Senior Portrait

[twocolor]

Okay, alot of these were done in a post processing style that I don't usually do. The kid asked for the kinda rough look - I took that to mean grunge . . . ?

Anyway, let me know if I did okay by him AND by me.

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This one was practice with my new lighting set up. I finally upgraded to strobe lights, and bought some gels. Did I do it right? My question here as well, is why is there a dark portion (almost vignette looking) on the edge of my picture? You'll notice it on number one as well, this time on the bottom because I turned my camera for a landscape style portrait. What's up with it?

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[rub]

I really like number 2, 4 8 & 9. I think you nailed the "rough" look in those ones! 1 seems kinda plain, especially compared to the rest. And with 7 - it looks very...hmm..feminine? The pink combined with the fur on the jacket just seems so different from the rest of the shots.

 

[Big Mike]

Pretty good, as usual. As for mean & grungy...some of them start to go there...but I think it would have helped to use a more dramatic lighting ratio on him.

My question here as well, is why is there a dark portion (almost vignette looking) on the edge of my picture? You'll notice it on number one as well, this time on the bottom because I turned my camera for a landscape style portrait. What's up with it?

That is your shutter intruding into the image during your flash burst...or, in other words, your shutter speed is too fast. When using strobes, you need to keep the shutter speed at or below the max sync speed...and often, when using studio strobes for example, you need to take it down another step or two.

 

[BuZzZeRkEr]

Great shots as always! where do you get your great frames?

 

[twocolor]

Thanks for the compliments! I'm having issues about that "pink" one myself! I was hoping to get a harder red with the gels I used, so I am a little disappointed there, and the fur coat thing . . . yeah!

Thanks Mike for the help, I'll go set back up. I was using the fastest shutter speed that my lights would sync with. I slow it down a titch and close down my aperture instead.

My frames are from PSHero.com he's got some great stuff on there, go check it out! Some of his tutorials are just awesome! I bookmarked it, plan on going back often!

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks Mike for the help, I'll go set back up. I was using the fastest shutter speed that my lights would sync with. I slow it down a titch and close down my aperture instead.

Shutter speed actually has no bearing on flash exposure (besides the shutter sync issue). You will get the same shot with 1/200 as you would with 1/20...provided that you aren't using ambient light as well. The flash exposure is a result of the aperture and the flash power (and ISO of course).

 

[twocolor]

Shutter speed actually has no bearing on flash exposure (besides the shutter sync issue). You will get the same shot with 1/200 as you would with 1/20...provided that you aren't using ambient light as well. The flash exposure is a result of the aperture and the flash power (and ISO of course).

Yeah, that makes sense, leaving the shutter open for half a second isn't going to matter much because the flash isn't on for that duration.

So except for maybe freezing motion of little rambunctious kids, I can see how the shutter speed wouldn't make a difference.

I'd never thought it through like that, I'm too used to continuous lighting.

Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

That is one of the great things about shooting with strobes...you don't need to worry about freezing the movement of people or your camera. The flash burst is usually so fast, it's like using a shutter speed of 1/1000. Of course, that depends on your lights and your power setting...but unless you subjects are really moving...it's not something you need to worry about.

It also allows you to disregard ambient light...or not. You could shoot in a studio with the room light on...because if your shutter speed is 1/200 and your aperture is F11...that ambient light probably won't register at all. If you want to use a combination of flash and ambient (maybe window) light, then all you have to do is slow down the shutter speed.

Also, if you have enough light power, you can use a smaller aperture for a greater DOF, without having to worry about shutter speed. When using constant light, it might be challenging to shoot a group of people because you may need F11 to get them all in focus...but your light only allows for a shutter speed of 1/15 @ F11. The alternative would be to turn up the ISO. With strobes, the shutter speed doesn't matter and the flash will give you a sharp image...as long as you have enough flash power to shoot at F11.

You probably didn't need to be told all that...I'll be quite now