First OCF portrait. C&C please

FranDaMan · May 23, 2011

Just got a set of cactus V5 triggers, so I can finally get that flash of the camera.
Don't have any major light modifiers yet, so bouncing is the way to at the moment.

I had the flash to camera left and bounced it of a white ceiling and wall.
I do notice a bit of shadow around the nose and neck, so maybe next time use a reflector right to fill in a bit of that area ?

Thoughts please ?

118.jpg by Francis de Beus, on Flickr

FranDaMan · May 23, 2011

So this one is that good eh ?
That's good to know. I will be starting my business soon then.

Shadowbox · May 23, 2011

FranDaMan said:
So this one is that good eh ?
That's good to know. I will be starting my business soon then.

CC for pic:

Next time have her take the glasses off. They are distracting. The tilt of her head isn't quite right, it feels awkward. You're so close, it feels like she's squished in there. Back up just a little next time. A reflector probably would take care of the shadows you mentioned. I think for a first time OCF it looks like you did a pretty decent job. I would have her eyes follow her nose, it's a modeling trick. Whichever direction the nose is pointed is where your eyes go. It looks more natural that way. She needs a little more light on her face, and a bit less on her shirt.

I am not an expert photographer, so please take what I say how you will.

Robin Usagani · May 23, 2011

I trully feel that people try so hard with their flash. I mean you are inside, no backdrop, walls everywhere. Forget about OCF man. Just bounce the light from your camera and call it good. No modifier needed. No reason to go off the camera. How did you point the flash?

OrionsByte · May 23, 2011

nice posting edit Shadowbox, glad you caught your mixup before I commented on it.

The photo looks a bit cool to me, you might want to warm that up a touch.

The shadows from the nose and neck are interesting because they're so hard, which makes me think there was a secondary light source. What were your settings? Do you think were you picking up some ambient light from another source like a lamp or a window (which would happen if your shutter speed was slow enough)?

Shadowbox · May 23, 2011

LOL I was hoping no one noticed .. I was going to make fun of myself but left it alone.

FranDaMan · May 23, 2011

Schwettylens said:
I trully feel that people try so hard with their flash. I mean you are inside, no backdrop, walls everywhere. Forget about OCF man. Just bounce the light from your camera and call it good. No modifier needed. No reason to go off the camera. How did you point the flash?

The flash was pointed 45 degrees upwards towards ceiling and away from the model. And ofcourse we try hard with our flash. I have posted pics before with the flash on the camera and you get the "you need to get your flash of the camera". So I get myself some radio triggers and get it of the camera. Now it needs to go back on ?!?

FranDaMan · May 23, 2011

OrionsByte said:
nice posting edit Shadowbox, glad you caught your mixup before I commented on it.

The photo looks a bit cool to me, you might want to warm that up a touch.

The shadows from the nose and neck are interesting because they're so hard, which makes me think there was a secondary light source. What were your settings? Do you think were you picking up some ambient light from another source like a lamp or a window (which would happen if your shutter speed was slow enough)?

The model is in my livingroom, so yes, there was light coming from a big window in front of the model.

Exif data

Camera Canon EOS 550D
Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 85 mm
ISO Speed 400

OrionsByte · May 23, 2011

FranDaMan said:
OrionsByte said:

nice posting edit Shadowbox, glad you caught your mixup before I commented on it.

The photo looks a bit cool to me, you might want to warm that up a touch.

The shadows from the nose and neck are interesting because they're so hard, which makes me think there was a secondary light source. What were your settings? Do you think were you picking up some ambient light from another source like a lamp or a window (which would happen if your shutter speed was slow enough)?

Click to expand...

The model is in my livingroom, so yes, there was light coming from a big window in front of the model.

Exif data

Camera Canon EOS 550D
Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 85 mm
ISO Speed 400

If you did it all again but took the shutter speed up to 1/200 or 1/250, I betcha you'd get rid of those shadows on the nose and neck. Remember, with flash photography, shutter speed directly controls how much ambient light you expose, without affecting how much flash you expose.

I think Schwetty's point was that in a small room, you're not going to see a huge difference between bouncing off the ceiling from on-camera vs. bouncing off the ceiling from off-camera. The differences are there, but they're kind of subtle. That said, even a bare flash pointed at the subject from somewhere off-camera is going to look a lot better than a bare flash on-camera, and once you add in some modifiers and reflectors and such, then you really start to get to control the light. Cheers for the OCF, now push your comfort zone a bit.

Robin Usagani · May 23, 2011

OrionsByte said:
I think Schwetty's point was that in a small room, you're not going to see a huge difference between bouncing off the ceiling from on-camera vs. bouncing off the ceiling from off-camera. The differences are there, but they're kind of subtle.

That... plus you can use ETTL and call it good

FranDaMan · May 23, 2011

ETTL sounds nice, but starting of with flash fotography ETTL is quite intimidating. Several books i am reading mention that it would best to start with manual and when you understand the basics of that, then venture into ETTL.
Wow, I would have thought the shadows would be from the flash and not from the ambient lighting. I will see if I can do some test shots with different shutter speeds to see the effect.

I will start moving the comfort zone soon. But I have spend bucketloads since september, and I need to save up again a little so I can get a stand and a decent brolly or umbrella.

Dao · May 23, 2011

A flash 45 degree point up ... maybe that is the reason for the harsh shadow. Just point it straight up and a little bubble wrap (or milk jar) to add some forward facing light to the subject.

CNWPhoto · May 23, 2011

Nice job! If you aren't worried about portability, get a huge umbrella and the shadows will be gone. Make sure to get a shoot through though as they work best! They are cheap and easy to use. If you need portability, checkout the lumiquest ltp, it won't be as soft, but will be more portable.