First attempt at studio portraits! C&C please!!

[BradSut26]

finally set up a makeshift studio today. my brother was the only model i had. these are the best i got from todays shoot.

i know on some of the photos (if not all) the features are a little soft. especially for a male. but my lighting was bad so i had to smooth it out a bit to reduce noise. so aside from that. what do you guys think??

 

[Am I there yet]

I have recently started shooting in a 'studio' environment myself. I have quickly learned that you can only do so much with noise and improperly exposed images. If its not there, its not there. Re-shoot. Other than that, 2 & 4 are the most dramatic and have signs of good things to come. Use reflectors to bounce back what little light you have. Good luck.

 

[cnutco]

What was the setup? You need more lights!

 

[BradSut26]

thanks for the replies guys. i was using the overhead light in the room i was in as well as two small lights my dad bought me for macro photography and still life. i used extra upholstery fabric we had as the background. it was either black or purple. so i went with black

 

[Patrice]

Double post.

 

[cameramike]

you don't need "more lights" you just need appropriate lights. pick up two 10" reflectors from Home Depot and 100 watt equivalent compact fluorescents (go with the fluorescent because you can pick the kelvin rating that will best match what you want to mix the lighting with and they last a hell of a lot longer and do not heat up). Cheap and simple usually is the best. Softening the skin shouldn't be a fix but a choice made once you have done all your editing work to better the images, unfortunately I don't feel it does much for these. Another tip, get a catch light in the eyes, it will bring life to his face first try lighting with a simple setup, key light 45 degrees from the subject and fill light as close to 0 degrees from the camera as you can and further back (or choose a lower wattage bulb). Start with basic lighting setup and then once you see how the light works go from there. Even better, start with just one light and work from there.

 

[aprock83]

i use clamp lights when i need anything other than my speedlight on a light stand. and you can never have too many reflectors, u can get foam core at the dollar store.

 

[virustai]

good effort

 

[KellyWeimert]

I think the poses are pretty cliche, and you could benefit from different lighting. I also keep wanting him to put his hand down. I find it distracting. However, I think it's a great first effort, and will be looking forward to seeing what else you come up with!

 

[Truefocus]

Nice poses and a good dramatic effect. Try and experiment with other hand poses to add some variety to your shots other than the "thinker" pose. Might want to add a hair light when photographing models with dark or black hair (and dark clothing) to separate your subject from the background so he doesn't blend (unless that was the effect you were going for.) If you use a background light, try playing around with some colored gels too for a strong color accent behind your model.

Good luck in the future. Look forward to seeing more or your work.

Ken .