Speedlite practice

[ndancona]

Practicing a few different light setups at home on myself. C&C welcome.

 

[tirediron]

It really depends on the look you're going for. In general, I find these a bit under-exposed and deeply shadowed. What was your flash-to-subject distance and what modifier(s) were you using?

 

[ndancona]

was going for moody shadows and Rembrandt lighting. 60x60 softbox on key light. Bare speedlite for rim light on second image.

 

[Designer]

#2 is worthy.

 

[Derrel]

I liked #1, the B&W the most. I dunno...I liked the way Rembrandt did this, in paint, more than the way this looks in most photographs, done in the modern era...it's just so dark and theatrical. In general this lighting often looks very dark and heavy to me.

As far as split lighting goes, it is a classic lighting technique mentioned in all the lighting guides and texts, and I can think of maybe a handful of good images of people made with that lighting style. To me, it's one of the most unflattering ways of lighting ever invented. I mean...one side illuminated, the other side, black? Ehhh...

None of this commentary should be construed to be any type of reflection on you.

 

[ndancona]

I've been immersing myself in Creative Live workshops on lighting. Thought it was time to test out a few techniques.

 

[Derrel]

I've been immersing myself in Creative Live workshops on lighting. Thought it was time to test out a few techniques.

Yes, that makes total sense. CL has some awesome workshops. I enjoy watching them. And there comes a time when ya' gotta' actually do the testing and the shooting and so on. I've found that selfies can be very tricky to do, since you don;t get that immediate feedback, and you constantly have to move/shoot/get up/review/adjust/re-seat, and so on...very challenging.

Not sure if you've seen it, but the Strobist 101 on-line course's list of shooting and lighting exercises is pretty good, and still has a nice FLickr pool of samples from many people, on each different mini-exercise, so yuo can see how the effects can work out in "real-world" situations across the globe, for many,many people. That was a big, big deal a few years back, and was a remarkable phenomenon, a sort of huuuuge group lighting workshop and C&C opportunity,l the likes of which I had never ever seen before (or since).

THe split lighting thing is something that's in every single text and course...and it does serve a purpose...it shows how a light coming in from one side looks. I think it's almost always awful on a person...but you know what? It can look pretty good on an apple, or some grapes.

 

[ndancona]

Thanks for your input. Appreciate every word!