Beginner Portrait Lighting

James83

James83

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James
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After recently getting another speedlight and a pair of softboxes thought i have finally got round to having a little play with them.

Its the first time i have tired to use my YN568EX ii & YN560iii together and at the minute i don't have any triggers yet so took me a while to get them up and running off camera together.

Now my aim of this was to focus on the lighting and taking 'selfies' with the timer was difficult at first as couldn't use auto focus so took me a few attempts adjusting the focus manually until it was acceptable.
After adjusting the speedlights to try get an even balance of light i managed to get some shots i was happy with. I have just taken this from the camera and converted them from raw and done no PP at all.

The first was from when i was using the self timer and running back and forward!
_MG_9586 by jamesmeephotography, on Flickr

Then i managed to convince Helen to come and stand in the lights for me. She wasnt too happy with the idea as she hadn't got any make-up or hair done etc etc etc.... but after explaining was just using it to experiment with the lights she gave in and let me take a few shots.
So they not the most perfect shot but i was looking at trying to get the lighting right.

_MG_9601 by jamesmeephotography, on Flickr

Was fairly happy with these for first attempt and happy understanding the light the difficulty i had was understanding all the different modes on the speedlights and how to get them fire together in time with the shutter!!
Happy for feedback on how i can improve the lighting in future.
 
So you persuaded Helen to model for you, to help you get the lighting right, and then you published the photo... :)
The lighting in each shot is very different. The one of you sort of works, although the light could have done with being higher (relative to the angle of your head)

The one of Helen though doesn't work for me. You've been reading red top camera magazines or reading online tutorials by the look of it, and have stuck one light each side of her face. This is NOT flattering and has made her grow 2 dress sizes. The position of the light controls the final effect tremendously. In the real world, there is just one light source, so one light source should always be the starting point when using artificial light too. Further lights are then added only if necessary, and that means that a second light should only be added to mitigate problems caused by the first light.
There are no 'rules' as such, but a good starting point is to place the light fairly high and directly in front of where the subject's face is pointing.
 
Yeah shhh she doesnt know ;) she did only say dont post on facebook...

Will try going back the basics with it again and try get her to stand in front of the camera again and have some more practice with lights at different angles and heights.

Will have to try bribing my son at the weekend when he comes to be my model so i can get chance to play around more. Helen doenst have much patience for anything so only managed to get her for 5mins as i was interupting corronation street!!!:banghead:

Cheers Gary will have another go and post the results
 
As Garry said. Start with one light, and vary the distance - this will have a big effect on both exposure and shadows. And invest in a white/silver reflector, or use a sheet of white card with kitchen foil on the reverse. Use this to soften shadows on the opposite side to the light.

Only bring in the second light when you've got one light sorted. Rule of thumb, as a starting point it's one light per subject - the face is one subject, the background might be another, and if you have a third light like a hair light, that's a third subject. Treat them as separate entities and only bring in a second light on the same 'subject' when necessary.

Bone up in the inverse-square law, which says that when the distance from light to subject is doubled, the brightness is reduced to one quarter - a drop of two stops.

The larger the light source, the softer the shadows, but size is relative to distance. That follows the ISL too, so if you move the light back to double the distance, its effective size is reduced to one quarter - the light will be harder, with darker and more defined shadows.

And hang around the lighting forum below :)
 
Excellent thanks for the advice.

Will do some researchinto ISL
 
James83 said:
Excellent thanks for the advice.

Will do some researchinto ISL
Click to expand...

:)

That's pretty much all you need to know about the ISL. It's always at work in the studio and mainly shows itself as brightness falling off more quickly than you might expect. Eg, in your pictures above, the background appears darker than it actually is because it's further from the light.

And the other thing, also mentioned above, is the dramatic effect it can have on shadows when you change distance of the light. Try a softbox at say 3ft, then compare to ten feet away. Note the change in the shadows, how the exposure changes, and also the background will become relatively brighter when the light is further away.
 
Hi James

I've just started playing around with flash's too. Nice to see another beginners perspective. I fear it may all end as yet another expensive leap of faith for me, but I am enjoying it.

I'm especially liking one light on the model, 45 degrees up and 45 degrees to the left/right. Then one on the white background to make it bright white.

All great fun :)
 
Hi Bruce,

Yeah its just getting your hear around how it all works together in conjucntion with the camera. One day it will all click into place!
 
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