more OCF portrait practice.

[ronlane]

It's been over a month since I've done any OCF lighting and portrait work. Scared that I better practice before I loose it. Actually, I was watching a youtube video about the speed lights and the zoom. When I watched it, I was wondering what the setting on my light was because I don't remember ever changing it or understanding it. So after playing with it I made the daughter sit on the couch for me.

What is your C&C on the lighting. (You can ignore the fly-away hair and the posing on these, I know those things are issues) The lighting set up was one speed light shot through an umbrella on the camera right and using a reflector on camera left. The only lighting was the speed light and the light coming in from the window behind her. The camera settings were ISO400, 50mm, f/8.0, and 1/100 sec. The processing is lightroom 4 and nik collection, where I softened the skin a little and brightened the eyes and removed some of the noise from the low light and the ISO400

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[binga63]

i like them...... but
there is a definite break between the face(where you have touched it up) and her hair... which gives her a scary mask like appearance

 

[tirediron]

Not bad Ron; I think though you could have moved the reflector back a little more so that it was more like 90 degrees to the subject. That would have eliminated the second, low catchlight, but that's pretty minor.

 

[Derrel]

I like the lighting pattern and the way the broad highlights and broad shadows make her look three-dimensional. I think maybe pulling the brightness on her face down a small amount might help. I'm usually not worried about noise removal...I might even like a bit of noise, but I grew up on Tri-X 400 in 35mm, so I am used to a grainy image.

I think the overall lighting pattern gives a very "real" look to it, like the way we wish our living room lighting would actually look!

 

[ronlane]

i like them...... but
there is a definite break between the face(where you have touched it up) and her hair... which gives her a scary mask like appearance

Thanks, I probably shouldn't have softened her skin at all, since she is so young, but she's my practice model

Not bad Ron; I think though you could have moved the reflector back a little more so that it was more like 90 degrees to the subject. That would have eliminated the second, low catchlight, but that's pretty minor.

Thanks tirediron. I struggle with how far/close to put the reflector but I'll keep practicing on it. (Is it easier with another speed light as the fill?)

I like the lighting pattern and the way the broad highlights and broad shadows make her look three-dimensional. I think maybe pulling the brightness on her face down a small amount might help. I'm usually not worried about noise removal...I might even like a bit of noise, but I grew up on Tri-X 400 in 35mm, so I am used to a grainy image.

I think the overall lighting pattern gives a very "real" look to it, like the way we wish our living room lighting would actually look!

Thanks Derrel, The noise in these were pretty bad. I used dfine 2.0 but didn't have to bump it up much.

 

[ronlane]

I went back to lightroom and made the suggested adjustments (except the reflector, lol). I pulled the highlights down to -11 and I removed the skin softening.

It's funny how small changes can make a difference.

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[sk66]

I don't really see much evidence of utilizing the zoom function. Essentially, it functions as a variable snoot. You can move the flash closer, reduce the power (or TTL), and do stuff like this:

 

[ronlane]

I don't really see much evidence of utilizing the zoom function. Essentially, it functions as a variable snoot. You can move the flash closer, reduce the power (or TTL), and do stuff like this:

That's because it is at it's widest setting to give me a big light source. In my previous work with it, I had it zoomed to give me that more focused light. When I would do this, I was getting a more harsh shadow that I didn't like.

 

[sk66]

Ah yes, it normally follows the lens' FL if not put into manual zoom.... I typically use the stock diffusion dome in front of a flashbender (large bounce panel) for softer lighting. It works as well as a small softbox for me.