Low Key/Bodyscape question(s)

jowensphoto · Apr 30, 2013

I have a maternity shoot coming up next week. She's an old friend and has agreed to be my guinea pig for a light test.

I'm very interested in bodyscapes and was thinking something like this: Maternity Photography Phoenix Arizona Photographer Pregnancy Orc - Phoenix Maternity Photographer Phoenix Maternity Photographer (by like I mean different perspectives/angles, etc)

I think I've got the basic idea, and I want this simple - one speedlight, one reflector and maybe an umbrella (36" shoot-through) if needed. I've been considering getting a snoot/grid combo, is that useful for this (since I want to prevent the light from spilling)?

Regardless of modifier, the flash would be behind the model the entire time, at least to some extreme, correct?

Getting better at OCF is one of my goals this year, and I'm doing my best to reverse engineer the kind of light I like. All advice is appreciated

amolitor · Apr 30, 2013

Softbox or some other diffusing mechanism set somewhat behind the model. The soft edged shadows will wrap appealingly. The bigger the better here, really.

- you want to be as close as possible to give the softest edges to the shadows, and to minimize spill to the backgrounds and so on
- but the closer you are, the harder it's going to be to evenly light large lengths of the body

You might experiment with rigging up a sheet as a very large diffuser, or similar.

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A grid or similar will create a similar look, positioned a bit further forward, but the edges will of course be harder, which is probably less desirable for a maternity shoot, but I kind of dig the look. I love snooting stuff. I like gritty hard edged looks.

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A reflector may be counter-productive for creating this kind of look, but bring one anyways. You can always burn down stuff you filled, but pulling detail out of dead shadows is tough!

In general, shoot brighter than you think you want. You can push the shadows down in post. I *always* shoot too damn dark, and then fight with it. Which sucks. I wish I was not dumb, but we work with what we have.

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This is a 24"x24" softbox placed, I wanna say about 30-45 degrees BEHIND the model (that is, 30-45 degrees back of the "exactly to the side") and maybe 4 feet away?

tirediron · Apr 30, 2013

For that particular image, I think I would start with a gridded strip box high and above the model and angled slightly toward the opposite side. I'm not sure that you'd get much use of on an umbrella for this sort of shot, since there's no way to grid it. Placing the grid on the light source and then firing into an umbrella (reflecting or shoot-through) will negate the effect of the grid. Regardless, you're going to want a long-ish light source and a grid for this sort of work.

Big Mike · Apr 30, 2013

I think I've got the basic idea, and I want this simple - one speedlight, one reflector and maybe an umbrella (36" shoot-through) if needed. I've been considering getting a snoot/grid combo, is that useful for this (since I want to prevent the light from spilling)?

Regardless of modifier, the flash would be behind the model the entire time, at least to some extreme, correct?

I'd go for a softbox rather than an umbrella. A softbox will constrain the light much better than an umbrella. Even better at keeping the light where you want it, would be a softbox with a grid.

Sure, snoots and grids (on the light) can really help to control specifically where you light will be, they don't soften the light...and you may or may not want some degree of softness to the light.

And yes, you'll probably end up with the light somewhere behind the subject. To give yourself an idea of what you're dealing with, just grab an orange and a flashlight or small lamp. Move the light around the orange and see where the shadows are.

If you want truly dark shadows, then the trick may be preventing light from bouncing off of walls etc. The more space you have, the better, but if you can get your light close to your subject, that will help to keep the background dark.

Not quite a body scape, but I shot this of my wife when she was pregnant with our first.

amolitor · Apr 30, 2013

Another handy thing to keep in mind with bodyscapes:

You don't have to shoot in the final orientation. There's not all that many cues in some good bodyscapes, so sometimes you can shoot in a posture that makes things.. um.. look better. Then rotate in post to the final position. This may also help with lights, if it's hard to get the light over her, put it off to the side, and move HER.

jowensphoto · Apr 30, 2013

I asked a local light guru and received the same info. I have some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so I am thinking I'll be getting a gridded strip. I'm still thinking about doing a snoot/grid for some other experiments.

