Disaster wrote:
Love the location and the compositions. Would like see some light reflected back into the eyes to lighten the iris and add catch lights.
Thank you! Any suggestions on how to do that a bit better without a reflector or flash? Is it possible?
Eride wrote:
Thank you! Any suggestions on how to do that a bit better without a reflector or flash? Is it possible?
You are welcome.
Without proper lighting the best you can do is edit in the iris and catch lights in Photoshop. Just pushing the shadows doesn't usually work because there isn't enough color information and you will get weird eye colors. One method is to take a backup shot with a strong strobe light and cut and paste those eyes into your other shot. Check out Lisa Holloway's work, for example her "Amelia" post to see some example of heavy post eye editing.
I like getting it the lighting in the eye on the shot with either a strobe or reflector. It makes for less work in Photoshop and I prefer the more natural look.
A straight flash works, but it rarely matches the white balance of the natural lighting...which can make the subject appear to be cut and pasted against the background...especially if you use too much flash power. A warm filter over the flash is a nice way to match evening or morning orange sun colors.
You can also use a large white reflector (you can use silver or gold to tune the light kicked back.) A reflector can be more difficult to position without an assistant than a flash because it requires a larger, sturdier stand and the added area of a reflector means wind can be a problem but you never have to worry about it overpowering the lighting.
Here is an example using a simple rectangular piece of foam board (in this shot I held it with one hand while taking the photo with the other.)
Try some stopped down shots (like the last one) to reveal more detail in the background next time.
I think these photos are perfect. The purpose is subject isolation. Telling someone to "stop down" is silly. They were all shot at 1.4 anyways...even the last one...
Thank you! I normally shoot landscapes so I thought I'd shoot wide open for these guys! Appreciate the feedback!
ShaneMD wrote:
I think these photos are perfect. The purpose is subject isolation. Telling someone to "stop down" is silly. They were all shot at 1.4 anyways...even the last one...
Thanks again for the help, Lisa's work is incredible I'll check it out!
Disaster wrote:
You are welcome.
Without proper lighting the best you can do is edit in the iris and catch lights in Photoshop. Just pushing the shadows doesn't usually work because there isn't enough color information and you will get weird eye colors. One method is to take a backup shot with a strong strobe light and cut and paste those eyes into your other shot. Check out Lisa Holloway's work, for example her "Amelia" post to see some example of heavy post eye editing.
I like getting it the lighting in the eye on the shot with either a strobe or reflector. It makes for less work in Photoshop and I prefer the more natural look.
A straight flash works, but it rarely matches the white balance of the natural lighting...which can make the subject appear to be cut and pasted against the background...especially if you use too much flash power. A warm filter over the flash is a nice way to match evening or morning orange sun colors.
You can also use a large white reflector (you can use silver or gold to tune the light kicked back.) A reflector can be more difficult to position without an assistant than a flash because it requires a larger, sturdier stand and the added area of a reflector means wind can be a problem but you never have to worry about it overpowering the lighting.
Here is an example using a simple rectangular piece of foam board (in this shot I held it with one hand while taking the photo with the other.) ...Show more →
