Laundromat shoot C&C welcome

[thebasedsloth]

The reason the lighting isn't working is because it's the same boring lighting we all see everyday when we go pretty much anywhere, Grocery stores, 7/11, laundromat.
It's all flat and nothing stands out, Using a flash (correctly) would put a lot more attention on her in the image and add some drama.
To me; Composition is about getting what helps the image, in the image, and everything that detracts, out. OCF lets you do that to an extent

 

[mrstravis]

For an example of what "lighting" could add
Damarisland » Smiley?s Laundromat

and for "composition and control of background"
http://distilleryimage0.s3.amazonaws.com/58565adc7caa11e289de22000a9f1406_7.jpg
laundromat series 03 by ~sporto on deviantART

Like I said, you're on the right track... it's just time to work more deliberately and up your game.

Oooohhh those are cool!! Ok thanks for the tips!

 

[mrstravis]

I get that it is different but my point was that I personally feel you missed it. I think it could work but needs some fine tuning and perhaps as others have already suggested some lighting would improve it.

Ok I will try it again with a different model (lol) and lighting Thanks!

 

[mrstravis]

The reason the lighting isn't working is because it's the same boring lighting we all see everyday when we go pretty much anywhere, Grocery stores, 7/11, laundromat.
It's all flat and nothing stands out, Using a flash (correctly) would put a lot more attention on her in the image and add some drama.
To me; Composition is about getting what helps the image, in the image, and everything that detracts, out. OCF lets you do that to an extent

Ok. So I have an sb700 speed light. I also have a white piece of cardboard for bouncing the light. Should that be sufficient?

 

[tirediron]

The reason the lighting isn't working is because it's the same boring lighting we all see everyday when we go pretty much anywhere, Grocery stores, 7/11, laundromat.
It's all flat and nothing stands out, Using a flash (correctly) would put a lot more attention on her in the image and add some drama.
To me; Composition is about getting what helps the image, in the image, and everything that detracts, out. OCF lets you do that to an extent

Ok. So I have an sb700 speed light. I also have a white piece of cardboard for bouncing the light. Should that be sufficient?

That will help a lot. Do you have a stand and remote trigger so you can get the speedlight off of the camera?

 

[runnah]

I think lighting is the least of the issues here. The poses are unflattering and the focus is badly missed on both shots.

 

[nycphotography]

The reason the lighting isn't working is because it's the same boring lighting we all see everyday when we go pretty much anywhere, Grocery stores, 7/11, laundromat.
It's all flat and nothing stands out, Using a flash (correctly) would put a lot more attention on her in the image and add some drama.
To me; Composition is about getting what helps the image, in the image, and everything that detracts, out. OCF lets you do that to an extent

Ok. So I have an sb700 speed light. I also have a white piece of cardboard for bouncing the light. Should that be sufficient?

one speedlight is better than no speedlights, and two speedlights are better than one.

And monolights w/ some oomph are often better than speedlights.

You can really do a lot with just the one speedlight though, especially w/ a shoot through umbrella and a snoot.

Next up, learning to use that speedlight.

Then later you can get one or two more cheap (ie not nikon) _manual_ "speedlights" and slave them off your sb700.

By way of example, here are two outdoor shots I did w/ a single off camera sb28. As you can see the sb28 has enough power to overpower the sun / natural light. so learn to use the sb700.

 

[CorrieMichael]

I like the laundry mat idea but firstly they seem cool to me and the lighting is not supreme........I wish you had more dof on these to frame your subject more for me anyways.......

 

[mrstravis]

That will help a lot. Do you have a stand and remote trigger so you can get the speedlight off of the camera?

I don't have a stand or a remote but I will look into getting both. Thanks!

 

[mrstravis]

one speedlight is better than no speedlights, and two speedlights are better than one.

And monolights w/ some oomph are often better than speedlights.

You can really do a lot with just the one speedlight though, especially w/ a shoot through umbrella and a snoot.

Next up, learning to use that speedlight.

Then later you can get one or two more cheap (ie not nikon) _manual_ "speedlights" and slave them off your sb700.

By way of example, here are two outdoor shots I did w/ a single off camera sb28. As you can see the sb28 has enough power to overpower the sun / natural light. so learn to use the sb700.

I figured all of the lighting stuff was for indoor photography. I had no idea that photographers actually carried that stuff out on location. Good to know!! I think I need to learn my speedlight a lot more. Thanks!

 

[tirediron]

I figured all of the lighting stuff was for indoor photography. I had no idea that photographers actually carried that stuff out on location. Good to know!! I think I need to learn my speedlight a lot more. Thanks!

All the time... I shoot far more out-of-doors work with supplemental lighting than I do without. Remember that photography is the recording of light. Anything that you can do to make that light easier to work with or more controllable will help you produce better images.

 

[DanOstergren]

This doesn't mean however that you can't make beautiful images in all natural light or in available light. It's a matter of recognizing good light and using it to your advantage. Speedlites can really help, but my suggestion would be to not rely on them for every shot and to get creative with your available lighting. Also contrary to what many people here say, shadows are your friend and produce depth and mood. One of the best pieces of advice I've ever read is that you cannot craft interesting light without interesting shadows.

Back to your images and styling. Everyone else has pretty much said what I would say, so I'll only make a couple of suggestions. If you are using photoshop, I suggest you look up a tutorial on how to use a "Curves" layer mask. Adjusting the curves could help improve the lighting and overall look of these photos in my opinion, but you will always get better results if you have better lighting than this to begin with. Also, style is highly important, and you can't just let these models control your shoot or your vision. If I had a model show up like that I would have asked what the hell she was thinking and would have been brutally honest about the outfit. How is she supposed to know it looks bad when she isn't the one looking through the viewfinder? Take control of your photo shoots, otherwise your models, MUA, wardrobe stylists and hair stylists will take over. Clearly that didn't work out for you this time, did it?

 

[nycphotography]

This doesn't mean however that you can't make beautiful images in all natural light or in available light. It's a matter of recognizing good light and using it to your advantage. Speedlites can really help, but my suggestion would be to not rely on them for every shot and to get creative with your available lighting. Also contrary to what many people here say, shadows are your friend and produce depth and mood. One of the best pieces of advice I've ever read is that you cannot craft interesting light without interesting shadows.

Absolutely. And you can adjust your shadows by moving your subject relative to the light. Or by moving the light relative to the subject. Or by changing the type (modifiers) of light.

 

[krystalynnephoto]

I also did a shoot in a laundromat... OCF and HMUA make a huge difference. I wanted to share some examples of that with you. We also went more for the pin-up, vintage-y look.
Laundromats can be fun!


DSC_1201 by nobkeusu98, on Flickr

DSC_1202-4 by nobkeusu98, on Flickr