Thanks Steady. According to everything I've read about fashion and glamour photography (and seen) it's totally acceptable to have very hot spots, part of the pizazz. If anything mine aren't hot enough by some standards. ;-)
since you are experimenting,
I would try playing with that bright light,
try changing just that light both with more and less power and see what you like
keep it the same and try the other lights
imho it seem just a little to strong compare to the others except in number 3 which I like
But by playing with the lights, you get to determine the look YOU want.
That is what really matters.
＃3 is best except the 2 tiny dots on each side of her cheek. I can see you have removed them on #2 but not #1 and #3. In #1 they are not very obvious so i guess it's ok, but in #3 they are kind of distracting because of the symmetry i guess.
Thanks everyone! I have more playing with lights to do. Just started to learn lighting a few months ago.
Those are tiny moles on her cheeks, which she asked that I leave unretouched to better show how natural the makeup is. However, I did remove the moles on #2 because I wanted that shot for my portfolio and as you've noticed, w/out an explanation it is distracting. I'll edit #3 for my portfolio, too, but give her her cute moles.
1&2: The highlights on the side of her nose emphasizes the shape of her nose. Without the highlight, #3 looks straighter. Not a comment on her nose, just understand what the lighting does.
I don't know, maybe it's my monitor, but the brightness looks just fine... I too have shot with the brightest lights coming from the side to give it a rim light feel, it's pretty cool!
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I do think I could have turned down the rim/hair light to her right; it was perfect when she was straight on or turned to camera right, and she kept moving, but overall I don't consider it a reject. I don't like the nose being lt much either; funny how a few degrees makes such a difference.
SETUP: (classic beauty setup)
Beauty Dish above model
White shoot-thru umbrella below model
plus:
Silver umbrella for hair & rim camera left, 45 degrees behind model (I've used grids and barn doors but liked the extra brightness this gave)
Deep Octa* for hair & rim camera right, 45 degrees behind model
* I only have the 4 AB800s and I didn't want to take the DO off a light, so I used it for fill; I love my BD for added punch as key.
I took lots of different shots with different setups and even one light, but these were my favorites. Since I had such a dark background and her hair was so dark I happened to like the additional 2 lights behind her. I was going for a very bright, well-lit shot. This was not intended to be a traditional headshot; we wanted pizazz, thus I used a fan on her hair for some shots. Client loves them.
btw...The feedback most helpful for me is from anyone who has experience taking beauty shots and is familiar with the setups, lighting, and looks. Posting examples of your own beauty shots, or links to them and setups would be very appreciated. Thanks!
