A shot from yesterday

[Big Mike]

Here is one from a shoot I did yesterday. It was just a quick edit since I'm here at work. Any comments or critique is welcome.

 

[Arch]

good one mike, nice and sharp with vibrant colour :thumbup:

 

[NYBrit]

Beautiful picture. Very nicely exposed. Cute expression. Really nice!

 

[JIP]

I really like the color saturation on this one but all around a good pic as well.

 

[JonK]

well done mike...sharp, sharp and good exposure...puttin those alien bees to work i see

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks for the comments.

Jon, I've still only got the one AB800. For fill, I'm using a hot shoe unit with an optical trigger on a tripod (with home made diffuser). I do seem to be getting more business doing portraits than weddings, so I think my next additions will be a background stand and another light or two.

 

[Flash Harry]

looks a tad too sharp for me but nice angle & composition, a decent job.

 

[Christie Photo]

Cute kid! Good job with the expression. I wondering... did you shoot it this tight or do the crop later? It feels a little crowded to me.

You really caught the color in his eyes. Good posing too.

Pete

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks.

Yes Pete, this has been cropped. I think it was actually a 3:2 (landscape) and I cropped it to 2:3 (portrait)...being limited by the height, it only went this wide. Although, because the background is just white, I could have cropped outside the box and just filled in the background.

I don't know if anyone noticed...or if it's even something to be concerned about...but I had the main light too high and to my right and it didn't illuminate his eyes very well. The catch lights are actually from the fill, which was off to my left...maybe too far to my left.

 

[emogirl]

good technically....and great capture that parents will love

 

[mannella]

I like it --lenny

 

[JenPena]

This picture is great Mike, and so exactly the feel I've been trying to catch in my own portraits. Could you give a struggling light-learner a few tips as to how you lit this shot? I've used a soft box with a 1000-watt bulb in it, close in on my right and a white umbrella with a 500-watt bulb on a 45 degree angle on the left but gotten too much red in portraits - although I don't know if that's just from my lighting or the awful fluorescent lights above that I left on when I shot an indoor session a few months ago. Any tips to portrait lighting would be appreciated since you're doing what I strive to!

 

[Patrice]

Mike, I think you did a very good job, I'd hire you for portraits anyday.

Have you ever used one of those large collapsible reflectors. I've had really good results with just one flash/umbrella and one reflector.

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks for the great comments.

Have you ever used one of those large collapsible reflectors. I've had really good results with just one flash/umbrella and one reflector.

I haven't used one but I do plan to get one. Right now I'm torn between buying one at the inflated local prices or ordering from the US and paying the shipping. I do have a big piece of foam core but I have been using a flash for fill so far. I guess I'm worried about positioning the reflector. I want one of those reflector arms that go onto a light stand...that's another thing on my wish list. I guess I could get someone to hold it.

Could you give a struggling light-learner a few tips as to how you lit this shot?

It was pretty simple really. I have my main light, an AlienBee AB800, with a white reflecting umbrella (plan to upgrade to a softbox)...set up to my right. It's about 45 degrees to the right and above the subject. As I said earlier, it was too high in this shot..I should have brought it down lower. My 2nd light was a hot-shoe flash with an optical trigger on a tripod. I use a home made diffuser (as seen in the image below). Although, as Patrice said, a reflector would work well for fill light. I set the fill light to my left, also about 45 degrees...although it could have been closer to me.

I used a light meter to set the power on the lights, basically making sure that the main light is stronger than the fill by about a stop or two (I adjust to taste once shooting starts). I take a reading of both lights to know what aperture to set the lens at and then get started.

What I didn't do, that would have been nice...is to use a background light. I would have set up another flash on an optical trigger and pointed it at the background in order to render it white. In this situation, the little guy was rather close to the background and I was running out of room to place lights...so I had use Photoshop to get the background how I wanted it to look.

I see that you are using constant lights for portraits. Even at 1000 watts, I'm not sure that is enough light...especially with a diffuser. What shutter speeds are you getting? As for the color cast, do you shoot in RAW? That would allow you to change the WB in post processing. Even after adjusting the WB at the RAW conversion stage, I might add a color balance layer just to fine tune it.
One problem with using continuous lights, is that you tend to pick up a lot more of the ambient light. So if you have fluorescent lights in there as well...you have mixed light, which can be a pain. With strobes, you can use a the camera's max sync speed and pretty much eliminate most of the ambient light from the exposure.

Sorry, I'm watching the hockey game and I must be rambling. I hope some of this helps.

Oh ya, here is my fill light...