changing light...?

sarah_19_nz · Jul 29, 2013

So take this scenario. You are shooting a newborn using natural window light but the sun keeps going behind a cloud and then pops out really bright, then goes behind a cloud, then pops out to say hello, then pops behind a cloud (continue this pattern for an hour or 2

) how do you take control of the situation/light so that you are not changing your settings every photo you take? If you had a softbox available would you abandon the natural light and stick the bubba under a softbox instead? Currently my biggest problem and its probably photogr 101 but help a girl out here.

Mach0 · Jul 29, 2013

sarah_19_nz said:
So take this scenario. You are shooting a newborn using natural window light but the sun keeps going behind a cloud and then pops out really bright, then goes behind a cloud, then pops out to say hello, then pops behind a cloud (continue this pattern for an hour or 2 ) how do you take control of the situation/light so that you are not changing your settings every photo you take? If you had a softbox available would you abandon the natural light and stick the bubba under a softbox instead? Currently my biggest problem and its probably photogr 101 but help a girl out here.

Strobed lighting and a large modifier for soft light.

Buckster · Jul 29, 2013

sarah_19_nz said:
If you had a softbox available would you abandon the natural light and stick the bubba under a softbox instead?

Yes. I always prefer to use a light(s) I have complete control over, rather than one I don't, whether that means using a softbox, umbrella, umbrella box, bounced off ceiling, or whatever...

tirediron · Jul 29, 2013

What Mach said! This is exactly why I dislike shooting without lights. I might not use them all the time, but I will always have them available so that when things like that happen, I can pull them out, toss up a couple of nice big SBs and keep shooting. Other than that, there's no solution. If the light changes, the exposure MUST change!

sarah_19_nz · Jul 29, 2013

Great thanks guys, think i'll just go with a softbox and be done with it. It's a shame though as natural light is so much nicer, especially with newborns.

tirediron · Jul 29, 2013

sarah_19_nz said:
Great thanks guys, think i'll just go with a softbox and be done with it. It's a shame though as natural light is so much nicer, especially with newborns.

All light is natural light - the source might be man-made, but the light's the same. Lighting is like make-up; lots of time, effort and skill go into producing a product which looks like nothing was done at all!

Joves · Jul 29, 2013

Well for me it works this way. Natural lighting when it will work, artificial when it will not. And then there is using both when the source is too strong in one direction, or using reflectors to cast the light to the darker side. As always it is the shadows, and light that you have, and what effect you want from them that decides how you do it.

Derrel · Jul 29, 2013

Build or buy a large panel, like a 2meter x 2 meter PVC square, and fire one single flash head through a tight fabric of white rip-stop nylon. You will have created a very good simulation of "natural window light". This type of lighting is often called lighting with "panels", or "scrim lighting".

Panels are the single most-versatile type of light modifier yet invented. The light-to-panel distance can be adjusted, so the degree of hardness or softness of the panel can be adjusted quite a bit, which is not true of softboxes.

Not sure if you can view this USA YouTube video down in you part of the globe, but this is Kevin Kubota's DIY scrim-building video.

sarah_19_nz · Jul 29, 2013

wow thats quite cool Derrel. I'm going to practice with my softbox on a low power and see what results I get. When I say practice, Ill photograph my 3 year olds face lying on a cushion pretending to be a newborn! hahaha

sarah_19_nz · Jul 29, 2013

but I still wana know how newborn, 'window light' photogs manage it? I guess they just keep changing every time the sun dramatically disappears and reappears?! or wait until sun comes back out???

Buckster · Jul 29, 2013

Maybe you could use a variable ND. That way, you could keep your shutter speed and aperture where you want it, and just turn the filter to get your meter needle where you want it as the light changes.

Derrel · Jul 29, 2013

sarah_19_nz said:
but I still wana know how newborn, 'window light' photogs manage it? I guess they just keep changing every time the sun dramatically disappears and reappears?! or wait until sun comes back out???

How about simply setting the camera to AUTO ISO, and a specific exposure. The camera will set the proper ISO level to equalize exposures. On the new-sensor Nikons with amazing dynamic range, this actually works, and works splendidly.