Challenge with lighting...

[n.hubb22]

Hey All -

I have been given the opportunity to shoot the album art for a friends upcoming CD that is being released early 2012. The artist wants a shot of him sitting at the fire pit in my backyard, roasting a marsh mellow off the flame of burning shoe boxes and record covers. I don't own any lighting equipment but a good friend of mine has access to a lighting kit from the school he goes to. I do not have an external flash either, but could probably get one.

My biggest question is how to make this shot work out. I know i'm in over my head here, but i really want to give this a shot and see what I can do with it.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks !!

 

[dxqcanada]

Take a look through this: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/beyond-basics/225858-strobist-post-your-photos-setups.html

 

[Mike_E]

Photo shop. With your tripod set where you are happy and can leave so as to be in the same position get a shot of the boxes and record covers set up just like you are going to burn them in good light and have him holding the stick with a pre-roasted marshmallow just around twilight first. Then after it gets dark set the fuel on fire and take several shots of that burning.

Raise or lower the exposure of him until you're happy, cut out and then overlay the flaming boxes etc onto that. This way you can make out what's being burned.

You may not need lighting at all but if you do it will probably be just on his face and be sure to gell the strobe (a soft spot might be the ticket here) to match the ambient lighting/fire. You might accomplish the color balance in PS as well depending on your skill level.

good luck

 

[Mike_E]

dbl post

 

[Village Idiot]

Photo shop. With your tripod set where you are happy and can leave so as to be in the same position get a shot of the boxes and record covers set up just like you are going to burn them in good light and have him holding the stick with a pre-roasted marshmallow just around twilight first. Then after it gets dark set the fuel on fire and take several shots of that burning.

Raise or lower the exposure of him until you're happy, cut out and then overlay the flaming boxes etc onto that. This way you can make out what's being burned.

You may not need lighting at all but if you do it will probably be just on his face and be sure to gell the strobe (a soft spot might be the ticket here) to match the ambient lighting/fire. You might accomplish the color balance in PS as well depending on your skill level.

good luck

Lighting would make this easier to accomplish, IMHO. Trying to layer transparent flames can be a *****.

Just expose for the flames and set the lights to expose for the subject.

I'm a fan of using flames.

 

[imagemaker46]

Just use the avaliable light from the flames, play around with the exposures until you get it right, you're not going to get this in one shot. Like anything you want done right, it will take some time and planning, bring lots of material to burn, and don't worry about it not working instantly.

Photo shop, the answer when the skills to do in the camera aren't there.

 

[Village Idiot]

Just use the avaliable light from the flames, play around with the exposures until you get it right, you're not going to get this in one shot. Like anything you want done right, it will take some time and planning, bring lots of material to burn, and don't worry about it not working instantly.

Photo shop, the answer when the skills to do in the camera aren't there.

The problem with this is that often, you have to use a faster shutter speed or smaller apeture to get the flames to look correct and not totally blown, leaving the subject and surrounding area under exposed.

 

[Mike_E]

This is why I suggested doing it in three.

The artist's face is of paramount importance because he's what the whole endeavor is about anyway.

The boxes and record covers are important in that they are an artistic statement by the artist and have to be in there. When you expose for the flames it's Hard to get the fuel not only sharp but just getting it recognizable is tough. Though cutting out the fuel for the fire might be tedious once it's done blending it into the fire shot would greatly help on the clarity issue.

Once you have the artist just right and the fire just right you combine them and you're done in a few hours.

The BIG thing here is though that you don't have a studio's worth of gear to beg or borrow and then have to learn how to use in a week or two. Just break down the project into manageable pieces.

 

[Mike_E]

Just use the avaliable light from the flames, play around with the exposures until you get it right, you're not going to get this in one shot. Like anything you want done right, it will take some time and planning, bring lots of material to burn, and don't worry about it not working instantly.

Photo shop, the answer when the skills to do in the camera aren't there.

Reading the first post he already said he didn't have the equipment or yet the skills, so why the crack about skills? Not everybody comes out of the womb knowing everything. I'm not gunning for you here but I am curious.

 

[imagemaker46]

It wasn't a shot at his skills at all, it was simply a statement about photoshop. It has become a crutch for photographers, the attitude of so many is "don't worry about the photo, I can fix it in photoshop" If he doesn't have the photographic skills chances are he doesn't have the photoshop skills to attempt what would be a complicated photo build to someone that doesn't understand photoshop.The suggestion I made to him was how I would approach the shoot.

 

[n.hubb22]

Just use the avaliable light from the flames, play around with the exposures until you get it right, you're not going to get this in one shot. Like anything you want done right, it will take some time and planning, bring lots of material to burn, and don't worry about it not working instantly.

Photo shop, the answer when the skills to do in the camera aren't there.

The problem with this is that often, you have to use a faster shutter speed or smaller apeture to get the flames to look correct and not totally blown, leaving the subject and surrounding area under exposed.

It should help to have the subject lit with an umbrella to compensate the under exposure, right ??

 

[Mike_E]

Try here Lighting Mods: DIY: Snoots with Color (Part 1) the longer the grid the smaller the spot. You can also modify the shape of the spot by using a snoot.. DIY - Homemade Speedlite "Snoot" | DIYPhotography.net

So, if you use the grid as shown and add a snoot to it you can get just his face lit (just a hair above ambient I think) and still gel the flash to match the fire.

 

[Derrel]

Shoot with a very warm, orange gel over the flash...mixing flames + bare flash looks like crap. Shoot it like an accomplished photographer would shoot it: gel the flash, so that its color temperature is at LEAST WITHIN the same general hue as the flames are. Otherwise, it'll look like a beginner made the shot. Warm ambient light, like that created by the flames from a fire and then cold, 5,100 to 5,500 degree strobe light thrown together looks terrible.

 

[n.hubb22]

Shoot with a very warm, orange gel over the flash...mixing flames + bare flash looks like crap. Shoot it like an accomplished photographer would shoot it: gel the flash, so that its color temperature is at LEAST WITHIN the same general hue as the flames are. Otherwise, it'll look like a beginner made the shot. Warm ambient light, like that created by the flames from a fire and then cold, 5,100 to 5,500 degree strobe light thrown together looks terrible.

what do you mean warm, orange gel??

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Photo shop.

Bad suggestion. Bad PS work is as nasty as bad shooting and PS is no easier to learn than shooting. So, if you want to be a photographer, learn to shoot first and PS second.

Not only that but, although this wanted shot may not be the easiest to achieve by someone with limited knowledge, with a little bit of practice and a couple of gelled (as suggested by D) speedlights, it will come out just fine. Could actually maybe be done with 1 speedlight a a reflector.