Thanks guys!

gsgary · Apr 30, 2013

jowensphoto said:
I asked a local light guru and received the same info. I have some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so I am thinking I'll be getting a gridded strip. I'm still thinking about doing a snoot/grid for some other experiments.

Thanks guys!

We are talking 4-5 foot strip box a speedlight is going to be no good

jowensphoto · Apr 30, 2013

Gary, I got a 3 foot. It's made "for speedlites," think it'll be alright? I'm not looking to get that specific shot so I don't need one so big, that was the closest I could find compared to what I have in my head.

Big Mike · Apr 30, 2013

Might be OK, the issue is that it might be hard for a speedlite to evenly fill a long stripbox, thus you might end up with an uneven spread of light. Not the end of the world, but not ideal either.

Derrel · Apr 30, 2013

I would not worry too much about light fall-off from the strip box + speedlight combo...at a distance of 8 or 9 feet from light to subject, the light is going to be relatively even, and the fall-off probably will not be all that bad from center beam to edges. Plus, some fall-off at the edges of the frame usually looks natural. Plus, you'll probably have pretty even light across at least a five foot wide swath at normal indoor working distances. I suppose you could try using a diffuser cap on the flash inside the strip box, to see if that equalizes the light.

If you DO happen to have say, really terrible fall-off, then you might need to think about ways to even the light out...gray mesh fabric "screening", like mosquito netting, makes a great flexible scrim that can be wrapped around a softbox. I actually have a nifrty 28x28 square mesh "window" from an old tent...it has 4 elastics and hooks, and works GREAT on one of my Chinese softboxes!

You could also bounce the flash off of a wall, or use some other kind of modifier, and then position some Foam-Cor boards (aka poster board) between the lights and her, to in effect, create a long "strip of light" that only comes over the top edge of the board. You can even use....a couch to do this...or a blanket suspended on a rod, whatever. Just something to block light, but allow the light to come over the top of the blocking device. A dark blanket can also create a black background. I've been using some lightweight microfiber 90x90 inch throws from Target, prices at $19.99 to $24.00. I got a wonderful white, fuzzy one for a baby shoot last month for $19 at TJ Maxx...very "snow"-like, and super lightweight.

jowensphoto · May 1, 2013

OK, so after all the advice, I'm sticking with what I got.

Here's what I gather: It's possible to get the light I want, but I may have to do some playing around with the distance light-subject and maybe some DIY rigging of my own. I'm cool with that. If it comes down to having really terrible fall off, I have some "back ups" planned so the shoot won't be completely ruined.

Derrel- thanks for those tips about backgrounds and DIY strip light. I have a very thick black sheet (I think it's actually a futon cover or something) that I plan to drape on the couch for background. I also watched a tutorial where the photographer used black reflector cases both in the background and on the floor. Trying to make sure the mommy to be is comfortable as possible.

Another idea I thought of and researched is shooting through fabric. Here's something I found particularly inspiring: Maternity Photography Inspiration / . I know I"m probably overthinking, I just want to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. For that type of set up, it's just backlit with little/no fill and exposed so that the highlights are over and the subject is under? Then the lace should be white to give the effect of being part of the subject? I imagine this would be easiest in front of a large window, but I suppose at the right distance the strip could work?

amolitor · May 1, 2013

One more thing. Don't worry about totally filling the frame with black. Just get the model surrounded. Black is the easiest thing in the world to paint in! If there's a bit of a light stand or a cat's nose in frame, no sweat. Just don't let the cat overlap the model.

tirediron · May 1, 2013

amolitor said:
One more thing. Don't worry about totally filling the frame with black. Just get the model surrounded. Black is the easiest thing in the world to paint in! If there's a bit of a light stand or a cat's nose in frame, no sweat. Just don't let the cat overlap the model.

Yeah... but you have to be fairly careful if you want to print, since all blacks are NOT created equal.

amolitor · May 1, 2013

I usually don't paint in with flat black, I clone some of the nearby blacks out to fill it in, and then add a layer to "vignette" aggressively. So, if there's some texture left in the shadows, it's roughly duplicated, and then blended down to a flatter black by the edges of the frame. It's still easy as pie!

Then apply a violent, but temporary, curves adjustment to the result to see how well I did!