Diana (C&C Por Favor)

c.cloudwalker · Nov 28, 2011

E.Rose, it is time to get your head out of the sand...

You need help. Go get yourself a job with a real photog and, hopefully, learn something from watching.

I take it you are back from your tour. Great. Now, how about moving where there are photogs to learn from? There are none here. Or, should I say, there are none you will know to listen too because you have no idea who to listen to...

And there are not in the middle of nowhere PA either...

e.rose · Nov 28, 2011

Derrel said:
e.rose said:

I think so too, haha. I had an umbrella, but my flash exposure was obviously set too high, haha.

Click to expand...

That was my point about the need for a light meter...an instrument that can meter flash strength, as well as the strength of ambient light, so that you are not shooting "blind". I used the term incident/flash light meter to refer to a light meter that is capable of metering both incident, continuous light, as well as flash bursts; often called a "combination" meter. Think Sekonic L-358 L-358 FlashMaster - Overview

The flash on her hip looks too "cold", as well as far too bright...brighter than the main light from the sun. it is actually as if you have two, competing, sources of main light, which is unnatural outdoors in the vast majority of scenes, especially park-type scenes. The problem is one of balancing flash and ambient light levels, and of light metering. Here is a link to a discussion on flash+ambient Balancing Flash w/ambient techniques: - Photo.net Wedding and social event photography Forum

For those who are visual learners, here is a nice video showing a Sekonic meter and a photo balancing flash and ambient light with the aid of a meter. How to use Sekonic Light Meter Video

Thanks for the info Derrel

shootermcgavin said:
Must be nice to still be getting outside for shoots, I don't even like walking to my car anymore.

Neither do I... these were taken before I left. It's frickin' cold here now! :lol:

gsgary said:
#2 is the best, nice bit of short lighting going on but pose and framing is not great

Thanks for your feedback. :sillysmi:

c.cloudwalker said:
E.Rose, it is time to get your head out of the sand...

You need help. Go get yourself a job with a real photog and, hopefully, learn something from watching.

I take it you are back from your tour. Great. Now, how about moving where there are photogs to learn from? There are none here. Or, should I say, there are none you will know to listen too because you have no idea who to listen to...

And there are not in the middle of nowhere PA either...

We've had this discussion a million times. I get it... you want me to move. *I* want to move. But it's not just about me and I've told you that before. I realize that you don't approve of that and you'd rather I just leave my husband here and ship off to my dreams in Nashville, but I'm just not going to do that. When we can make a move *together* we will.

Making the move is something that is *always* in the back of my mind, and not something I'm quiet about in reference to discussions with my husband either. Constantly telling me to move as if I don't already know I need to isn't gonna make it happen any faster :greenpbl:

Big Mike · Nov 28, 2011

I'm with Derrel and the others about the accent lighting, in the first pic especially. It's too bright, it's too frontal (the highlight is a few inches wide in the photo, where it should only be a sliver to accent the curve and give separation) and it's too blue. And as mentioned, it really doesn't fit the scene well. If you're shooting in a park (or even in a studio with a fake park backdrop) the lighting should strive to look like the subject is in a park, not in a studio. You don't really need to separate the subject from the background in this shot, although her hair does benefit from it...and could actually use more light on it.
It's good that you are trying and practicing different lighting set ups...but sometimes you need to simplify, not add more lights.

Also in the first one, the nose shadow is hard (I think someone mentioned that), telling us that the light was too hard (small/far). But more worrying that that, is that the nose shadow goes up and across her face, not down. That tells me that your light is much too low. Also, the nose shadow looks to be almost intruding into her eye. You don't want to go any further and backing it away would be better. If the nose shadow does get into the eye, that tells me that the light is too far to the side and/or that her head is turned too far away from it. But raising the light higher would fix that issue.

e.rose · Nov 28, 2011

Big Mike said:
I'm with Derrel and the others about the accent lighting, in the first pic especially. It's too bright, it's too frontal (the highlight is a few inches wide in the photo, where it should only be a sliver to accent the curve and give separation) and it's too blue. And as mentioned, it really doesn't fit the scene well. If you're shooting in a park (or even in a studio with a fake park backdrop) the lighting should strive to look like the subject is in a park, not in a studio. You don't really need to separate the subject from the background in this shot, although her hair does benefit from it...and could actually use more light on it.
It's good that you are trying and practicing different lighting set ups...but sometimes you need to simplify, not add more lights.

Also in the first one, the nose shadow is hard (I think someone mentioned that), telling us that the light was too hard (small/far). But more worrying that that, is that the nose shadow goes up and across her face, not down. That tells me that your light is much too low. Also, the nose shadow looks to be almost intruding into her eye. You don't want to go any further and backing it away would be better. If the nose shadow does get into the eye, that tells me that the light is too far to the side and/or that her head is turned too far away from it. But raising the light higher would fix that issue.

Gotchya. Thanks for your feedback! :sillysmi:

mwcfarms · Nov 28, 2011

I'm having the same issue with lighting Em. It's either too flat or too harsh. I have given up till I get my lightmeter for Christmas (I hope) and move on from there.