first time with strobe lights

blaser321 · February 24, 2009

Ok ready to try this again this is my second try the first time was with hot lights and this is the first time with strobe lights I got some new Bee 800 lights and a L358 meter I got my beautiful 18 year old daughter and one of her friends to model for me they had a lot of fun doing it too. I learned a lot last time with all the C C and ready for a little more please feel free
and thanks for looking

1her friend

2 my daughter

3

4

5

6

7

8

clemensphoto's · February 24, 2009

WOW! These are just stunning. Beutiful models as well. Great Job

WingsOfLovePhoto · February 24, 2009

Very nice! And a beautiful daughter.

The only thing I find distracting is the 2 catchlights... expecially in #1 and #3 were there is 2 in one eye and only one in the other. The strong round one is way too much. Though the square one are nice an subdued. I use a reflector instead of a 2nd light for fill so I am not sure how you would get rid of those. Maybe somebody else would chime in.

dogwood · February 24, 2009

Nice job, especially on the close-ups. The full body shots, though, look a bit distorted like you were using a wide angle lens?

You'll get a better (and more flattering) shot if you use a long lens and get yourself farther back for those full body shots.

ladytx · February 24, 2009

Wonderful job on the lighting.

#1 (although the whites of the eyes look too white to me) and #3 (wish it was a bit sharper) are my favorites.

lyttleviet · February 24, 2009

I like 1, 3, and 5. Good job!

Nikolai · February 24, 2009

Very nice! Both high and low keys, pretty neat!

I'm sure we'll have fun in June:-)

blaser321 · February 24, 2009

These shots were taken with a 24-70 lens at 35 to 40mm,I have maybe 12 feet form BG to camera. For the full body shots camera was at eye level but maybe it was that I shot these in portrait (camera on edge) but I used the top focus point not the center point so maybe the camera was angled down?

marikris · February 24, 2009

blaser321 wrote:

These shots were taken with a 24-70 lens at 35 to 40mm,I have maybe 12 feet form BG to camera. For the full body shots camera was at eye level but maybe it was that I shot these in portrait (camera on edge) but I used the top focus point not the center point so maybe the camera was angled down?

Hmm that's odd bc it looks like the models are definitely looking up, as if the camera was quite a bit higher than their eye level. Also, the farther away you are from your subject (+ a zoom), the less distortion you get. You might have been too close still with while using 35/40mm. I've read that some photographers only shoot portraits with 85mm+ zooms, but with cropping and standing farther back, I think it should be fine. (But please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Anyway, great eye and great pp. You did an amazing job. (It may just be my monitor, but the b&w seems like it could use a bit more pop though.)

sweet caroline · February 24, 2009

The lighting looks fabulous! I've "heard" Nik say many times that shooting from lower, like waist level, will help make the model look taler.

Again, very, very nice.

Caroline

erson83 · February 24, 2009

as a father with a beautiful 8 wk old daughter, you have just scared the hell out of me!

blaser321 · February 24, 2009

erson83 wrote:

as a father with a beautiful 8 wk old daughter, you have just scared the hell out of me!

yea they grow up so fast I wish i had not waited so long to get a camera

Ed911 · February 24, 2009

blaser321 wrote:

Ok ready to try this again this is my second try the first time was with hot lights and this is the first time with strobe lights I got some new Bee 800 lights and a L358 meter I got my beautiful 18 year old daughter and one of her friends to model for me they had a lot of fun doing it too. I learned a lot last time with all the C C and ready for a little more please feel free
and thanks for looking

6

7

Very nice work...couple of small things. The eyes in six and seven appear to be too soft. You should have nice, clear retinas, and the eye lashes should also be sharp. I would also like to see you fix the big dark circle under her left eye...and clean up under her right eye. It is very distracting when you view a close up.

speedsk8r · February 24, 2009

fabulous series great model

blaser321 · February 25, 2009

reworked

Ed911 wrote:

Very nice work...couple of small things. The eyes in six and seven appear to be too soft. You should have nice, clear retinas, and the eye lashes should also be sharp. I would also like to see you fix the big dark circle under her left eye...and clean up under her right eye. It is very distracting when you view a close up.

ok worked it a little hows this

marikris · February 25, 2009

The contrast is much better now imo. The pupils, though, and the catch lights are a little too stark.

dogwood · February 25, 2009

marikris wrote:

I've read that some photographers only shoot portraits with 85mm+ zooms, but with cropping and standing farther back, I think it should be fine.

