I am looking for advice on how to shoot Bodyscapes. I apologize if this is not the correct place to ask this question. I have never taken any photos of this style and would like to give it a try. My wife is going to pose for me and let me experiment so my question is where do I start?
I do have strobes for lighting but I'm not sure how they should be set up or if they are even what is needed. I've done a little bit of reading on taking this type of pictures and it sounds like most are done with a single strobe positioned above and a little behind the subject opposite the camera.
Any advice as far as lighting and camera settings are very much appreciated.
Hi Tim, there's a lot of "subjectiveness" to this, however, backlighting is generally a good idea... then depending on how much contrast you want, you can use a fill... or no fill for really deep contrasts, metering is key, not blowing any highlights out. so you have data to work with in post
here's a few examples ranging from 2 lights to 4 for the full body (link, NSFW) - (4x6 softbox for VERY light amount of fill, so as to not clip any blacks I might want data in)
Bill, Thank you. Your post of these images the other day is what really got me wanting to try this type of photography.
Just out of curiosity what mode do you use on your camera? Typically when I shoot with lights I have been using manual mode. I'm not sure if that will be the best for this application?
Above Bill said that metering is key. I'll be using my Nikon D600 for this. Just curious if Matrix of Spot metering would be preferred? Seems like maybe Spot would be best so that the back ground stays dark and only highlights what we want?
Be sure to have something to block light bounce such as a black board or cloth to hang. Also don't limit yourself to strobes. A single open bulb from a lamp can look interesting with a slow shutter.
