First self-portrait, with studio lights! Thanks to Pixmedic!!!

[FITBMX]

Pixmedic and his wife donated these wonderful lights to me, and I love them!

So these are my first portraits with lighting. The only editing I did was cropping (It is to hard to shoot a tight shot be yourself) and a little spot removal. Other than that these are straight out of the camera. So I want some good C&C, hit me with what ever you got! I know I still have a ton to learn, and good C&C is the best way to get there.

And I still do not have a remote, so I used the 10 second timer and had to run for it!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

 

[snerd]

Nice. Gotta love the "community" here!

 

[FITBMX]

I just noticed a few of the are a little missed focus, the lens I used doesn't have AF. So it is hard running to the right spot every time.

 

[FITBMX]

Anyone have any C&C on the lighting on these? I know I make a crummy model, and I hate doing self-portraits, but I have no choice. so forget how I look, and tell me if the light is any good on these at all.

 

[pjaye]

YOu are NOT a crummy model and I adore your smile! I can't help with the lighting though.

 

[Braineack]

Anyone have any C&C on the lighting on these? I know I make a crummy model, and I hate doing self-portraits, but I have no choice. so forget how I look, and tell me if the light is any good on these at all.

how are these setup? pretty much just two lights at a 45° angle on either side of you?

 

[rexbobcat]

I feel like there's not enough shadow, causing the photos to lack dimension. It's not bad though. It just seems a bit flat and lacks contrast. I did a re-edit of the last photo, because

 

[FITBMX]

YOu are NOT a crummy model and I adore your smile! I can't help with the lighting though.

You are too kind, but I am derrrrnnnn cute!

Anyone have any C&C on the lighting on these? I know I make a crummy model, and I hate doing self-portraits, but I have no choice. so forget how I look, and tell me if the light is any good on these at all.

how are these setup? pretty much just two lights at a 45° angle on either side of you?

Pretty much. At camera left I had a 500w light with a shoot through umbrella adjusted to around head level, and at camera right a second 500w light with a reflector umbrella adjusted low pointing up.
Except the last photo, the left light was nearly beside me, and the right light behind me at a 45°.
What would you have done with them?

I feel like there's not enough shadow, causing the photos to lack dimension. It's not bad though. It just seems a bit flat and lacks contrast. I did a re-edit of the last photo, because

View attachment 109271

I like it! I haven't made any changes to these in editing, I was going to mess with them in a few days when I have more time.

 

[mmaria]

why f 1.4 and 1/20 !!?

among some other stuff that's the biggest issue here. It's difficult to shoot anyone with 1.4 and I would never shoot a selfportrait with 1.4... the same goes for 1/20

Posing is a bit issue...

hm... how about you try some other type of selfportrait? something with a context and you doing something... not just plain posing in front of the camera

 

[Braineack]

Pretty much. At camera left I had a 500w light with a shoot through umbrella adjusted to around head level, and at camera right a second 500w light with a reflector umbrella adjusted low pointing up.

Except the last photo, the left light was nearly beside me, and the right light behind me at a 45°.
What would you have done with them?

I like a traditional key/fill with a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio.

Something you might try is putting the bounce umbrella on camera axis directly in front of you. Maybe beside, behind, or above the camera itself. This will send directional light directly at you and fill in shadows, but being further away it won't completely eliminate them.

Then I'd put the shoot through high and off to the side, as close as I can to me. So you get a nice clean catch in the eyes, and the shoot through should provide very soft gentle shadows on your face. They won't be harsh or dramatic, but still show depth.


this pretty much shows it and illustrates the ratios: Project 3 You can see here yours are 1:1 -- notice what they describe a 1:1 as...

 

[runnah]

Hair farmer!

 

[FITBMX]

why f 1.4 and 1/20 !!?

among some other stuff that's the biggest issue here. It's difficult to shoot anyone with 1.4 and I would never shoot a selfportrait with 1.4... the same goes for 1/20

Posing is a bit issue...

hm... how about you try some other type of selfportrait? something with a context and you doing something... not just plain posing in front of the camera

It was not F1.4, The lens I use is a old OM mount I have an adapter for, the adapter has a FC chip in it, so it always reads f1.4 no matter what it is set to. These were taken at F4. I really don't know what I was thinking with 1/20 sec, that was a really stupid non thinking move. I don't like shooting self-portraits at all, and I think it really shows up with stupid things like 1/20sec and bad posing.
But I have no one to use for a model.

 

[FITBMX]

Hair farmer!

I was waiting for a hair joke, and you were the first on this thread you win!!!!

 

[Braineack]

come on, step up your game:


American Pride by The Braineack, on Flickr

 

[FITBMX]

Pretty much. At camera left I had a 500w light with a shoot through umbrella adjusted to around head level, and at camera right a second 500w light with a reflector umbrella adjusted low pointing up.

Except the last photo, the left light was nearly beside me, and the right light behind me at a 45°.
What would you have done with them?

I like a traditional key/fill with a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio.

Something you might try is putting the bounce umbrella on camera axis directly in front of you. Maybe beside, behind, or above the camera itself. This will send directional light directly at you and fill in shadows, but being further away it won't completely eliminate them.

Then I'd put the shoot through high and off to the side, as close as I can to me. So you get a nice clean catch in the eyes, and the shoot through should provide very soft gentle shadows on your face. They won't be harsh or dramatic, but still show depth.


this pretty much shows it and illustrates the ratios: Project 3 You can see here yours are 1:1 -- notice what they describe a 1:1 as...

Thanks a bunch! This is just the kind of C&C I was looking for!!!