are they easy to take apart or you would say they are studio use only?

The large Paul Buff box has an umbrella style frame... you basically open and close it just like an umbrella. It takes about as much effort too. Only thing that takes a bit longer is to attach the internal and outer diffusers but that is only four clips and Velcro so no big deal.

The two Amazon strip boxes take a little more effort but still not bad. They have a speed ring and four metal poles/sticks. You slide the sticks into place in the box, then into the speed ring. Then you pull the one end tight and close the Velcro straps over the distal ends of the sticks. Take about 2 minutes tops to construct the box, then another 1-2 minutes to get the diffusers on.

I wouldn't hesitate taking any of them on a shoot.

zoomer wrote: »

These look good.
For fitness, much less skin smoothing, and add a light with an extreme angle from above.

Some of them the light looked a bit soft for boot camp type photos.

I was cruising along enjoying the set until I got to 9......:).

Kidding.....sort of ha. Keepin it real, most guys in their 20's would kill to look that good.

Do you remember the set Albert Dickson posted from Crossfit a couple months ago....It took him a couple tries but in the end he got the light just about perfect.

Thanks Zoom. This was a first stab and I already have some ideas for the next trial. I will definitely be incorporating the suggestions made thus far. I have to go back and see what is making the skin look smooth because I didn't run these through portraiture or anything. It could be the High Pass like I mentioned.

Yeah... some of the lighting I meant to be a bit softer. I was trying different tweaks and such. I want to try my beauty dish from above as Key with the to strips as rims but my AB800 was just too strong. I tried it at the end and didn't feel like fussing with it. Next shoot I am going to try that combo. I think the beauty dish with no diffuser sock will work pretty good for this. We'll see.

Nikolai wrote: »

Nice work, Alex!
Glad you liked the setup!

Yeah... thanks Nik. Those AB400s you sold me have really worked out well for me. I want to get one more AB800 and I think I will be set for a while. Even the 3 lights now can do a lot for me.

Art Scott

Everyone else got the Kudos going great...but my only nit is this and it is not just you...it is with all softbox shots I see...In the ads the grids all look nice and straight and taught...but in real life photos they are droopy and straggly looking......if the boxes with grids are too show... do what ever it takes to get everything as taught as the models bods...seriously....you images are great...this is why my softbox (last one I have 30x60) is heading for the auction block...I could never get the front panel taught as I wanted it.....
Good Luck with the upcoming shoot.......you might want to toss in some color gels in the mix (reds or blues or both) on hair or a single bicep or such........

anonymouscuban

Art Scott wrote: »

Everyone else got the Kudos going great...but my only nit is this and it is not just you...it is with all softbox shots I see...In the ads the grids all look nice and straight and taught...but in real life photos they are droopy and straggly looking......if the boxes with grids are too show... do what ever it takes to get everything as taught as the models bods...seriously....you images are great...this is why my softbox (last one I have 30x60) is heading for the auction block...I could never get the front panel taught as I wanted it.....
Good Luck with the upcoming shoot.......you might want to toss in some color gels in the mix (reds or blues or both) on hair or a single bicep or such........

Art,

That's my one complaint from the Amazon boxes... the grids are crap. They work for what they're intended for but they won't last very long. They're made of some really lightweight nylon-like material. I didn't buy them for the grids anyhow, they were kind of like a bonus. My wife's aunt who is a seamstress is making me some nice grids from heavy material that should stay pretty taught. We'll see.

VayCayMom

Love the expression in the last image, and as always admire all of them, your wife as always a beautiful subject. And as to the "fat" comment, wasn't it you that posted a self portrait as I recall sitting on the floor, very stark, perhaps in B&W.? I think it was and I recall that looked like competitive fitness ready ! Either way you manage to be a great model as well as a photographer.
I also noted the armpit shadow due to it being so very dark. The lighting is not as edgy as I expected, but more dramatic than usual. My daughter had a session like this a few years ago and the lighting was extreme but it sharply accented every single muscle !
Great work, as usual !!

Hackbone

Alex, you did a superb job on these. If you want an edgier shadow move the soft box to the rear and have your subject more toward the front and not the rear. If you have a light meter set your softbox and take readings from behind, even to the edge, more to 1/3, 2/3, even with the front and you will get different readings even though you are staying the same distance from the box.
As you move forward the light gets more of an edge to it.

anonymouscuban

Thanks Charles. You know, maybe it's the practice I got using improvised gear but these boxes make it quite easy to get a nicely lit photo. Really loving them.

I was playing around with the large box last night, trying the suggestion you made to have the subject towards the rear of the box and I noticed that the light characteristics change quite a bit.

One thing I'm going to try, which you mention you do, is to remove the inner baffle. I think that will make the light a wee bit harder. Also, the trip boxes I bought came with a small inner baffle that essentially converts the boxes into large beauty lights. It reflects the light coming out of the strobe back and then the light bounces off the inside of the box. Haven't tried those configs but will tonight or tomorrow.

lifeinfocus

anonymouscuban wrote: »

. You're the first person I thought of when I posted these. I know how much you love to see me without a shirt.



Absotuley!

Like the thread title states, this is a 3 light setup. I had to large strip boxes with grids to the rear and used as rim lighting. The boxes are 14x63 and powered by Alien Bees AB400 strobes. They were set about 2.5 feet behind and to the sides, pointing in towards the model. You can see them in the first and last photo. The strip softboxes I purchased from Amazon. They were an off-brand but I'm pretty happy with the construction and the price was right.

The main light was a large 30x60 Paul C Buff softbox, no grid. Powered by an Alien Bees AB800. I had it just out of camera view on either camera right or left, depending on the shot and about 2 feet from the model. At first, I had it set high and pointing slightly downward but then I changed it so it was straight on the vertical axis and just moved it up or down depending on the pose height.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks much, that answers my questions. Nicely done.

tomnovy

You have great shots. I really like it . there is one thing in those photos that looks hmmmm weird... You have good quality of light there but for me you have destroyed the quality of light with the highlight and shadows slider. The photos look like they have been treated with some HDR-s. To much halos. Try to do the same shots without the editing - you will se that the photos will look much nicer, crisp and better. But that is just my opinion