A Couple of Portraits

[rexbobcat]

So I just got a cheap lighting set for a few Christmas cards that I am set up to shoot (I'm still having trouble dealing with light fall-off.) Mind you, these are not strobes. They're constant.
(I figured I'd post this in the Beginner's forum, because I don't really know what I'm doing.)

#1

You Sly Dog, Two by texasrexbobcat, on Flickr

#2

Not Sure Which One I Like Better by texasrexbobcat, on Flickr

#3

Version 2 by texasrexbobcat, on Flickr

There's something about this one that unsettles me. I think maybe the DoF is too shallow? There's too much shadow on the side of the face, while there's not enough on his left shoulder?

 

[COLTSFANATIC1]

They look really good to me, Although I do agree with you about the DOF in # 3, And the shadowing seems to be from the placement of the lighting which is not so bad in my opinion.
What exactly do you mean by light fall-off, Im rather new to photography so excuse my ignorince.

 

[MrsLittle]

I think they are pretty good for the lights being used. I have to agree about the shallow DOF, not the biggest fan. The shadow is not too bad on his face if that's the kind of look you are going for. I like #1, it's a little bright or maybe it's my monitor, but I squinted a little.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Good for you! I do like #1...crisp, clear and clean.

 

[rexbobcat]

They look really good to me, Although I do agree with you about the DOF in # 3, And the shadowing seems to be from the placement of the lighting which is not so bad in my opinion.
What exactly do you mean by light fall-off, Im rather new to photography so excuse my ignorince.

What I mean is that, when I was taking a group photo for a Christmas card of a family of 10, a lot less light was reaching the back row as opposed to the people in the front, so afterwards I had to work Photoshop magic to make the lighting look uniform.

As you move farther away from a light source, the amount of light that reaches the subject decreases exponentially. I think the amount of light decreases by 1/4 every meter? Something like that. It's the same reason why a camera's flash might work when a subject is 5 feet away, but when that subject is 10 feet away the photo comes out dark.

 

[tirediron]

They look really good to me, Although I do agree with you about the DOF in # 3, And the shadowing seems to be from the placement of the lighting which is not so bad in my opinion.
What exactly do you mean by light fall-off, Im rather new to photography so excuse my ignorince.

Search the term "Inverse square law" for a more detailed explanation.

 

[tirediron]

I think these worked well, especially #1, but I suspect a group photo of 10 with this set-up will prove a challenge. Good luck!