Mark G

Digital Matt · Apr 22, 2007

Another shoot for musician promo shots, this time the subject is Nick Lachey, err, I mean Mark G, soon to be a graduate with a BFA in Music Performance.
1

2

3

4

5

Comments and Critiques wanted!

I know his nose breaks the plane of his face on #1, but I still think it's a strong image. I'm working on paying more attention to those details when shooting.

Tangerini · Apr 22, 2007

These are very nice!
I agree that the first is a very strong image, the texture and softess really add a sentimental feel to the overall shot.
My favorite is the third. The lighting, composition, pose... I can almost hear a soft bar from a solo.
In the fourth, though, his right eye bothers me... it's not even the shadow, which I do think maybe a touch too dark (though I can see why the shadows would be desired due to moodiness), but the way his eye looks 1/4 closed.

Digital Matt · Apr 22, 2007

Thank you Tangerini. I understand what you are saying abou the 4th one. That was really a candid shot. We had finished shooting, but still had things set up, and he was talking to my wife. He had stepped back a bit into the sunlight, and I snapped one. Then he looked up at me, and I snapped another. As we were all looking through them, that one jumped out. The more I look at it, the more I see things that are technically wrong with it, but it did immediately jump out at us, so I feel good about it somehow also. My next purchase is a large diffuser so I don't have to hide from the sun

Thanks for your comments

danalec99 · Apr 22, 2007

My favorite from this series is the second shot. I enjoy it's overall mood.
Just wish one of his eyes (at least) were not obscured.

brighteyesphotos · Apr 22, 2007

Excellent shots. I ditto the comment about the second one. I'd rather the trumpet was lower so that we could see his eyes.

jemmy · Apr 22, 2007

love the textures and the peaceful feeling of #1... #3 is just beautiful and #5 has a really cute expression even though he seems to be squinting a bit x

THORHAMMER · Apr 22, 2007

I like them all, but the last one prob my favorite its got color in it and seems more lifelike, although the first one is a classic hit !!! pardon the pun..

EOS_JD · Apr 22, 2007

Great series Matt. Love No2.

AprilRamone · Apr 22, 2007

I really love that first one and the 3rd one. I didn't even notice his nose breaking the plane of his face until you mentioned it because it was such a strong image. I love the contrast of his soft looking jacket against the smooth metal of his trumpet in this one.
#3 is harder for me to pinpoint why I like it so much. Obviously it's got great lighting (no suprise coming from you!) I'm really glad that the shadowy side of his face has detail. I think I just like the fact that you got a shot of him playing his instrument.

EOS_JD · Apr 22, 2007

Matt can you share any tips on lighting. I've just purchased some lights and am hoping to start learning!

I bought 3 x Elinchron 400BX units with usual softbox/brollies and a Black/White reversible 7'x7'x8' backdrop. I wanted larger but the guy threw this in wit the lights and a few modifiers.

Looking forward to trying them out and starting my learning journey.

AllI need to buy is barndoors to control where I put the light and a perhaps a panel reflector. This will give me a backdrop light, a hair light and a mainlight with the reflector for fill.

Maybe too much too soon but I'llstart slow and see where it takes me.

craig · Apr 22, 2007

Nice!!!! Beautiful light as always!!!!!!! The first and third shots take the cake for me.

I can not stand his shirt. Stripes and patterns are tough in portraits like this. They seem distracting to me.

Love & Bass

Digital Matt · Apr 23, 2007

Thanks everyone! Craig, his shirt bothers me too, and I even instructed him not to wear any patterns, but to favor solid colors. He's comfortable in that shirt though, so I'd rather have a relaxed, confident subject and a few stripes than the other way around.

JD: Do you have a flash meter? Do you understand lighting ratios? That's the most important thing to learn. Getting good light is easy. You just have to build a light set up one light at a time. I know the look I want to get, and I place the lights accordingly, metering to create ratios that I know will give me that look. Once I have the light setup, and I know I'm getting that great light, the rest is just having fun interacting with the subject.

EOS_JD · Apr 23, 2007

Yes I have had the L308 (which I lost or it was stolen) and then purchased the L-358 which I currently have. Got a great deal on this.

I'm reading up on Ratios at the moment. I have a few books and am pretty confident I understand the basics. Correct me if I'm wrong.....If I have my main light reading f8 and my fill light reading f5.6 - that is a 3:1 ratio? Yes/No?

I agree with you starting with one light and building from there. I'll see how my first images look and try to build from there.

How many lights do you normally use?

Digital Matt · Apr 23, 2007

Yes, you are correct JD. I don't think of them as 3:1, and 5:1. I just think in terms of stops. To me, a 1 stop difference makes much more sense than 3:1.

I have 3 lights. I don't always use all 3. I also have a silver/white reflector, as well as a giant white card. If I were you, I would master the traditional 3:1 setup, basically key, fill, and hairlight, (background light optional depending on what your background is). For a lot of mine, I skip the hair light and make it more of a rim light, splashing light across the subject's back, or one side. This is nice for separating from the background and giving a 3D look. (You can see this in shot #1 of mine up there) With 3 lights, using a reflector or white card for fill, you have two lights to play around with directional lighting, and you can create a myriad of effects.

EOS_JD · Apr 23, 2007

Thanks Matt. Very helpful. Originally I wanted a fairly large backdrop but the kit I purchased came with a 7' x 7' backdrop and also with an 8' train - reversible white/black. I know this limits me a little in terms of the type of shots I'll get but I feel I can learn with this to start with and if I feel I need larger I can sell that and buy perhaps one of the manfrotto systems.

What material and colour do you use as a backdrop? low Key effects look great above and I've purchased books on high and low key lighting.

Have read lots and am now preparing to put some of this knowledge into practice. I've also saw a couple of DVDs and thought about getting one of these. - I'll try it out first and see where it leads me. Hope to have them by Sunday. my friend in Manchester has them in his possession and he's due up at the weekend.