portrait people - help?

[chanda95]

I am trying to improve my skills at portrait photography and am finding it quite a bit of a challenge. My biggest hurdle is taking portraits in the sun but unfortunately my kiddo is a pain and the sun bothers his eyes so I never get a chance to really practice like I want to.

I took these last night under the porch. My goal was to test out different flash settings and figure out the whole bouncing of light and how it helps/hinders a picture.

I meant to bring my camera with me to relay all the settings I used per picture. Sadly - the camera is sitting on my kitchen counter forelorn and forgotten..in terms of technical info I can't provide that until I get home. Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 70D, 18-135mm lense.

I really consider myself a beginner at all of this (new camera and portrait photography)..so would appreciate any comments on what you see that maybe I could have done differently. The only way I will improve and get better is to have help and what better place to get that help than from a bunch of really talented photographers such as yourself!

Anywho..here are the pictures.

OH - Please ignore the dog. Some of the pictures would have been better without him in it but..kids and dogs go together and neither one listens worth a hoot.

I really like a lot of aspects of the three below but the lighting seems a little too harsh maybe (especially the third - the flash was trained right on him in that one instead of offset - all part of the testing and learning process)..but the details seems sharper than the last photo..I think.







And this one was taken the other day (below)..I like it because it feels warmer but it was taken at a different time of day as well. Unfortunately I feel it's lacking a little zip?? Just me? What do you think?

 

[KmH]

Having the flash on the camera and right on the lens long axis eliminates many of the shadows that add a sense of depth and character to a persons face. Part of why you like the last photo is that the shadows add depth and character to his face..

The larger a light source is the softer the light it delivers, on the camera flash units, built-in or on the hot shoe are very small light sources and deliver harsh light.
Because the Sun is so far away it also acts like a small light source and delivers harsh light.

Bouncing the light makes the light source appear a lot larger, but bouncing light also means it has to travel a lot further. Visible light is one form of electromagnetic radiation and it was discovered long ago that as distance increases light power decreases.
That relationship of power fall off to distance is known as the Inverse Square Law, which says that power to distance is a square function.
If you double the distance power is reduced 4x (2 squared - or 1/4), not 2 times (or 1/2). Going the other way, getting closer, the light power increases as a square function.
The law is also why a flashlight or your car headlights have limited range. Inverse-square law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So portrait photographers strive to make the distance as short as possible but at the same time they want to make the apparent size of the light source as big as possible. To keep the distance short and make the apparent light source size larger we use a variety of light modifiers, like umbrellas, softboxes, or diffusion panels.

 

[chanda95]

I really appreciate your information. I am using a speedlite 430 ex ii. I try not to use the on camera flash but admit that I could probably upgrade on the flash as well. In time I will, once I fully understand what I am doing and how to achieve the results I want. I knew that location of light source matters a great deal but didn't factor in size of light source. It makes complete sense. Thank you!!

 

[chanda95]

I should probably invest in another flash as well then shouldn't I? If I really want to take this to the next level.

Will have to look into purchasing some light modifiers as well. money, money, money..

 

[KmH]

No, you don't necessarily need a different flash unit, you just need to learn how to use if effectively.

One way to do that is to NOT let the camera control the flash unit (eTTL modes).
Put the flash unit in manual mode and learn how control the flash yourself. With practice it gets more intuitive.

From the photos you posted I suspect you have your camera white balance set to auto?
What light metering mode do you use to make photos of your son?

 

[chanda95]

Oh shoot..yes the flash is set to eTTL mode. I had thought initially while I was still learning the camera that might be the best option but I am seeing that probably is not the best of ideas. I will absolutely do as you suggest. White balance is also set to auto. I do need to sit down and play with the camera and its functions more. That much is painfully obvious. I got the camera in last week and have only had a chance to pick it up and play with it maybe 4 times. This is also my first DSLR so I am a serious rookie.

I will take your suggestions and try them out tonight and see what sort of a hot mess I can get myself into.

 

[Derrel]

I think Neil Van Niekirk's blog, Tangents, might be one of the best resources for a person who wants to learn about how/when/why regarding the use of flash and bounce flash. He breaks things down pretty well, into small lessons that show, and discuss in writing, how specific situations work in relation to light and how the light hits the subject.

