New Portrait one light set up. (New to me)

[ronlane]

I saw a tutorial on youtube about how to do a one light set up with rim lighting and thought I'd try it. It needs more work but my model was bored just standing there. Guess it's getting time to start paying for a model. The one thing that I think I see is the mixed light is causing me an issue and that I could use some gels.

1) Possibly at little too bright. Thought the square crop looked best on this.



2) I think I like the pose, but her eyes need to be open a little more and could be sharper.



3) I think I like this one the best.

 

[Designer]

#1; square crop is perfect! Light seems o.k. to me.
#2; my favorite! Your daughter's pose is heart-warming.
#3; perhaps a little too much difference between the highlights and shadows.

If only one light, what is making the rim light? I do like the effect.

 

[ronlane]

#1; square crop is perfect! Light seems o.k. to me.
#2; my favorite! Your daughter's pose is heart-warming.
#3; perhaps a little too much difference between the highlights and shadows.

If only one light, what is making the rim light? I do like the effect.

The speedlight is behind her and I had my wife stand on a ladder with a silver reflector above me to reflect light into her face. (I had to use a brush to her face to push the exposure a little.)

Here is the video that I watched.

 

[Designer]

Oh, I see. Ask your wife to try bending the reflector this way and that to see if it makes a difference. The model needs more light under her chin.

 

[ronlane]

Oh, I see. Ask your wife to try bending the reflector this way and that to see if it makes a difference. The model needs more light under her chin.

Yeah I agree. I think this is going to be a really good technique for me once I get the reflector in the right spot. It's close but I wasn't expecting perfect for the first time.

 

[Braineack]

Cute. I like the technique. Reflector was out of place...I don't like the shadows under the eyes.

 

[PinkDoor]

The direction of light seems too high, but I like the idea of using one light to achieve a back-lit look.

 

[ronlane]

The direction of light seems too high, but I like the idea of using one light to achieve a back-lit look.

Yeah the reflector was a bit too high, still learning how to use it but I do really like it.

 

[ronlane]

Same photo just with a b&w conversion, what do you think?

 

[PinkDoor]

I think the b/w conversion is an improvement. . . . maybe first lighten your shadows, and then convert? My try:

 

[tirediron]

Good start Ron; I agree that the reflector placement could have been tweaked just a little; ideally you want to move/bend it to give you a little catchlight as well as fill on the face.

 

[pgriz]

Ron, for a first attempt, this is really good. I'm going to have to try it. When I photography my family members in posed situations, I use two umbrellas and flashes on radio triggers. When at other people's homes, then it's a single flash bounced off a wall or ceiling. Single flash with a reflector - need to explore. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[kundalini]

My thoughts of Rim/Hair/Accent lighting is that it should be a companion light for the Main and Fill.

 

[ronlane]

Good start Ron; I agree that the reflector placement could have been tweaked just a little; ideally you want to move/bend it to give you a little catchlight as well as fill on the face.

Thank tirediron. Yeah, I need to teach VAL a little more about her job

Ron, for a first attempt, this is really good. I'm going to have to try it. When I photography my family members in posed situations, I use two umbrellas and flashes on radio triggers. When at other people's homes, then it's a single flash bounced off a wall or ceiling. Single flash with a reflector - need to explore. Thanks for the inspiration.

Thank you pgriz. I'm just watching video's on youtube trying to learn more and add new tools. Anything that I can try with one light, is good right now, since that's all I have.

 

[kundalini]

...... Anything that I can try with one light, is good right now, since that's all I have.

There is a lot of looks you can get from a one-light-setup. But don't forget, you're not necessarily saddled with only one light. You can use an open window to use as the Main, Fill or Accent light. Adding reflectors in the mix would confuse the hell out of people trying to deconstruct your photo on how you got so much light from a one-light-setup. Also, mirrors can bounce the hell out of light coming from a window.

It seems to me in the photos you posted, there is an unnatural shadowing on the girl of her age. Also IMO, Rim lighting should be used subtly to highlight the subject's hair without blowing it out.

Alternatively, you can use Rim lighting to put the subject in silhouette. This can be an interesting result. HERE, I bounced the one light off the opposite wall.