Indoor Portrait Advice

[DaPOPO]

I talked my wife into letting me buy some Lastolite equipment. I'm using 3 SB910's with it. One is bare for hair light zoomed to 135. One is in an EZBoxII switch, large (Main) and the third is an EZBoxII Medium. (Fill)

I bought the grids for both the EZ Box's but they are on back order, so I haven't been able to experiment with them attached.

I bought the 8 in 1 umbrella, but have not used it yet.

My camera is a D7100.

I can't afford a 70-200 or 24-70 2.8 lens yet.

I'm using a kit 55-200 from my D3100.

I kept it between 70mm and 85mm and just moved back and forth.

I BELIEVE the following to be true.

Since I am using the kit lens which is 4 to 5.6 my light gathering is not great.

I BELIEVE my light is a little harsh due to this, but I may be wrong.

My histogram is mostly on the dark side until I edit in Lightroom 5.

I kept the ISO at 200 for best quality.

I'm shooting TTL.

I have heard two conflicting statements and would like some clarification.

1) "Move the softbox closer for a softer light"

2) "Move the softbox father away for a softer light."

I BELIEVE being able to dial down the speedlight is probably the better solution. That being said, since I can't use a 2.8 lens and dial down my power, which of the two statements above are correct?

Should I dial the power down, have the histogram more to the dark and edit it even brighter in Lightroom?

This is the second portrait session I have taken, so I know they can be better.

Thanks

 

[SnappingShark]

I say there's not much wrong with the shots. Adorable kids. Maybe it's just me being in holiday mode, but I see no flaw with Christmas and kids in the same picture

 

[DaPOPO]

Same girl, she just changed her outfit, and took her glasses on and off.

 

[amolitor]

Moving in closer will make the softbox "bigger" and will soften the edges of the shadows further, and allow the light to "wrap" further into the shadowed areas, creating a softer look, in one way.

This does not really change the lighting ratio -- the darkest shadows will still be just about as dark, the brightest areas will be just about as bright (after, of course, the TTL system adjusts the flash power down to compensate for the fact that you moved the light closer). This is quite separate visual element, which might also be interpreted as "hard" or "not soft". To cure this, push more light in from the shadowed side.

These look fine to me, though. If you want a softer look, post processing can certainly do it starting from these pictures.

 

[ronlane]

I say there's not much wrong with the shots. Adorable kids. Maybe it's just me being in holiday mode, but I see no flaw with Christmas and kids in the same picture

^^^This. I don't see much wrong here. If I were to get really picky, I would say that the glasses in #3 are producing a little shadow but glasses are tough and I don't see any glare in them, so forget that.

Nicely done.

 

[Braineack]

these look pretty great to me.


Any way you can move away from the tree to get the lights in better bokeh?

 

[DaPOPO]

I understand your first paragraph...

On the second paragraph "(after, of course, the TTL system adjusts the flash power down to compensate for the fact that you moved the light closer). This is quite separate visual element, which might also be interpreted as "hard" or "not soft". To cure this, push more light in from the shadowed side."

Are you saying in TTL before I take the picture, but lock focus, the TTL system can recognize I moved the softbox closer and it adjusts the power accordingly?

 

[amolitor]

You can probably push in a little closer, and use a slightly wider angle, which would give you better separation from the background through reduced DoF a couple of ways. Just a little bit, but every little bit helps, eh?

 

[DaPOPO]

I say there's not much wrong with the shots. Adorable kids. Maybe it's just me being in holiday mode, but I see no flaw with Christmas and kids in the same picture

^^^This. I don't see much wrong here. If I were to get really picky, I would say that the glasses in #3 are producing a little shadow but glasses are tough and I don't see any glare in them, so forget that.

Nicely done.

Thanks.

 

[DaPOPO]

these look pretty great to me.


Any way you can move away from the tree to get the lights in better bokeh?

Yes. I have plenty depth, but only about 13 feet in width. I'll move them up about 4 more feet. Thanks.

 

[DaPOPO]

You can probably push in a little closer, and use a slightly wider angle, which would give you better separation from the background through reduced DoF a couple of ways. Just a little bit, but every little bit helps, eh?

Every little bit can make a big difference...

 

[DaPOPO]

I say there's not much wrong with the shots. Adorable kids. Maybe it's just me being in holiday mode, but I see no flaw with Christmas and kids in the same picture

Thanks.

 

[Derrel]

To make the lights larger, and more out of focus, it would help to stand back farther from the girl, and use as long a focal length as is possible, and of course with that lens you'll be at f/5.6. Overall, I think the lighting on shot #1 is really, really GOOD. Moving farther away and shooting with a longer lens focal length will however, narrow the background angle of view, and the tree will look less like "a tree", and more like "Christmas lights that happen to be on a tree." As far as closeness of the EX Box to the girl...I think it looks perfectly fine...it's not too close, and not too far away. Overall, for a first session, I'd have to give this an "A" grade.

 

[DaPOPO]

To make the lights larger, and more out of focus, it would help to stand back farther from the girl, and use as long a focal length as is possible, and of course with that lens you'll be at f/5.6. Overall, I think the lighting on shot #1 is really, really GOOD. Moving farther away and shooting with a longer lens focal length will however, narrow the background angle of view, and the tree will look less like "a tree", and more like "Christmas lights that happen to be on a tree." As far as closeness of the EX Box to the girl...I think it looks perfectly fine...it's not too close, and not too far away. Overall, for a first session, I'd have to give this an "A" grade.

Thanks. If I go out to say 155mm and I drop to 5.6, should I increase the power of the speedlights to compensate for the reduced light, or should I leave as is, and make the exposure brighter in Lightroom, or does it really make a difference?

 

[Braineack]

since you are in TTL you probably don't have to change anything else.