I Dont have a light meter, so what now !!

rljutter

rljutter

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Rich
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:( as the subject line mentions i dont have a light (flash) meter, do i need one ?

Looking to do high key portrait shots and got my self a very basic 3 head system, brollies 2x softboxs and a lastolite hilite 5'x6'. I know the theory ( ish ) my key light set to f8 and my lastolite 1-2 stops above but how can i measure this Cheaply, dont want to buy a flash meter if i don't need to

Is there a way ( cheapy or freely ) Thanks
 
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Sorry, but if you think that your lastolite needs to be 1-2 stops above your key light then you don't know your theory:) Try 0.5 stop above, that will be fine if you position your lighting to get the Hi-Lite evenly lit. You should regard 0.7 stop of overexposure as an absolute maximum.

Using that setup will make really precise exposure of the main subject difficult, because of spilled light, wrap and flare. A light meter for the main subject is therefore not essential. And you can judge the exposure of the Hi-lite just be enabling blinkies on your camera.
 
Regarding the theory i did say "ish" lol

Ok and idiots guide maybe needed for me here, ok camera set to 1/125 f8 iso100 do i take a photo of the hi lite and adjust the flash head to the point that the blinkies start to appear ?
 
Test shoot a white card (fill the frame) in the subject position , key light only and adjust until there is a fag paper off the right on the histogram, then test shot background and adjust until blinkies just start to appear should give you a good starting point

Other may have better ideas but that seems to work
 
The shutter speed doesn't matter, but I would say take a shot of the front subject, adjust the aperture to the point where you're happy, then adjust the lights in the background until nearly all of the background (but not quite all) is blinking.

And not your fault that you thought that the background needs that much exposure - that rubbish is all over the internet, including the site that sells the backgrounds...
 
Garry Edwards said:
And not your fault that you thought that the background needs that much exposure - that rubbish is all over the internet, including the site that sells the backgrounds...
Click to expand...

Yep its all over the internet and also on the video tutorials for the hi-lite on lastolite site :)
 
paulminus273 said:
Test shoot a white card (fill the frame) in the subject position , key light only and adjust until there is a fag paper off the right on the histogram, then test shot background and adjust until blinkies just start to appear should give you a good starting point

Other may have better ideas but that seems to work
Click to expand...

On the hunt for white card now :) Thanks i'll give that a go tomorrow

P.s. i'm no longer "New Here" i'm "Quite Chatty" Whoop whoop
 
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Very easy to do without a meter. The way I do it is this.

Start with the front light (HiLite off) because that's the one I like to set for a certain f/number. Get that looking right on the LCD and check the histogram/blinkies to confirm it's right. Now switch on the HiLite flashes as well, and turn them up until blinkies just begin to flash.

In theory, you should now be set, but you'll probably want to do a bit of tweaking because in the average room the HiLight will chuck out a lot of light, some of which will bounce around the room and find its way to the front of the subject. So turn the front light down a bit if needs be.

As Garry says, the thing that commonly ruins this style of lighting is whacking up the background. It only needs to be just over-exposed - blown is blown, whether it's 1% over or nuked.

Tips: to reduce flare, screen off all areas of the background that are not actually in shot.
HiLites are pretty evenly lit if you do it right, but if the corners are a bit grey, leave them and just make sure it's optimum around the central subject. You can clean up the edges in post processing.
Top help avoid hot-spots, point the lights towards the back/centre and make sure no light is able to shine directly on to the front surface. Put a little cardboard flag on the flash to shade it if necessary.
Wrap is part of this 'look' - basically the background reflecting off the cheeks and neck. Moderate this to taste by moving the subject further/closer from the background.
 
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rljutter said:
Taken 1 week to get organised to take some photos of my daughter with some friends using the advice from above, happy enough with them :) made a new thread as below

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=4557158#post4557158
Click to expand...

Just had a look on the thread and those pictures are a great example of how, with a really good subject, you can get away with quite a lot!

But... the background is over-done, there's too much flare, and the WB and post processing needs attention. It's a great start though. Just the kind of subject and style that IMHO really works well with bright white :thumbs:
 
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