What do you think of my lighting of the model?

lukewoodford

FYI, I am Luke Woodford.....by Luke Woodford
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Ignore the background and the shadow on the wall- this is a test shot. What do you think of the lighting of the model? I like it.This is straight out of camera. I wont tell you the setup just yet....

CharityBall083-1.jpg
 
lighting looks ok, and I'd guess, judging from the shadows, a light above the model and maybe a reflector/fill light from slightly camera left?
 
Yep the lighting looks pretty good.:):thumbs:
 
honestly not keen myself, looks a bit flat but has enough shadow on the side of the face to be distracting
 
I don't think the lighting looks flat at all. Maybe the hair merging into the background is giving that impression, but actually the face is sculpted by the light fairly well.

Personally I think that this particular model is crying out for a beauty dish, quite a bit higher than the present light and DIRECTLY above her face.

Then a second light for fill on the dress, or possibly a reflector.
 
I like it, but maybe you need a bit more fill in the bottom half, depending of course on what you're doing with the shot.

Keep it coming Luke, I like seeing what you come up with!
 
Ok basically this is a shot that I would never use for anything however I wanted to demonstrate what can a difference great makeup can make. This is literally my SB-800 bounced off the ceiling and the fashion show I photographed yesterday. Now I dont use flash or lights but I wanted to show what can be done with very simple methods. I see all the time (not just on here) people with all this lighting coming up with stuff much worse. Sometimes less is more ;)
 
Sometimes less is more ;)

Yes, sometimes it is - but in this case a controlled light such as a beauty dish, positioned as I explained, would have emphasied her high cheekbones much better
 
Ok basically this is a shot that I would never use for anything however I wanted to demonstrate what can a difference great makeup can make. This is literally my SB-800 bounced off the ceiling and the fashion show I photographed yesterday. Now I dont use flash or lights but I wanted to show what can be done with very simple methods. I see all the time (not just on here) people with all this lighting coming up with stuff much worse. Sometimes less is more ;)

I know you don't use flash or lights Luke but there will come a time if your shooting models & fashion that you will have to if your to progress up the ladder in the industry. Don't get me wrong I love using natural light when available but you will run out of ideas soon and when you get your head round flash photography you will expand your creative skills as a photographer. :thumbs:
 
I don't like the shadows and her eyes are pretty dead.

To enhance the symmetry of the shot, a beauty dish above centre or a softbox and a big reflector below would look nicer IMHO. Like Garry says.

That sounds simple enough to me, but simple and easy/lazy are not the same thing ;)

Edit: ringflash might have given it a more edgy look. Could suit the subject well, and those cool shadows you get on the wall with ringflash.
 
Yes, sometimes it is - but in this case a controlled light such as a beauty dish, positioned as I explained, would have emphasied her high cheekbones much better

I 100% agree with you Garry your the expert, ive been looking into beauty dishes recently, seen some real cool stuff with them.
 
I know you don't use flash or lights Luke but there will come a time if your shooting models & fashion that you will have to if your to progress up the ladder in the industry. Don't get me wrong I love using natural light when available but you will run out of ideas soon and when you get your head round flash photography you will expand your creative skills as a photographer. :thumbs:

I agree it would make it easier and im not saying its not something im going to do however there are lots of big photographers out there who just use naturallight. Tyra Bank's Mum was one of them I believe. My aim is to get to the point where companies come to me because of "what I do". Im not in any rush. Got the weddings, family stuff, selling prints and my non photography business stuff to bring in the cash and see what happens with this. Im loving it though.
 
I do take your point, there are many great shots produced ONLY with natural light and many with just hotshoe flashes, used to enhance the natural light - and of course using studio lighting with the right light shaping tools is no guarantee of quality.

But there are a large number of people who just don't understand light (natural or artificial) and who seem to think that good lighting is just about quantity, not quality and although some of them may find customers for their work, the more discerning customers will find photographers who do appreciate the value of controlling the light.

This isn't a criticsm of you, I'm just trying to point out that it can be much better to use the right tools for the job and produce outstanding shots, rather than easy shots.
 
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