Brandon - would love critique

[hokies2379]

My first venture into shooting a fitness model. Would love some constructive thoughts.

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[JonA_CT]

How were you lighting these?

 

[hokies2379]

Various ways. Some a single strobe and reflector, some with only a speedlite bouncing.


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[DanOstergren]

Something to keep in mind especially with fitness/physique photos is that you need to be using light that really sculpts the muscle structure. The lighting in these looks too flat to me, as if it was on the exact axis of the lens. If you place the light source at a higher angle, and at an axis that's to the side of the camera, it's going to help create light that will sculpt your subject. Watch your exposure as well; the light seems harsh and the highlights are very hot. I think you could definitely get away with reducing the exposure on these.

 

[hokies2379]

Something to keep in mind especially with fitness/physique photos is that you need to be using light that really sculpts the muscle structure. The lighting in these looks too flat to me, as if it was on the exact axis of the lens. If you place the light source at a higher angle, and at an axis that's to the side of the camera, it's going to help create light that will sculpt your subject. Watch your exposure as well; the light seems harsh and the highlights are very hot. I think you could definitely get away with reducing the exposure on these.

Thank you.


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[hokies2379]

This is why I asked for critique. Now, on most of these the light was about 12 inches above his head and to the left. What could I have done differently? I thought I was doing the right thing thing, considering it was just a single light, but you say they’re still flat. What could I have done differently? This is a legit question Bc I am trying to learn.


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[DanOstergren]

This is why I asked for critique. Now, on most of these the light was about 12 inches above his head and to the left. What could I have done differently? I thought I was doing the right thing thing, considering it was just a single light, but you say they’re still flat. What could I have done differently? This is a legit question Bc I am trying to learn.


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I would position the light at a higher angle. The catch lights in his eyes are mostly centered, indicating that the light might be at too low of an angle and too close to the lens.

 

[hokies2379]

This is why I asked for critique. Now, on most of these the light was about 12 inches above his head and to the left. What could I have done differently? I thought I was doing the right thing thing, considering it was just a single light, but you say they’re still flat. What could I have done differently? This is a legit question Bc I am trying to learn.


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I would position the light at a higher angle. The catch lights in his eyes are mostly centered, indicating that the light might be at too low of an angle and too close to the lens.

Thank you Dan, sincerely, thank you.


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[Kirby Bolick]

@hokies2379

On top of what has already been said I would that your environment could use a little more staging. The background in most of these shots seem to be scattered and weak, which is distracting from the model. Trying out @DanOstergren 's advise and put some focus(and maybe accent light) in your background will greatly strengthen your photos.

 

[Destin]

Building on what Dan said, try moving your light farther to the side as well. Don’t be afraid to try very dramatic lighting. The texture it can create on the models physique can be very pleasing to the eye.

This is definitely one of the hardest types of light to achieve though. What you’ve done is take a speedlight and turn it into a light grenade.. lighting the whole scene very harshly. You really want to scale that back and refine it some, which may require some modifiers to keep the light from flying everywhere.

 

[chuasam]

FFS use a light meter.
the camera's inbuilt meter tends to completely overexpose subjects with a darker complexion.