Lighting Tips for fashion Portrait

[rob_jamieson_uk]

Hey all, thanks for reading my post. Im just starting an new term at college and i'm looking to take some pictures like:

http://dejourmagazine.com/daylies/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/wild-fox-couture-2.... http://fashionsblogs.com/files/2010/07/wild-fox-couture-5.jpg http://superfreshkids.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/wildfox-couture-fall-2010-look...

I was wondering if anyone had an tips/ideas of what lighting equipment would achieve this effect, i can see that its producing a harsh shadow, with lots of contrast.

Thanks

 

[Photodiva]

Hi. Judging by the harsh shadows these might have been taken with on-camera flash. The effects on the colours are done in pp. I'd guess there was nothing particularly sophisticated about the lighting set up.

 

[alexam]

Hi Rob,

I agree with Carol on this. The shots do not look as if hey were professionally taken and you should be able to do better with a couple of off camera flash units and reflector. What gear do you have at present?

On this TP site, there are many items that give guidance to lighting and if you have a look at a web site called prophotolife.com. you will see several videos showing lighting set ups using one light or several. That's the sort of thing you need to be looking for. Good luck.

Malcolm

 

[Mahoneyd187]

I love this style of lighting, and I would bet it was used purposefully and intentionally by a professional, or at least someone who does know what they're doing. Ever heard of learning the rules so you know how best to break them

My guess for the first shot (the second looks soft, result of small room and flash bouncing about everywhere at a guess);

bare bulb strobe, or tight reflector on strobe, quite far back (try 15ft), chest height and slightly to camera left, smack the power up and pound in some hard light...yeeee haaaaaw!

 

[JonathanRyan]

The shots do not look as if hey were professionally taken

You ever read Dazed and Confused? Or even Purple?

Plenty of pros using unsophisticated lighting.

Nothing really convinces me this isn't on camera flash.

 

[alexam]

Danny,

Really!

 

[Mahoneyd187]

Malcolm,

Really what?

I can give you a shed load of examples of shots with this type of lighting, not just by myself but many others, and believe me, whilst I'm not a professional FASHION photographer, these guys are...

 

[Mahoneyd187]

You ever read Dazed and Confused? Or even Purple?

Plenty of pros using unsophisticated lighting.

Nothing really convinces me this isn't on camera flash.

Looking at the shots in the first link, to me at least, it looks like the flash is slightly camera left, in the very first shot the shot is taken looking down onto the model, but the shadow of her shin falls to the right hand side...I'm probably wrong, it just makes sense to me

 

[JonathanRyan]

Looking at the shots in the first link, to me at least, it looks like the flash is slightly camera left, in the very first shot the shot is taken looking down onto the model, but the shadow of her shin falls to the right hand side...I'm probably wrong, it just makes sense to me

Yeah I was assuming the camera was rotated into portrait by raising right hand and dropping flash to left.

It would be impossible to get a definite answer from small shots like that (for one thing you couldn't tell on camera from flash on a stand very near the camera) but I can't immediately see anything that couldn't be done with on camera.

 

[Mahoneyd187]

You are right its impossible to say for sure. I would place bets on either way being a feasible option for imitating these lighting examples

 

[Garry Edwards]

Lighting doesn't need to be sophisticated to work, it just has to be effective.

Some fashion lighting is incredibly complex, involving multiple lights and a small army of assistants, but sometimes less is more - the trick is to use what's right for the product.

One thing that's pretty common though in fashion shots is that the lighting is hard. There seems to be a general feeling, when people start out, of "soft light good, hard light bad" and it takes experience for them to learn that a (paraphrased) slogan that worked in Animal Farm doesn't work in lighting. Typically, as people become more skilled the light gets harder and harder and works better and better, especially in fashion.

Coming back to the question, just a guess but maybe a hotshoe flash or small studio flash on a stick, or it could be on a flash bracket.

Edit: Maybe I should have said that "a (paraphrased) slogan that worked didn't work in Animal Farm doesn't work in lighting either

 

[Mahoneyd187]

Lighting doesn't need to be sophisticated to work, it just has to be effective.

Some fashion lighting is incredibly complex, involving multiple lights and a small army of assistants, but sometimes less is more - the trick is to use what's right for the product.

One thing that's pretty common though in fashion shots is that the lighting is hard. There seems to be a general feeling, when people start out, of "soft light good, hard light bad" and it takes experience for them to learn that a (paraphrased) slogan that worked in Animal Farm doesn't work in lighting. Typically, as people become more skilled the light gets harder and harder and works better and better, especially in fashion.

Coming back to the question, just a guess but maybe a hotshoe flash or small studio flash on a stick, or it could be on a flash bracket.

Edit: Maybe I should have said that "a (paraphrased) slogan that worked didn't work in Animal Farm doesn't work in lighting either

+1 very well put

 

[JonathanRyan]

One thing that's pretty common though in fashion shots is that the lighting is hard. There seems to be a general feeling, when people start out, of "soft light good, hard light bad" and it takes experience for them to learn that a (paraphrased) slogan that worked in Animal Farm doesn't work in lighting. Typically, as people become more skilled the light gets harder and harder and works better and better, especially in fashion.

That's kind of true (well it is now you fixed the Animal Farm ref - IIRC it didn't work out too well....) but of course it depends what you mean by "fashion".

Just picked up my "special collectors' issue" of Tatler and most of the ads are using a soft warmish summer style lighting ATM. Editorial is generally using medium soft light. Quick flick through French Vogue and I'd say it's half and half hard to soft (ads are probably 2:1 soft and editorial is the reverse). UK Vogue Xmas edition seems to favour multiple hard lights. I-D are (of course) all about hard light. But.....if I look at a copy of one of the "cool" mags like S or Purple then there's a much greater mix - almost like they let the photographers decide

I had a Condé Nast Art ed refuse to let me work on a shoot until I promised not to bring any grids or snoots with me.......

 

[Garry Edwards]

That's kind of true (well it is now you fixed the Animal Farm ref - IIRC it didn't work out too well....) but of course it depends what you mean by "fashion".

Just picked up my "special collectors' issue" of Tatler and most of the ads are using a soft warmish summer style lighting ATM. Editorial is generally using medium soft light. Quick flick through French Vogue and I'd say it's half and half hard to soft (ads are probably 2:1 soft and editorial is the reverse). UK Vogue Xmas edition seems to favour multiple hard lights. I-D are (of course) all about hard light. But.....if I look at a copy of one of the "cool" mags like S or Purple then there's a much greater mix - almost like they let the photographers decide

I had a Condé Nast Art ed refuse to let me work on a shoot until I promised not to bring any grids or snoots with me.......

You're right of course, hard lighting isn't a 'rule' in fashion any more than in any other kind of product photography and obviously different moods can only be created by different lighting approaches.

I do tend to talk in italics, maybe I should have been a politician

Maybe I should have gone into more depth and explained that, in many if not most situations, soft lighting is likely to be seen as the amateur approach and hard lighting (done well, which it isn't always) as the pro approach.

Whatever is needed for a given job, it certainly isn't true to say "Soft light good, hard light bad"