RockyNH 1st portrait attempt!
- Thread starter RockyNH_RIP
- Start date
Ok, here are a few more samples from today, lighting positions as suggested by Scott (STM) (Thank you!)
Again, still no hair light...
1st ones are the 2 lights through umbrella's as 45 degree left and right and angled down at about 30 deg
These are much more softer (flattering) lighting as Scott suggested.
View attachment 29050 View attachment 29051
I had 2 issues with this set. (see Below)
One was dble catchlights as Scott mentioned and the other was depending
on head position, a large umbrella reflection (see right eye)
2nd Catch light was edited out above.
View attachment 29049
This last was what Scott referred to as Butterfly Lighting, a single light/umbrella
directly in front and above model. I did not have a good method (or time) to experiment
with a reflector in front under the chin to reduce shadows but I was really trying to see the
lighting affects compared to yesterday.. This was a more 3d effect than the 1st set (and I liked it) while
the 1st was definately flatter and also more flattering to my wife.
View attachment 29052
Both affects were improvements on yesterday... so I am pleased so far. Several more suggestions
are out there from others and I will play with them the next shoot... My wife has gone shopping, not sure she
coming home before I go to work!!!!
Pat in NH
Those are looking much better Rocky! If you can, try moving the umbrellas even closer to her to soften the light further. I still can't find that image of my next door neighbor unfortunately. The hard drive on my laptop gave up the ghost about a month ago and I lost some files, I am sure it was one of them.
What you cannot do in the camera you can always do in post processing. Below is an example of a little Photoshop magic you can do with the surface blur tool. Show her this one and tell her you did it and you will be a HERO!
RockyNH_RIP
Senior Member
Thank you Dave! That is how I learn best, by doing and then fixing my mistakes or anomolies that appear... This has been good for me as I have seen lots of little issues like not getting catchlights to large reflections of umbrella in glasses etc that can be dealt with by minor adjustments. By doing, I am learning.. and then doing etc... rinse & repeat!!!
Pat in NH
RockyNH_RIP
Senior Member
Those are looking much better Rocky! If you can, try moving the umbrellas even closer to her to soften the light further. I still can't find that image of my next door neighbor unfortunately. The hard drive on my laptop gave up the ghost about a month ago and I lost some files, I am sure it was one of them.
What you cannot do in the camera you can always do in post processing. Below is an example of a little Photoshop magic you can do with the surface blur tool. Show her this one and tell her you did it and you will be a HERO!
Thanks for the kind words and additional suggestions!! That touchup is a WOW!!! She will be impressed... When I get back from taking the motorcycle and dog out in the snow, I may try and do that myself... I need to learn Photoshop!!!
Pat in NH
I will try to give you the "Reader's Digest" version. Keep in mind not that I am using purely manual studio strobes. I can vary the power levels but that is it. The nice thing about them is they have modeling lights, adjusted in brightness for the power levels, so I can turn out the lights and see what the results will be. The meter I have has a "cable" setting so I just plug the synch cord from the flash right into the meter. I hit the test button and look at what the meter tells me is the appropriate f/ for that ISO. If I don;t like it, I will adjust the power setting or move the whole strobe/softbox until I get what i want. Using that main or key light setting as a guide, I position and adjust all the other strobes, and meter them until I get the effect I want. When I am satisfied that I have what I want, I will take a test shot and adjust fire from what I see. As much as I hate to admit it, digital does have its distinct advantages over film in that regard. If I am shooting film, which I often do with the Hasselblad, I will use my D700 as a guide. Back in the day, you could get a Polaroid back for the Blad which did basically the same thing. They were EXPENSIVE AS HELL and I honestly did not see the value in them compared to the cost.
Thanks for the kind words and additional suggestions!! That touchup is a WOW!!! She will be impressed... When I get back from taking the motorcycle and dog out in the snow, I may try and do that myself... I need to learn Photoshop!!!