Yeah, this is true. I try to shoot my beauty shots (basically face shots) at 200 mm. A trick I use is to put the 70-200 on the camera so that I can't go below 70 mm (on a FF camera)-- just in case I space off the lens while shooting. 85 mm is better but 70 mm isn't too bad for full body shots.

As long as you center your subject, though, and leave loads of room on the edges and have a high res camera like the 5D2, you could get away with shooting and cropping. The wider lenses start having distortion issues around the edges of the frame so the idea is that you crop that off after shooting. Course zooming in as much as possible is better.

And you can make someone look taller with a wide, but the trick is to make sure their face stays near the center of the frame. That way the wide angle distortion will end up stretching their legs but not distorting their face.

AngryRed · February 25, 2009

Great work. I agree on being a bit scared with my 12 year old girl.

marikris · February 25, 2009

dogwood wrote:

And you can make someone look taller with a wide, but the trick is to make sure their face stays near the center of the frame. That way the wide angle distortion will end up stretching their legs but not distorting their face.

Oh, Pete, thanks for the heads up! I am definitely going to put this to good use!

Nikolai · February 25, 2009

dogwood wrote:

Yeah, this is true. I try to shoot my beauty shots (basically face shots) at 200 mm. A trick I use is to put the 70-200 on the camera so that I can't go below 70 mm (on a FF camera)-- just in case I space off the lens while shooting. 85 mm is better but 70 mm isn't too bad for full body shots.

70-200 (f/2.8 IS USM) is my default portrait lens when I have enough distance to put between me and my subject, e.g. location. Unfortunatly it's a tad too long for my little studio, so I use 50/1.4 inside and happily "zoom with my feet". "Fifty" is also MUCH lighter compared to 70-200, that kinda helps too when you shoot for a few hours...

dogwood · February 25, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

"Fifty" is also MUCH lighter compared to 70-200, that kinda helps too when you shoot for a few hours...

True, but I use a tripod in the studio for this reason and more. It's a little easier to get out from behind the camera to provide direction when the camera is on a tripod. It slows me down so I think through my shots. And I don't forget where I set down my camera (the lightmeter is a different issue...)

Swartzy · February 25, 2009

I've been diggin the 24-105...ooooooooooh baby is that sweet!

Nikolai · February 25, 2009

Swartzy wrote:

I've been diggin the 24-105...ooooooooooh baby is that sweet!

f/4... slooooooow

Nikolai · February 25, 2009

dogwood wrote:

True, but I use a tripod in the studio for this reason and more. It's a little easier to get out from behind the camera to provide direction when the camera is on a tripod. It slows me down so I think through my shots. And I don't forget where I set down my camera (the lightmeter is a different issue...)

I actually am going to try this out (I mean, camera on the tripod), if only for shits and giggles. RC1 provides an easy way to trigger it on a cheap, and I do want to be next to my model. With the twins coming this Saturday I hope I have at least a chance...

blaser321 · February 26, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

I actually am going to try this out (I mean, camera on the tripod), if only for shits and giggles. RC1 provides an easy way to trigger it on a cheap, and I do want to be next to my model. With the twins coming this Saturday I hope I have at least a chance...

can't wait to see that lol

Nikolai · February 26, 2009

blaser321 wrote:

can't wait to see that lol

Well, if I like them you may even have a chance to shoot them in June ;-)

first time with strobe lights

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