Christie Photo
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2005
- Messages
- 7,199
- Reaction score
- 148
- Location
- Kankakee, IL
- Website
- www.christiephoto.com
The lighting/exposure is terrible. Especially in the first one.
Well... to expand on this a bit...
One might consider the lighting SO FAR is fine IF you think of the light you've used is just the skim, or kicker light. Now you need to add a fill and main light.
There's much more to lighting a shot like this than merely having adequate light. Each and every light should have a purpose, creating a desired effect.
Think of it a starting with a blank canvas. Each time you add take a brush and add some paint, you're adding to the composition. Since this is done with light in our medium, approach it the same way.
Start with general illumination... the fill lighting. This will be flat, shadowless light, making a record of the entire scene.
Then, add a main light (or key light). This light will provide shape to the subject. Position it so it lights the more important parts of you subject. Start with a light that is twice the power of the fill light. You can then increase or decrease the output to achieve the lighting ratio (or lighting scheme) you want.
Now add other lights, like on the background, hair, skim, etc. This first photo appears as if you've turned off the main and the fill, making a shot with only the skim.
I hope this is helpful.
-Pete