THe last photo has a type of Rembrandt-style "triangular cheek patch of light" lighting effect, and the color "temperature" of the light is what we call warm. The main source of light is off to the camera left side, and his nose casts a shadow, but the main light source is far enough in front of him that the nose shadow does NOT prevent the main light from also striking the camera-right cheek, causing a nice, roughly triangular patch of light to be formed on the cheek camera-right. On the camera-right side of his face, the main light source does NOT hit, causing the camera-right side of his face to drop off into shadow.

If we look at his face, we have highlight/shadow; highlight/shadow;highlight/shadow. THAT is precisely what makes the last picture so appealing. The basic thing is that the MAIN source of light is off to the side of him, and not too far behind him, so that the light can hit the face, hit the nose, create a shadow of the nose, and then the light hits the camera-right cheek, and the far side of the face drops into shadow; this lighting pattern depends on POSITIONING the subject a certain way, in relation to the main source of light.

Rembrandt made an entire career out of paintings done using the above methods, which has ever since been called, "Rembrandt lighting". It's very different from on-lens-axis flash, which with the 430EXii, puts just a small, simple, BLACK under-chin shadow on the neck, and fills the face with light coming straight-on, on the same axis as the lens. THat looks very flat and uninspiring; a MUCH better choice is to put the 430 flash on a short, 1-meter "off-camera flash connecting cord", and hold the flash up high, in your left hand, and angle the flash downward and to the right, to create a shadow pattern that has more visual interest.

If you have a 10-foot or 20-foot, straight, off-camera flash connecting cord (AKA a 20-foot PC cord, see flashzebra.com), the the flash could be moved wayyy off to the left, and the entire scene lighted by the flash, and the Rembrandt lighting effect can be created using flash. You could bounce that same flash off of a large, plain wall, and create a large source of light, which would give a soft look; you could also aim the flash directly, which will create a harder light, with stronger shadows which is many cases looks very dramatic, and reveals texture and shape MUCH more so than "soft light".

"Soft light" gets wayyyy too much emphasis. Hard light is not bad. Hard light is dramatic, exciting, and bold; soft lighting is safe, mundane, and reserved. NOT every subject or every scene looks best with the soft, large-source lighting that so many people wax rhapsodic about. Soft lighting can look effeminate; I would NOT light a college linebacker or a race car driver with the large, ultra-soft light sources that I would use to light a 75 year old great-grandma.

 

[chanda95]

You have been very helpful! Very helpful indeed. I priced the cords after reading your post and absolutely will be investing. In the mean time I will be fiddling with settings to learn HOW to work it properly. I glanced at the blog and it's really good from what I have had a chance to see. I am interested in that book that was discussed as well, Speedlight flash techniques for photographers. It might be a book worth looking into.

Thank you both for your advice and input. That is exactly what I need to give me a bump in the right direction.

 

[Designer]

You've received some very good information on lighting, so I would like to veer off on the composition tangent.

#1 when you're including two subjects, make sure they are both in the frame.
#2 Cropped too tightly and you cropped his head.
#3 position your camera about level with your subject's eyes.
#4 The best light, IMO, but the crop is still too tight.

 

[chanda95]

You've received some very good information on lighting, so I would like to veer off on the composition tangent.

#1 when you're including two subjects, make sure they are both in the frame.
#2 Cropped too tightly and you cropped his head.
#3 position your camera about level with your subject's eyes.
#4 The best light, IMO, but the crop is still too tight.

I totally agree. I tried to get the dog in, and I did get him in a few of my pictures..but he was moving around so much and the only way to get the kid to stay still was to have the dog there..and the few pictures I got with the dog turned out like this..I need to put the dog elsewhere I think.



Yup..I did crop his head..I screwed up on that. Openly admit it.

Thanks on the eye level advice. Will try that next time and see how it turns out. I see what you mean now that I look at the image.

Yes..I see what you mean on the last one as well..I think I just get so focused on one aspect that I don't step back and look at the bigger picture.

Things to work on!