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Archive 2013 · A couple of changes this week

  
 
pokemanyz
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · A couple of changes this week


I picked up a Sekonic l-358 light meter. (Love it) And I figured out a cheap way to color backgrounds.

Here's a quick test shot pic.
Sekonic said to use F14 but did I listen?
NO I had to go 1 stop beyond to F16 and so now it's slightly underexposed.

Background color courtesy of Wal-Mart binder gel.
I may miss this weeks episode of "My wife and I" Not feeling all that great.





Edited on Jan 27, 2013 at 06:03 PM · View previous versions



Jan 26, 2013 at 06:55 PM
ct8282
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · A couple of changes this week


A light meter is a great purchase and will certainly help with this type of portrait work.

My word of advice however when using a light meter is to not let it tell you what aperture to use, rather it should be the other way around. You're the photographer remember. Decide on your settings, aperture, shutter speed, iso and adjust your flash output until your light meter tells you the flash is satisfying your settings, not the other way round.

Great to watch your progress so keep going man.



Jan 27, 2013 at 03:38 AM
pokemanyz
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · A couple of changes this week


Thanks ct8282
I understand what you're saying. I do pick shutter speed and ISO. I could have just adjusted the flash power or moved the light back for a different aperture. This was just a quick test shot mainly to try the background color out.

Thanks for the encouragement!



Jan 27, 2013 at 07:01 AM
Steady Hand
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · A couple of changes this week


Hi,

Quick Comments:

I suggest you pick a different color gel.

And be careful of white balance settings.

And use less light.



Jan 27, 2013 at 10:21 AM
pokemanyz
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · A couple of changes this week


That was pretty horrible Deleted because I can't stand looking at it.
Still working on things -




Jan 27, 2013 at 05:51 PM
pokemanyz
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · A couple of changes this week





Jan 27, 2013 at 06:57 PM
Peter Figen
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · A couple of changes this week


I can't help but thinking that if I was taking your portrait, I'd have the camera quite a bit higher than it currently is. This is not a particularly flattering angle for you. In addition, the further you can get you from the backdrop, the better off you're going to be. And rather than use f/16, try and find a power setting on your flash (or a lower ISO setting on your camera) that lets you use f/5.6 or so. That will help not have backdrop wrinkles in focus.

At the same time you try raising the camera, try raising the light as well. You've been making good progress. Keep it going.



Jan 27, 2013 at 08:44 PM
fgransee
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · A couple of changes this week


Poke, I do like the the new steps - you look more relaxed. I like the lighting better. I agree, the camera angle is a bit low in this case. Choose your aperture so your background will be blurred (open it up). The background in the second shot looks smooth - I am just not sure what the color splash is about ... it does not really tie in with anything else.


Jan 27, 2013 at 08:59 PM
pokemanyz
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · A couple of changes this week


Thanks for all your help/patience everyone!
In this pic I raised the umbrella as high as possible and I'm sitting on a stool.My cheap piece of @#$% tripod only goes to five feet.
I also feel I did a pretty decent job lighting the background. And I adjusted the flash so that I could use F4.
Not sure I like what auto levels does in CS6 but other then that...



Jan 28, 2013 at 07:00 AM
pokemanyz
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · A couple of changes this week


I love the help you all are giving me!!!
It really makes a difference.



Jan 28, 2013 at 12:08 PM
hk_mtbr
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · A couple of changes this week


Much better with red shirt version. Now crop off the top portion of the background and you're golden. Or mask it or clone since you mentioned cs 6. Sorry I can't direct cropping better...I'm surfing on tablet so a bit tough to tell for sure but could likely constrain proportions (on crop tool) and just loose a bit on sides and still chop top down enough.

Glad to see you are getting your key light higher too. Good job.



Jan 28, 2013 at 01:09 PM
novicesnapper
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · A couple of changes this week


Last version

Yeppers, much gooder lol.
Skin Tone check
Shadowing check
Exposure check
Catchlight check

Crop some dead space on top, and present it to the wife! Nice work!



Jan 29, 2013 at 05:33 PM
pokemanyz
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · A couple of changes this week


Thanks hk_mtbr and also novicesnapper!!!.
The red shirt was shot in my newly improvised studio (the gym in a spare bedroom)
Anyway I finally feel like I have a setup that I can easily duplicate for future work.

One of my neighbors has already expressed interest in having me take pics of them and their new baby. I think I'm ready for that thanks to everyone's advice here on FM.



Jan 29, 2013 at 05:44 PM





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