Request for advice on how to produce something similar to this - Photo results added

photonumpty · 21 Apr 2010

About 2 years ago when my wife was pregnant with our first child I posted a similar question to this.

I posted a photo I had seen on the web and I asked for advice on how to reproduce something similar. Loads of people helped out and I was able to get a shot that I was very pleased with in the end. One that I still think is one of my best shots (although I'm somewhat biased by the subject matter...

)

Two years later and baby number 2 is coming....
and in some respects i'm even more nervous of messing these photos up than I was last time...

So once again I'm asking for some advice on how to reproduce a photo that I have seen on the web. The hardest thing I found to deal with last time was the white background, so this time we are going to try for black.

For what it is worth, if it impacts on anything i will be using a 40d, 50mm 1.4, two elinchom 400 D-lites and two soft boxes in a space about 12ft by 8ft

Any help, advice or words of wisdom would be very gratefully received.

Cheers,
Photonumpty

ps. Just in case i hadn't made it clear the above photo is not mine, I did not photograph it and I do not own it

Garry Edwards · 22 Apr 2010

Congratulations on the bab(ies)
It's just a large diffused light (probably a softbox) to the right. There was a reflector on the left.
To make it much better, there needs to be a light on each side, they need to be further away and there should be a very gentle fill light too.

photonumpty · 22 Apr 2010

Hi Gary, good to hear from you again!
You were one of the guys that helped me out massively last time and I have been promising myself to sign up to your photolearn tutorials ever since... i'll get there I promise

Ok... I can do two lights and put them on either side. Are you suggesting behind the model to form a sort of rim light or do you mean square on.. ? I am assuming you dont mean behind the camera at all as i'm guessing this would light the background which I think i want to avoid.

You mention a fill light... i'm scuppered for more lights but I have a reflector would this do?

So if I have any of this right are we looking at two soft boxes on either side, as far away as possible and behind slightly - quite high up.. above the level of the feet and a reflector more or less under the camera throwing some light back toward the models head?

Of course if I keep asking this many questions I may as well ask you to pop round for a beer and press the shutter on the way out...

Cheers in advance,

Mat

Garry Edwards · 22 Apr 2010

I'm suggesting 1 softbox each side, as far away as you can from your boss, and slightly behind - you'll have to experiment with exact positions

You may or may not need the fill light, my guess is that it will be a good idea to have it, but it just needs to add a touch of fill.

Don't tell a guy on here who seems to think that I'm against hotshoe flashes

but a hotshoe flash on camera, set on manual and at low power, will do the job perfectly. If you haven't got a hotshoe flash then the popup flash will do.

Thanks for the offer of a beer, but crossing the Menai bridge for a pint is a bit extreme even for me...

photonumpty · 22 Apr 2010

Now now.. they stopped burning the English out in the 80's so it's quite safe on the island now... perhaps a tad far.

Thanks for the all the advice and i'll post up some results as soon as I can convince the all powerful one to yet again disrobe for me... could be tricky.. she is currently describing herself as a cross between a walrus and a chaise longue...

Garry Edwards · 22 Apr 2010

photonumpty said:
Now now.. they stopped burning the English out in the 80's so it's quite safe on the island now... perhaps a tad far.

Thanks for the all the advice and i'll post up some results as soon as I can convince the all powerful one to yet again disrobe for me... could be tricky.. she is currently describing herself as a cross between a walrus and a chaise longue...

Then how the hell did she become pregnant? :lol:

photonumpty · 22 Apr 2010

Well... I am a marine biologist..... and you would be amazed at the many uses for a pot of Lord Sheratons Pure Bee's Wax Furniture polish...

Oh man now im in trouble.. I will have to delete this thread or face imminent divorce!

ukglyn · 25 Apr 2010

Great thread you pair should be on telly!

Glad I come across this thread though as I have been trying to get a similar result, though my mrs aint getting pregnant again, b****r that!!!! :lol:

photonumpty · 30 Jun 2010

Right here goes...

First off thank you to everyone that chipped in on advice as to how to produce something similar to the above. Unfortunately... I utterly failed.

Apart from failing to plan the whole shebang properly and then attempting to do it all in the 30 minutes between putting our son to bed and watching my model fall asleep... The space we have in our house just isn't big enough and at one point I was practically inside a fireplace trying to get enough room in the shot to cover both outstretched hands and upright feet... maybe a good excuse to ditch the 40D and go full frame?

No I don't think she will swing for that either.

Anyway the best I could do involved pulling my wife's arms in towards her head which for some reason just made her look bound (if not gagged) by the silk scarf thing and suddenly we were into a whole different sort of photography.

So we ditched that idea and tried these instead.

So what I am looking for is what you think and what you would do differently.

I have done them in BW purely because I prefer images of people in BW, just a personal thing and the borders are just a test. But I am having real trouble deciding on whether I have cocked the skin tones up or maybe the scarf is too bright...

Anyway let me know what you think.... and If I get my skates on I will have another go with any suggestions... have to be quick mind as we only have about 3 weeks to go!