As nearly always, we’ve gone way off-topic here, but I think that’s a good thing.
I have to agree with Garry on 2 counts here.
1. That’s a lovely shot, does what you wanted and you should be pleased.
2. But I’m not sure it’s helping on your flash learning. Because it appears to be largely lit by the ambient.
The problem with ‘a diffuser attached’ is that they can lead to a false sense of security, as others have said.
There is another way of looking at ‘learning portraiture’ though, you don’t need flash, there are many great portraits shot in ambient light, Jane Bown is a great photographer to study for that.
But arguably, once you’ve learned to control flash, you learn see ambient light more clearly.
And the 2 absolutes to base your approach when learning to light are:
There’s only 1 sun, and it’s in the sky; so all lighting starts with the principal of one key light.
When you’re controlling the light, you’re not manipulating the highlights, it’s the shadows you’re aiming to control.
Yes, that’s good advice, you may remember that I posted it in 2008 and you’ve quoted it at least once a week ever since
Our approach to lighting has changed a lot since those days. Back then, most people bought lighting kits 2, 3 or 4-head kits, mainly because sellers made more money by selling kits than individual lights, and sadly most people believed that more was better, when the reality is the opposite, and they expressed that belief by always using as many lights as they had available. And, just to make matters worse, there was a (horrible) “Venture” obsession with shooting everything against a pure white background, the background, which was usually an oversized softbox, was always far too bright, all fine edge detail was destroyed as a result, and there were no shadows at all.
So, although nobody except
@Phil V listened, I tried to get people to understand that, on this planet at least, there’s there’s only one sun and it’s usually well above us. Use just one light, have it fairly high and use it, not to create light, but to create the right shadows in the right places, and it’s hard to take a bad shot, nearly all of the time.
If that one light isn’t enough, add a reflector to fill in shadows that are too dramatic. Reflectors are good because, apart from costing little or nothing, the laws of physics stop the reflected light from being anywhere near as bright as the light from the actual flash.
And, if the reflector doesn’t deal with the problem, then add a second light, but only if strictly necessary, and make sure that it’s the key light that does at least 80% of the heavy lifting, the extra light should never be intrusive, otherwise we end up on a different planet with more than one sun . . .
Rinse and repeat if absolutely necessary, adding more lights if you need to, but only if they are really needed, and add them one at a time, never start off any shot with more than one light.
But, let’s go back a bit, we start off by deciding what the photo should show, so the emotional/artistic elements, which are the most important, come first. This includes deciding which shadows are wanted, and where.
At that point, we know where the camera will be, in terms of angle, tilt, distance and height, all of which make a massive difference.
Once that’s done it’s easy to work out where to put the light.
And, IMO, these “rules” apply to every shot, regardless of subject.
Phil understands all this perfectly well, mainly because he has many years of experience, but he's also had the disadvantage of seeing me work once or twice and no doubt has worked alongside others, and it's always good to see how other people do things - sadly, although we all gain from working alongside other people, it's getting more and more difficult to do so, and it's also getting harder to learn because most of us now rely on the web for info, and most of what's out there is nonsense.
I had another look at my photos and flashgun last night. I had the flash set up wrongly so although it was firing, as has been said on the thread, it was providing little illumination.
I’m more familiar with it now so will see how I get on next time & will try bouncing as suggested.
Thanks again.
Yes, the flash didn’t do a lot in this first shot – user error – but the principles apply. The point that I was trying to make, perhaps badly, is that although gear has its place, there’s no need to obsess about which bit of gear we should buy, for this kind of shot the right gear is the gear that we already have, what matters far more is an understanding of the purpose of light.
Right now, Neil has the best and the easiest subject there is. All that he needs is food, 12 nappies a day, and warmth. He doesn’t move around and always looks perfect. In a few months he will be a bit harder to photograph, and eventually he may need a more complex approach and possibly a bit more gear, but for now, let’s keep it simple.
