First flash setup and "shoot"

[sam_justice]

So what is reasonable ratio?

Completely depends on what you want to do.
Portrait Photography Lighting - photography light ratios

I edited one of the shots in PS quick aside from my other shoulder not in frame I personally think this is well lit. Aside from the shadow under my chin. What do you think? Be as harsh as possible!

Another thing you need to consider, when shooting portraits, is the pose and/or angle of the subject to the camera. Having your model sitting square and facing the camera, is rarely the best option.

In this case, I don't like the hard side lighting, deep ratio and the straight on pose. It creates a very defined nose shadow which takes up a lot of space on the face. (the shadow, not the nose :er: )

This is one reason why is soft light is nice, it's more forgiving of your shadow placement.

One thing to watch for, when placing your subject & light, is where the catch light shows up...which is why it's so much harder without a model or stand in. At first, shoot for the catch light to be at either 10:00 or 2:00.
I think you are pretty close here, but I'd still suggest bringing the light around closer to the camera and raising it up a bit. You don't want the nose shadow to intrude into the eye.

If I were shooting, I'd have you turn to your right (our left)...thus hiding some of the lit side of your face, which is called 'short' lighting. If you turn enough so that the nose shadow meets up with the cheek shadow, leaving a triangle of light, it would be called 'Rembrandt' lighting.

It might be helpful for you to look up some of the basic portrait lighting terms/styles etc. Things like short lighting vs broad lighting. Loop, Rembrandt, split, butterfly etc.
Learn what these basic lighting styles look like and learn how to achieve them.
You don't have to use a specific one each time you shoot...but learning how to do them will be extremely beneficial.

I think it's probably good that you only have one light right now (or are only using one). That is a great way to learn. Too many people start with two, three or four lights, which can make it more complicated to learn the basics.

I'd

With the catch light, is it more to do with the fact that if the catch light is in the correct place then the general lighting on the face should be alright?

Do you think it's worth me practising with the light with no softbox? Or is there no point doing that?

Where did you purchase your stand at? And for how much?

Amazon.com: Westcott 750 Photo Basics 7.0-Foot Light Stand: Camera & Photo

On your next sequence of test shots, try having the light at 45° from camera and pointing at you at 45° above. Place the light just out of frame and knock down the power to 1/8 to 1/4. Having the light closer to the subject increases its size and offers a softer light, which also requires less power to light. Place a reflector of some sort opposite the main light to draw detail on the shadow side. Report back to us.

I don't have a reflector, but a circular cutout of cardboard and some foil will do won't it? Or will the foil cast too harsh a light?

 

[sam_justice]

Sorry for the double post, is there a good reference or book on this? Similar in vein I guess as "Understanding Exposure".

 

[Big Mike]

With the catch light, is it more to do with the fact that if the catch light is in the correct place then the general lighting on the face should be alright?

That's the idea, but it's also good to have a nice catch light to complete the portrait.

Do you think it's worth me practising with the light with no softbox? Or is there no point doing that?

Absolutely. The hard light lets you see exactly what affect your light position is having on the model's lighting.
Like I said, softer light is more forgiving, so if you can learn this stuff with a hard light, adding the softbox might seem easy.

 

[kundalini]

Where did you purchase your stand at? And for how much?

I would suggest an 8' to 10' light stand. Reason being that 8'-10' can easily get above your subject (excluding NBA players ) My last light duty stand was this one. I does be pretty good. If you want to add a soft box or something with some weight, I'd suggest a studio boom. I have this one and have been more than happy with it.

You'll also want a universal adapter to mount the light on the stand and an umbrella if you want. It will give you pivot function.

I don't have a reflector, but a circular cutout of cardboard and some foil will do won't it? Or will the foil cast too harsh a light?

You can fashion one out of anything really. The foil is a good thought, but will yeild a more contrasty light than one that's white. A simple foam core board from a craft shop is sufficient.

 

[Blake.Oney]

The first reflector I ever made I actually still use sometime haha. I bought a piece of white foam core and I had one of those sun deflectors for a car laying around. I cut it to match the foam core and used rubber cement to mount it to the foam core. Then I used duct tape to border around it. Here's a pic. I just snapped it.


Also if you look there is a pretty good example of how exposure reacts to different surfaces here.

 

[sam_justice]

The first reflector I ever made I actually still use sometime haha. I bought a piece of white foam core and I had one of those sun deflectors for a car laying around. I cut it to match the foam core and used rubber cement to mount it to the foam core. Then I used duct tape to border around it. Here's a pic. I just snapped it.


Also if you look there is a pretty good example of how exposure reacts to different surfaces here.

Love the idea of the sun deflector, I will be doing that!

Okay, so this is Rembrandt lighting isn't it? My main (and only) light hitting the side of my face, creating a triangle under the eye.

 

[Big Mike]

That's pretty close. I think it would be 'more Rembrandt' if the light source was higher.

I don't claim to be the authority on it...but here are a couple shots of my sister than I did for my Rembrandt assignment in my portrait lighting class.

In the 2nd one, to make it 'more Rembrandt', I should have had the light farther around to my left, getting the nose shadow to come across the cheek a wee bit more.

 

[sam_justice]

That's pretty close. I think it would be 'more Rembrandt' if the light source was higher.

Slowly but surely! It's getting late now so I'm gonna stop, I'm all dazed from the 100's of flashes I've fired. I'm going to try and convince a friend tomorrow to "model" for me.

 

[syphlix]

i didn't read through all the replies... but my first comment would be to ditch the diffuser... it doesn't do anything for you outdoors others than sap power...

those things are good indoors cuz it will bounce light off all the walls, but outdoors that won't happen much...