Hows the lighting ?

[kc4sox]

I'm trying to work only in manual ( both camera and flash ). And I'm working on finding a subtle "Light advances Darkness retreats". To my eye, the background is still too bright here............What say you ?

And while your here, how's the overall shot?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[Designer]

Yeah, background maybe too bright, if what you wanted was darker.

Portrait good, background good, lighting good. Blouse clashes with blossoms.

 

[tirediron]

Not bad; ideally I'd like to see the background 1/2 stop down and her face 1/3 stop brighter.

 

[kc4sox]

Not bad; ideally I'd like to see the background 1/2 stop down and her face 1/3 stop brighter.

Thanks tirediron, I was hoping you'd see this one. I thought I'd just missed it. It's getting better with all the great C&C I'm getting here on the forums.

 

[tirediron]

Not bad; ideally I'd like to see the background 1/2 stop down and her face 1/3 stop brighter.

Thanks tirediron, I was hoping you'd see this one. I thought I'd just missed it. It's getting better with all the great C&C I'm getting here on the forums.

I would also try for a little shadow; the lighting on her face is completely flat; no highlight/shadow separation at all. You don't need much but a little almost always helps. Looking at the highlights on her right sleeve, I think a reflector would have been a great addition to the mix.

 

[Big Mike]

Not bad; ideally I'd like to see the background 1/2 stop down and her face 1/3 stop brighter.
I would also try for a little shadow; the lighting on her face is completely flat; no highlight/shadow separation at all. You don't need much but a little almost always helps.

This was my first thought. The 'quantity' of light (exposure) is OK. It could use some tweaking but it's not bad. But the 'quality' of the light on the subject could use some work. It's too flat. I'd like to see more of a directional light which would give us a ratio across her face. When studying portrait lighting, it's all about the lighting pattern/position and the ratio between the lit side and the shadows.

Also, I think this would probably work much better if she were making eye contact with the camera. As it is, she's looking off-camera which sort of prevents the viewer from making a connection....and because we can't see or even really imagine what she's looking at, there is a again a dis-connect.

Having the subject look off camera is sometimes preferred for fashion, where you want the focus to be on the clothes....but for a portrait, you want to create a connection between the subject and the viewer. Having them look at the camera is one good way to help that connection.

 

[kc4sox]

Thank you Big Mike and tirediron. That's the kind of feedback I'm hoping to get on my images. I want to do this for a living and, with the quality of todays consumer camera almost anyone can take a decent image. However, I want to set my work apart from the other photographers in this area by nailing the lighting as well as all of the subtle details that make a great image. I have a long way to go. But, with the help I'm getting here on the forum I'm making progress.


Almost forgot, I shot this with the speed light off camera but, I didn't have my stand and modifiers with me. I was hand holding the light camera left. Kinda limited me on what I could do with the light.

 

[JerryVenz]

If you REALLY want to set yourself apart and learn lighting outdoors then leave the speedlight in the car!

In this photograph you have shown every flaw this woman has AND put weight on her! This is what we call a "record shot" or the "before shot" we put next to the actual PORTRAIT.

O.K. I know I'm harsh here but I'm passionate about portraiture--especially natural light since that's the speciality where I earned my Masters Degree from PPA, the topic of my Blog, and the point of the book I'm writing.

The technical problem with most outdoor locations is NOT that there is not enough light--it's that there is usually TOO MUCH LIGHT and that it's coming from multiple directions--SO THERE'S NO NEED TO ADD LIGHT---we need to SUBTRACT LIGHT to create direction.

Learning this art will set you apart from your competition since few photographers practice true natural light (subtractive) portraiture and I don't see anybody teaching it because instructors MAKE MONEY only if they endorse equipment like flash gear, radio triggers, soft boxes, and the like.

O.K. off my soapbox....PLEASE try this alternative and you will leap past your competitors!

 

[Big Mike]

I agree with what Jerry has to say, except for this part.

Learning this art will set you apart from your competition since few photographers practice true natural light (subtractive) portraiture and I don't see anybody teaching it because instructors MAKE MONEY only if they endorse equipment like flash gear, radio triggers, soft boxes, and the like.

Not every photography instructor is getting sponsorships or kickbacks on lighting gear. The photography school that I teach with, has courses on portrait lighting, flash photography (on & off camera) (focusing on portraits) & ambient light (focusing on portraits).