Bad Portrait Session

[brian_f2.8]

We were able to use a semi-pro hockey locker room. Last I was in there everything was fine. I am going back to the rink this weekend to scout out a few other locker rooms. Yes I am bringing in my gear and doing it in advance. Complete amateur mistakes and thats why I am on this forum is to learn. Portrait and lighting aren't my thing. I understand it but I don't do it often enough to produce the results as others.

 

[Derrel]

Flashpoint CF2127N Carbon Fiber Tripod,Supports 17.6Lbs CF2127

Vanguard SBH-20P Ball Head for Tripod in Heads SBH-20P

Successful team photos, as well as individual portraits, were shot back in the 1880's using glass plate cameras with film speeds in the single digits. Those guys ALL set up their cameras on tripods. Every single one of them. And they did alright. Of course, they had studied photography from people who learned it back in the 1840's.

396_smile.jpg

 

[runnah]

Way too many people criticize here and don't help.

Seriously? Everyone, including myself have been helpful. You can't ask for criticism on one hand and then complain about the criticism you get on the other.

 

[brian_f2.8]

no but there is a lot of ignorance from some. i have no problem being told these photos are awful. i know it but I want help how to improve it. my racing and golf photos have been used on the web and in editorial publications so I'm not worried about me over all, this is a shoot gone wrong. shooting sports and portraits are worlds apart as i have learned. this is my first time doing so and I'm actually interested in learning lighting techniques to become better.

 

[Derrel]

Your case is a fundamentals error. Mistakes with the very basic fundamentals of camera support, and the color temperature of different "types" of light. You made some errors in judgement regarding things like the right aperture to use in poor light; mixed light sources while shooting in color;had strobes available but somehow they were "too powerful", and so on. It's kind of sad that you do not have a mentor or good friend who you can call and who could have given you an immediate, over-the-phone plan of action that would have allowed this to be a success. I don't want to appear to be piling on, but this is a pretty good post you have made. You took on a commission and were not knowledgeable enough to recognize the warning signs while shooting the assignment. This is pretty common these days, with so many younger shooters not having had the benefit of an older, more-experienced mentor who can point out potential shot-ruiners like highly-divergent mixed light, hand-held at f/5.6 in sucky light, and so on.

One thing Brian, I think you've taken the C&C pretty well so far. I think you have "manned up" pretty damned well, all things considered. This is NOT the end of the world, either.

 

[runnah]

Group hug?

 

[brian_f2.8]

I agree D, can't say it better myself. I thought from previous experiences I could do it. I was wrong. I want to know where to go from here. I have gotten a lot of good help and I will use this to guide me in the future. I am re-shooting next week and I will use different equipment. Ill scout out my shoot on Friday or Sat n go from there.

 

[pixmedic]

I agree D, can't say it better myself. I thought from previous experiences I could do it. I was wrong. I want to know where to go from here. I have gotten a lot of good help and I will use this to guide me in the future. I am re-shooting next week and I will use different equipment. Ill scout out my shoot on Friday or Sat n go from there.

Dude.. You seriously just earned more respect here than 90% of the other photographers that "thought they could do it" and then got all butthurt when they were told otherwise and refused to admit they needed help. Good form man.

 

[brian_f2.8]

I'm not one of those guys. However, I do want to learn. No one wants to suck at anything. I'm only looking for help.

 

[fjrabon]

Yeah, I know you're trying to learn and I know you can tell the difference between harsh for the sake of harsh and harsh so you realize the situation.

Kudos on the re-shoot. I've had to do re-shoots before, believe me. It SUCKS, but it usually bothers the client less than you are ashamed. And if you give them good pictures, every thing will be just fine.

Do you have any sort of friend you can bribe with beer for some on location test shots?

When I get home ill advise some lighting gear that is cheap and guaranteed to work and makes use of the speed lights you already have. And it will be stuff you should generally own anyway as a photographer.

If you understand a few basic things, you can take these types of shoots from terrifying to really easy. For these types of shoots we literally give our less experienced shooters laminated schematics that are nearly impossible to mess up. They won't be the most creative shots and lighting ever, but they give you good, workman like results that are difficult to mess up.

 

[Robin_Usagani]

Really try to understand how to do off camera flash and how to mix ambient with flash. I have a feeling you probably need to let a lot of ambient light in so you can see the background so you probably still want to shoot it with somewhat higher ISO and slower shutter.

 

[fjrabon]

alright, some specific gear, I know you asked me this over DM, but I figured I'd post here for general reference for anybody else reading:

Speedlights: You already have

Lightstands: You already have

Brackets for speedlight:

Amazon.com: Flash Shoe Holder Type B compatible with Canon Speedlite 270EX 430EX and 580EX II: Camera & Photo

I'm pretty sure that these will attach to your light stands, as I'm pretty sure that the ones you have are a standard mount. If you want to be 100% sure, you can take a picture of it the top of your stands, without the lights attached, and I can confirm for certain if they'll work or not. They will support your speedlight and your umbrella on your stand. You'd need two of them. I know it says 'for canon' but hot shoes are hot shoes. It will work with anything that has a hot shoe, and this will actually be attaching to your radio trigger anyway.

Triggers:

Amazon.com: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Trigger for External Speelights with 1 Trigger and 2 Receivers (NPT-04+extra receiver): Camera & Photo

These will trigger your lights. They're not the best radio triggers in the world, and if you end up doing a lot of portrait sessions, you'd probably want to upgrade to pocketwizards, but I've never had a problem with them, so long as I changed the batteries out when they died. This one set will be all you need for this type of shoot. Don't forget to buy the AAA batteries!

CTO Gel:

Amazon.com: Rosco Cinegel Roscosun CTO, 20 x 24 inches Color Correction Lighting Filter: Camera & Photo

Just buy this and cut out two strips for your flashes. You may not need it, this will only be used if you are letting in a lot of ambient light. If you're shooting against a backdrop that is completely lit with your flash, this won't be needed. All this does is balances the color of your flash with the other colors of ambient light, so that you have even colored lighting throughout. Otherwise you might get blue hockey players and yellow ice. Nobody wants yellow ice.

Umbrella:

Amazon.com: CowboyStudio 33 inch Black and Silver Photo Studio Reflective Umbrella: Camera & Photo

I find that reflective umbrellas are best for sports, since you want a bit harder light than a shoot through umbrella would give, but you still want a larger light source. Two of them.


This kit will get your job done. If you plan on doing these types of things regularly, you'll want to buy higher quality versions of almost everything I listed, but these will do this job just fine. The biggest flaw with the stuff above is durability. Heck, if you take good care of the stuff above, it will basically work as well as much more expensive stuff. Pros pay more for stuff because they often are forced to treat it roughly. If you baby your gear, you can get away with using cheaper.

 

[brian_f2.8]

Im going to order this from Adorama tomorrow so I have it on Monday.

 

[Mach0]

Im going to order this from Adorama tomorrow so I have it on Monday.

What are you ordering ?

 

[fjrabon]

Oh, and as to how to attach a cto gel to your speed light. Leave an extra two inches on the left and right when you cut it out and just use good old rubber bands. Ie put the rubber band around the flash head, and tuck the extra on both sides in between the rubber bands and speed light.