First time in studio C&C

[JClishe]

The other night one of the members of my local camera club hosted a lighting workshop in his studio. There were 7 of us that attended and we broke into 2 groups creating lighting scenarios and then shooting a model in our scenario.

I'm posting my 3 favorites out of my images that I'd love some feedback on. My only ask is you keep in mind that we were moving fairly quickly and I've noticed some details like hair being out of place and wrinkles in the models jeans in the silhouette photo, that quite frankly we didn't have time to address during the shoot. Our focus was primarily on lighting. Of course I'm still interested in hearing any and all feedback so I know what to pay attention to going forward, I just wanted to point out that the scope of this shoot was on lighting for beginners and not necessarily all of the other details. The organizer said he'd continue to hold workshops like these that get progressively more advanced, and I'll definitely be attending. It was a great session, I learned a ton, and I felt very comfortable with the organizer, other attendees, and model. I actually enjoyed it much more than I thought I would; I got into photography for architecture and urban exploration and didn't think that I'd have any interest in studio work, but I think it was wrong. It was a great time.

1. My big miss on this one is her shirt falling off her right shoulder. I cropped in tight on the sides to minimize it a little bit, but it's still annoyingly noticeable.

2.

3. In post I noticed that I chopped off her arms right at the wrists during the shoot (doh, wasn't paying close enough attention to my composition), so I cropped it up a bit. I still wanted to include some of her bare midriff. Does this crop work? I also warmed it up a bit in post but I obviously went a little too far, as her shirt is supposed to be black (see first post)

 

[DiskoJoe]

Something just seems off about these photos, except the silhouette. However I am not much of a strobist so I really cant offer any advice on how to improve.

 

[MLeeK]

They are very nice!
1 is very flat lighting. Nothing wrong with that if that is what you are creating. I like a little bit of dimension to the light to give the face some contour and shape, personally. I am also NOT a fan of the ring light catch light in eyes. Very vampire-ish. Just a personal thing. It's a very popular look.

2. The lighting behind your diffuse screen was very close and you can definitely see that to the right. Wish that you were lower and able to get her feet included in the framing of the diffuser. Otherwise it's a gorgeous shot.

3. You've already noticed the chop. She's also very warm toned to orange. Nice lighting on both blowing out the background as well as the subject.

 

[JClishe]

They are very nice!

Thanks!

1 is very flat lighting. Nothing wrong with that if that is what you are creating. I like a little bit of dimension to the light to give the face some contour and shape, personally. I am also NOT a fan of the ring light catch light in eyes. Very vampire-ish. Just a personal thing. It's a very popular look.

How would you add dimension when using a ring light?

2. The lighting behind your diffuse screen was very close and you can definitely see that to the right. Wish that you were lower and able to get her feet included in the framing of the diffuser. Otherwise it's a gorgeous shot.

Thanks! I noticed exactly what you mentioned about her feet, and I was the only one in the group that got down on my knees for the shot. But yeah, I wish her feet were within the framing.

3. You've already noticed the chop. She's also very warm toned to orange. Nice lighting on both blowing out the background as well as the subject.

Does the crop work as is?

Thanks for the feedback!

Jason

 

[tirediron]

I'm not a fan of ring lights; some people like 'em, others don't. If you are going to use it though, get it off of the lens axis to avoid those odd catchlights. To cure the flat lighting, I would have a second light, 30-40 degrees off lens axis and probably one stop above the ring light. Agree with Mleeks' comments. As far as the crop for #3, it's not bad, but I'd be inclined to crop just above the left elbow.

 

[gopal]

do the catchlights not look odd? I wud have preferred umbrella/softbox, so the unnaturalness cud be avoided in eyes...eyes are the main focal of interest in a face....whatever may go odd but not eyes....do not worry for shoulder, in model photography, it works well....second silhouette is good and in third as u described, I agree. thnx.