Newbie with question

[boomersgot3]

Ok I do studio portraits. I have a alien bee 800 on the left with a lightspere and a reflector on the right. The right side of all my pictures is darker then the left. Should I get another light or what do you all suggest? Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

Can you tell us more than that? Do you have a light meter? Are you trying to get an evenly lit photo or what key:fill ratio are you looking to achive? What do you mean by lightsphere?...sure not the Gary Fong contraption?

Light falls off over distance and a reflective surface will also absorb some of the light...that is why there is less light on one side. If you want to make the light more even, move the reflector as close as possible to the subject. If that is still not enough for you, then yes, another light would seem to be the logical choice.

 

[spazoid1965]

Ok I do studio portraits. I have a alien bee 800 on the left with a lightspere and a reflector on the right. The right side of all my pictures is darker then the left. Should I get another light or what do you all suggest? Thanks

You could move the brighter light farther away. You could use a white umbrella on the brighter one.

 

[Digital Matt]

Yes, you should get another light, but not until you know what you are doing. Either your reflector is too far away from your subject, so not enough light is bouncing back, or perhaps it is two sided, white on one, silver on the other. Switching to silver will bounce much more light.

In general though, you typically want some shadow. Portraits look really bland with flat lighting.

How are you arriving at your exposures? With a flash meter? How are you deciding to place your lights?

 

[boomersgot3]

I like even light. A little shadow is fine b ut I don't care for alot. I will post a example. My reflector is white and silver and inside it is black and gold. Maybe I should try the silver then and see how that works. What is a decent light that isn't real expensive that I could start off with?

 

[Digital Matt]

If you are going to be doing studio portraits, more than one style of lighting is surely something to think about.

You have a decent light, and after you master getting the look you want with 1 light a reflector, then you'll know what you want to add next.

 

[boomersgot3]

see how the one side is dark looking? This is one of my better ones as some are a little darker. The reflector is about 2 feet from him. And I can't seem to kill the shadow! This is just playing around with my little buddy. This was NOT a paid session.