Hi Meg - I've seen a couple of your posts in the wedding forum - thanks for stopping by here! I really dig 14 the most - it stands out from the rest IMO.
Thanks for the feedback! I brought my soft box outside for the first time for this session and it was a lot of fun. I am normally a big fan of naturally lit portraits but it's always great to try something new! The snow was a nice bonus.
She has some awkward leg positioning a few times. 3, 6, 9 for example. I feel like 12 is too truncated. I like the light and the expressions you captured.
Awasos23 wrote:
She has some awkward leg positioning a few times. 3, 6, 9 for example. I feel like 12 is too truncated. I like the light and the expressions you captured.
For #3 I told her to look up and spin, which is why her leg is bent. I can see how it is a bit awkward. Would you have suggested for #6- legs further apart/ closer together?
Thanks!
awesome set, I love the emotions you captured working with her.
A little nitpick, but I dont like the lighting on 9, I think in this case following her face with the softbox instead of having it to her left might have made the image a bit more natural.
Miker Reid wrote:
Love the subject and setting.
Good stuff, you have to appreciate a girl that will stand out in the snow for pictures
I know! It was so fun- she was a trooper!
It's a nice set, but two things to realize about flash:
1) If you want it to look natural you need to get it about 45° above the eye line of the subject. That's the average angle natural light comes and the downward angle modeling in flattering full face / butterfly pattern where the "key" light is centered on the nose 45° above the eye line, and the "short" / oblique facial angle combination where the key light is placed 45° to the side of the nose and 45° above the eye line.
When flash angle is less than 45° the modeling becomes progressively less "mid-day" natural and like a deer caught in the headlights of a car by the time it is down and eye level. Low artificial lighting can work effectively in some situations such when it is late in the day and the sun is also low, but low natural light isn't very flattering either.
2) When you move a single flash off axis it will create sideways shadows which will be dark and unflattering. The solution it the same indoors or out. To control the tone of the shadows you need a separate fill source coming from the direction of the camera where it will reach every nook and cranny on the face the camera sees.
Using a flash bracket will raise the flash sufficiently to eliminate the flat "deer in headlight" look in the single flash shot. The centered raised flash angle hides most of the shadows from camera view so for full face poses you can often get by with no fill — most of the face and front of subject are highlighted. When you move a second flash off axis the flash on bracket is ideally placed for the fill needed to keep the shadows light and soft.
The way to conceptualize how the key and fill work together is to imagine starting in a dark room with just the centered fill raising its power until desired detail is seen in the darkest objects like folds of black clothing. Then when the key light is turned on it overlaps and creates highlights. The shadows already lifted by the fill flash remain the same. Keep increasing key flash until the highlights are rendered accurately just below clipping.
The cause and effect is the same outdoors, you just start with the sun at the back, expose it under clipping and the sky light in front is the baseline fill. You then need to add enough fill flash to get the desired detail, then overlap the off axis key flash, either centered 45° above the eyes aimed directly at the nose for full face / butterfly, or placed 45° to the side of the nose and 45° above the eyes for a short / oblique combo.
cgardner wrote:
It's a nice set, but two things to realize about flash:
1) If you want it to look natural you need to get it about 45° above the eye line of the subject. That's the average angle natural light comes and the downward angle modeling in flattering full face / butterfly pattern where the "key" light is centered on the nose 45° above the eye line, and the "short" / oblique facial angle combination where the key light is placed 45° to the side of the nose and 45° above the eye line.
When flash angle is less than 45° the modeling becomes progressively less "mid-day" natural and like a deer caught in the headlights of a car by the time it is down and eye level. Low artificial lighting can work effectively in some situations such when it is late in the day and the sun is also low, but low natural light isn't very flattering either.
2) When you move a single flash off axis it will create sideways shadows which will be dark and unflattering. The solution it the same indoors or out. To control the tone of the shadows you need a separate fill source coming from the direction of the camera where it will reach every nook and cranny on the face the camera sees.
Using a flash bracket will raise the flash sufficiently to eliminate the flat "deer in headlight" look in the single flash shot. The centered raised flash angle hides most of the shadows from camera view so for full face poses you can often get by with no fill — most of the face and front of subject are highlighted. When you move a second flash off axis the flash on bracket is ideally placed for the fill needed to keep the shadows light and soft.
The way to conceptualize how the key and fill work together is to imagine starting in a dark room with just the centered fill raising its power until desired detail is seen in the darkest objects like folds of black clothing. Then when the key light is turned on it overlaps and creates highlights. The shadows already lifted by the fill flash remain the same. Keep increasing key flash until the highlights are rendered accurately just below clipping.
The cause and effect is the same outdoors, you just start with the sun at the back, expose it under clipping and the sky light in front is the baseline fill. You then need to add enough fill flash to get the desired detail, then overlap the off axis key flash, either centered 45° above the eyes aimed directly at the nose for full face / butterfly, or placed 45° to the side of the nose and 45° above the eyes for a short / oblique combo.
Try it and compare with your results here. ...Show more →
word on all this.
cgardner wrote:
It's a nice set, but two things to realize about flash:
1) If you want it to look natural you need to get it about 45° above the eye line of the subject. That's the average angle natural light comes and the downward angle modeling in flattering full face / butterfly pattern where the "key" light is centered on the nose 45° above the eye line, and the "short" / oblique facial angle combination where the key light is placed 45° to the side of the nose and 45° above the eye line.
When flash angle is less than 45° the modeling becomes progressively less "mid-day" natural and like a deer caught in the headlights of a car by the time it is down and eye level. Low artificial lighting can work effectively in some situations such when it is late in the day and the sun is also low, but low natural light isn't very flattering either.
2) When you move a single flash off axis it will create sideways shadows which will be dark and unflattering. The solution it the same indoors or out. To control the tone of the shadows you need a separate fill source coming from the direction of the camera where it will reach every nook and cranny on the face the camera sees.
Using a flash bracket will raise the flash sufficiently to eliminate the flat "deer in headlight" look in the single flash shot. The centered raised flash angle hides most of the shadows from camera view so for full face poses you can often get by with no fill — most of the face and front of subject are highlighted. When you move a second flash off axis the flash on bracket is ideally placed for the fill needed to keep the shadows light and soft.
The way to conceptualize how the key and fill work together is to imagine starting in a dark room with just the centered fill raising its power until desired detail is seen in the darkest objects like folds of black clothing. Then when the key light is turned on it overlaps and creates highlights. The shadows already lifted by the fill flash remain the same. Keep increasing key flash until the highlights are rendered accurately just below clipping.
The cause and effect is the same outdoors, you just start with the sun at the back, expose it under clipping and the sky light in front is the baseline fill. You then need to add enough fill flash to get the desired detail, then overlap the off axis key flash, either centered 45° above the eyes aimed directly at the nose for full face / butterfly, or placed 45° to the side of the nose and 45° above the eyes for a short / oblique combo.
Try it and compare with your results here. ...Show more →
Thanks for the information! I will definitively try it out.