Pat in NH
If you plan to do any portraiture work, you might look into a program called Portrait Professional. It is reasonably priced and does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. I will use it occasionally but in many cases what it does to the image is too extreme for my tastes, even after I tone it down. The surface blur tool in PS is usually enough and you have more flexibility and precision. Subtlety is the key to success, regardless of the subject's age. ! I HATE the "plastic", mannequin look that is still all the rage. NO ONE looks like that in real life except a mannequin in a department store. Real people do not have picture perfect complexions, deal with it. Here's a tip, NEITHER do the models on the magazine covers. If you were to look at them without makeup and Photoshop, you would not recognize them!
When I print portraiture stuff in the darkroom, I will often use a Cokin diffusion filter under the enlarging lens. It does a couple of things. First, it will essentially erase grain, not that there is much to begin with with the Hasselblad. Second, it will knock down the sharpness to a much more flattering level. My Hasselblad lenses, the 150mm f/4 Sonnar C especially, combined with Kodak T-Max 100 (B&W) or Ektar 100 are ABSOLUTELY RUTHLESS! They will not only show every hair (peach fuzz) on their face, I can actually see the Staphylcoccus bacteria in the pores of their skin. Ok, that is somewhat of an exaggeration but I digress. For portraiture, they are often way too sharp so you need to tone them down. I had even heard of photographers using of a piece of a woman's nylon hose as a diffuser under the lens, though I never tried it. The Cokin filters work perfect for me.
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RockyNH_RIP
Senior Member
Scott, thanks for the tips and suggestions.. I tried the surface blur tool in PS and it worked!! I did a couple with it and some seemed to work better than others but it was pretty easy...
I also looked at Portrait Pro.. It is pretty slick, they offer a free trial d/l and I played around some.. You do have to be careful but it does a nice job in several areas quickly..
It is easy to over-do..
Face Sculpt feature I ended up turning off, my wife will never be 20 again!!
Pat in NH
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Pat your lighting setup with the help of the experts here really improved (and I enjoyed reading the advice because I'll be getting/developing my own portable setup in the near future)....she looks so much better in the softer lighting. I would try other poses other than straight on to try to find her good side. There is even more beauty there that I think can be brought out. How would she feel about portraits without her glasses on? She doesn't need to see you to have her picture taken. As someone I think already mentioned, angle the shoulders, turn the head, have the subject looking to one side of, rather than directly to, the camera. I realize these are test shots for the lighting setup, but she is still a model and it is as good a time as any to test posing too. If I may recommend....how about a white background? You want to make her seem as light and ethereal as possible. There doesn't have to be uniform light on the background so that it isn't a pure high key image, just something to lighten things up a bit.
As someone I think already mentioned, angle the shoulders, turn the head, have the subject looking to one side of, rather than directly to, the camera. I realize these are test shots for the lighting setup, but she is still a model and it is as good a time as any to test posing too. If I may recommend....how about a white background? You want to make her seem as light and ethereal as possible. There doesn't have to be uniform light on the background so that it isn't a pure high key image, just something to lighten things up a bit.
RockyNH_RIP
Senior Member
Pat your lighting setup with the help of the experts here really improved (and I enjoyed reading the advice because I'll be getting/developing my own portable setup in the near future)....she looks so much better in the softer lighting. I would try other poses other than straight on to try to find her good side. There is even more beauty there that I think can be brought out. How would she feel about portraits without her glasses on? She doesn't need to see you to have her picture taken.
Thank you for all of your comments suggestions etc...
I appreciate all comments as I have so much to learn... We did some earlier in the year outdoors.. tried some with out the glasses and they actually came out quite good.. She preferred the ones with glasses as that is how she looks and it is also hoe wveryone else see's her. I am sure we will try more without.. Posing, that is another whole animal... I need to do some studying on poses etc so I can coax her along but I have to learn that next... Lots of stuff on the net, just got to get there!!
I have white also... in fact white is up now for another project and that is actually a good idea to try that next ( she is out shopping now, seems when she senses "camera" she heads shopping!)Again, thanks... appreciate the input..
Pat in NH