Help - Indoor Photography - Settings

[KimmyK]

I have been asked to take some photographs for my cousins hairdresser. She is submitting an article into a local Wedding Magazine.



Taking pictures outside I can work great with. But looking at the majority of wedding hair and makeup photographs these are taken on a plain background.

I dont have any backdrops, or any flash equipment. I was advised they have some plain walls in the salon. I know of some locations outside I could possibly use, weather depending.

Im not 100% with setting up my Canon Rebel XTi for indoor shots. The salon has a large window but mainly lighting. So if I am forced to take the pictures inside I will have to work with the lighting available.

Any advice on some settings I could try to avoid the old Bright Flash look. Enough to have a sharp picture to pick up detail on face and hair.

Appreciate your advice.

 

[Duckydoodle]

I found out recently taking pics of my partners group inside that a tripod is a godsend in lowlight.

 

[AliB]

Oh blooming heck Kimmy you really have bitten off a fair chunk with this one. Good hair photography is a tad specialised and uses lights, lots of lights. Let's see what we can come up with in a tight spot though.

Firstly that background. If you are forced to shoot in the hairdressers then that makes it doubly difficult. If you need to use that plain wall then that means you will need to be able to move lights. Sorry, no getting round that one, you either take the background to the lights or you do it t'other way round.

As for lights, since I take it that there is no way to rustle up three studio heads with the assorted gubbins lets see what we can do about that. Two routes that I can think of. One is to shoot with halogen lights and adjust the colour temp (WB) on the camera for the lights. That means you can grab just about any household light you can. Floor lamps, spot lamps, take the lot! If you can try to position the model so that one of the slaon lights is pointing at the top of her head and position your lights left and right of that position. A case of trial and error on the position, move them back and forward and left and right until you get something you like.

The second involves some DIY! You can get colour balanced daylight tubes and light fittings in B&Q. Go grab some and with the aid of some tripods, lighting stands or hairdryer stands (heck whatever you can get a hold of) mount them on either side of the model. That way you can shoot daylight WB on the camera.

As for settings, White Balance would be the first one depending on the light source. You can up the ISO to get better shutter speeds if you find you are getting blurred shots.

Tough one so good luck!

 

[DiddyDave]

Wouldn't a nifty fifty be of use here too ???

(cough)

DD

 

[dazzajl]

Wouldn't a nifty fifty be of use here too ???

I think it well could be. :razz:

Although an 85 might be more so.

All the issues that Ali has raised are going to take some getting around and there will be compromises. The first thing to sort I guess is whether that compromise is going be over quality or cost. To shoot on location without any lighting is going to make getting good quality shots incredibly hard. If the images only really need to document a style without trying to sell the finish, then there isn't really a problem. If showing the "product" in a poor way is not an option, some money is going to be needed, or at a least a favour involving some lights.

If there is more than one model, you could think about getting a local photography club to come along with some studio gear and have a little time shooting each model, once you're done of course.

 

[AliB]

IIf there is more than one model, you could think about getting a local photography club to come along with some studio gear and have a little time shooting each model, once you're done of course.

Now that's a good idea!

Nifty indeed! DD

 

[DiddyDave]

Now that's a good idea!

Nifty indeed! DD

Hey m8 - don't knock it !!!

Nifty fifty's have their place without a doubt - and this sounds like one of them

Happy to stand up for the right tool for the job at hand, however rarely that suitability actually is

DD

 

[hepburn]

what is the location Kimmy? I'm sure there's someone here who may be local and willing to help out.

rebel xti = usa i'm guessing...

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Hey m8 - don't knock it !!!

Nifty fifty's have their place without a doubt - and this sounds like one of them

Happy to stand up for the right tool for the job at hand, however rarely that suitability actually is

DD

You may well be right there.....


that's twice we've agreed today, I'm getting worried

 

[subseasniper]

KimmyK,

What exactly are you photographing, is it the hairstyles your cousin does or is it general interior shots of the hairdressing places itself?

I really think you should bite the bullet and think about flash here. Assuming the ceilings aren't too high in the salon you could use bounce flash pretty effectively, if you can get a hold of a Canon Speedlite 430 or 580 the eTTL metering will help you out a lot. In addition, for some nice effects try bouncing the flash off walls, mirrors etc.

Also, if the windows are of a decent size then mix ambient and flash to get a nice level of light.

This may sound like a hassle but beg, borrow or steal a flash and play with it for a few hours to find out how it works. Check out www.strobist.com for some inspiration and advice.

Granted, flash adds another layer of complexity but if you put in the effort the results should be worth it.

If you are shooting hair then this is something I have no experience with but I don't think it would be easy without some pretty specialised equipment. At the very least you will want an off-camera flash to light the hair from behind to make it stand out.

And whatever you do, please shoot in RAW. That way you can tweak the white balance later on. If you are unsure of indoor WB settings then shooting in JPEGS would be a total waste of time. Get it wrong and your in a world of hurt (or converting to black and white).

Good luck.