Cindy Again - Step Away From The Model

Bilsen · September 8, 2011

Yet more from the Cindy marathon shoot last week and more advice taken.

ADVICE TAKEN: Put down the 24-105L and step away from the model.:D
As we were starting to lose the light I clipped on the 70-200 f4L IS and stood WAY back. I also compromised with the background and, while I included it, I shot it at f4 and f4.5.

ADVICE TAKEN: Get the flash off camera.
Honestly, I had been doing this already but I heard it on here so often that the OCF 580 EX and Shoot thru umbrella are now standard equipment.

I don't think I've shown a lot of landscape mode lately so here we go.

Click the first image for her full, awesome Model Showcase Gallery.

2.

3.

4.

5. One in portrait orientation

6. and, of course my fascination with headshots continues.

Bryce Wilson · September 8, 2011

Wow John...Can't find one background in these that distracts!:D

Favorites are one and five. I really like the way the reflection off of the water frames her body and the lines from the ripples point to the subject in one. On five, I would prefer if there wasn't that horizon line going through her head.

Art Scott · September 8, 2011

All good but you need to have her actually doing something with her 'loose hand"...in #1- her loose hand (right hand) is just floating beside her head....if had been brought next to left hand much better or sexily laying on her right leg with fingers every so slightly bend over the leg.....

# 3 & 5 ....... do not let the model just touch the hair...go a head and the hand into the underside of the hair so it looks like she is straightening or fluffing the hair......this was advice given to me by now deceased Glamour Photog Peter Gowland about 35yrs ago...

Other than that these are great!!!!

Bilsen · September 8, 2011

ALLLRIGHT. Some more advice to incorporate.

You peole are gonna make me a photographer yet.

Thanks all.

Tim Kamppinen · September 8, 2011

Honestly, most of these still look like on camera flash. Look at the shadows. The only clearly defined shadows are hard and show up as a very narrow strip under her chin. The catchlights are small and right dead center in the pupils. That all points to a (RELATIVELY) small light source coming in directly along the camera axis.

You mention shooting with longer lenses and standing far away. If you had to estimate, how far were you from your model and how far was your flash/umbrella setup from you? It would appear that you had the flash much closer to you and not very far off the axis of the camera. That turns your large, off camera umbrella into a relatively small, on-axis source. The light could be five feet away from you or more but if you're 30 feet from the model then the angle between the light and camera is still very small. If you're using an off camera flash, where you place it (distance wise) should have nothing to do with where you're shooting from. If you want soft light, it needs to be close to your subject, even if you're shooting from 100 feet away. A good rule of thumb is that in order to get soft light, keep your light source at a distance of no more than 1-1.5 times the length of the radius/diagonal of the source. So if you have a 60 inch umbrella you wouldn't want to put it more than 5-7.5 feet from the subject (closer will give you even softer light). Of course, there's nothing wrong with hard light if that's what you want to shoot (bare flash can give great results when used appropriately) but it's still going to be much more flattering/interesting when it has a clear directionality to it, modeling the features of the subject and revealing shape.

Not trying to be a jerk here, just trying to help.

Bilsen · September 8, 2011

MORE formulae to write down.

Seriously, thanks. NO WAY you're being a jerk.

I was about 50-60 feet away and the OCF was about halfway between us probably 6-8 feet off to the left. I have a shoot coming up Saturday (barring this eternal rain) and I'll pay with moving it around.

Tim Kamppinen · September 8, 2011

JohnGalt_ny wrote: »

MORE formulae to write down. Seriously, thanks. NO WAY you're being a jerk.

I was about 50-60 feet away and the OCF was about halfway between us probably 6-8 feet off to the left. I have a shoot coming up Saturday (barring this eternal rain) and I'll pay with moving it around.

Ok, well if you'll indulge me for a moment longer...

Let's say you were 60 feet away and the flash was half way between you and 8 feet to the side. You could draw a right triangle and figure out the angle by calculating its tangent... Anyway it was only about 15 degrees to the side, very close to being on-axis. For reference, classic rembrandt lighting is more like 45 degrees off axis. It's also about 45 degrees above the horizontal. To get that lighting pattern from 31 feet away you'd have to have at least a 36 foot tall light stand! Now, I'm not saying that rembrandt lighting is the ideal lighting pattern for everything, but it is a good starting point from which to learn lighting patterns. Even on axis light has it's place, but when you combine it with placing the light at extreme distances the relative size approaches a point source and you get a look very similar to on camera flash. Get that light in close and more to the side (and higher than eye level) and you'll have more flattering shadows/modeling on the face, softer light, and nice big catchlights.

Bilsen · September 8, 2011

Thanks again Tim. I have to admit I failed geomettry in EPIC fashion all those years ago. It hasn't come up until now, but it rears it's ugly head 40 years later.

If you'd truly like to see that same OCF so close that I had to keep away from the flare, go visit my Cindy-50mm thread right here. The flash is literally an inch out of frame and less than 2 feet from her.

dogwood · September 9, 2011

Number 2! Wow. Great shot. On the headshots, don't forget a long neck always looks elegant. Ask her to relax her shoulders and you'll get that. The trend on headshots right now is to shoot natural light and wide open apertures. Least that's what they're doing in LA where I know a photographer who does headshots and she's booked eight weeks out!

garratt15a · September 9, 2011

No 6 does it for me..Great make up !

0scar99 · September 9, 2011

You're also making your flash work awfully hard positioned way back there, through an umbrella. If it's in closer you can drop the power and get much faster recycle times and more mileage from your batteries.

Bilsen · September 13, 2011

Sorry, I forgot to thank Dog, Garret and, of course, Oscar.

Good point about power and batteries Oscar.

Cindy Again - Step Away From The Model

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