Swimsuit models NSFW

[jlykins]

Got into the new studio last week, and after a few days of painting and stuff this was the first shoot I did. These are a couple of "swimsuit models" that work for a small production company in Cincinnati. CC welcome. Almost forgot, the setup is all whitelightning strobes. a 1200 at about 45degrees camera right, a 1200 just to the camera left, and two 1200's on the background. First time using the new strobes, and man those things are powerful.

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[Christie Photo]

Man..... the lighting on these is too flat. No punch.

Sorry. I can't add anything more.

-Pete

 

[Big Mike]

Not bad...but I agree with Pete, they could use more punch.

They need more contrast, which could probably be done pretty easily with levels & curves. As for the lighting, a greater ratio between your key & fill lights might help.

 

[Mike_E]

Looks like you could also do with a flag for your lights. You appear to be getting a little washout from them.

 

[crazycreature11]

good shots ! nice angles

 

[Christie Photo]

Looks like you could also do with a flag for your lights. You appear to be getting a little washout from them.

I wondered if it wasn't coming off the background.

-Pete

 

[jlykins]

I wondered if it wasn't coming off the background.

-Pete

Could have been. Main light was f8 key was f5.6 and both background lights were f11. Took a meter reading from about 4 feet in front of the background and got f11 at 1/250th. That's what I was shooting at. Next time I'm going to drop the key to f4 or maybe slightly higher. We'll see. I agree that the lighting is a bit flat. Luckily the customer was happy. That's all that really matters to me...

 

[Christie Photo]

Main light was f8 key was f5.6 and both background lights were f11...

That sounds about right to me, presuming you mean the fill was at f5.6.

In fact, I would expect you had the background 2 stops over the main.

Hmmm......

Do you keep your main and your fill the same distance from the subject?

-Pete

 

[jlykins]

That sounds about right to me, presuming you mean the fill was at f5.6.

In fact, I would expect you had the background 2 stops over the main.

Hmmm......

Do you keep your main and your fill the same distance from the subject?

-Pete

Yeah same distance. I think it may have been the mismatched heads. I realized a few minutes ago that I was using a White lightning 600 as the main, and the 1200 as the fill. Ooops...

 

[jlykins]

Wait, wait, wait, that shouldn't matter though. The light meter read what the output was no matter what, hmmm. I'll have to look at the setup later. Maybe pop each one again just to verify the output...

 

[Christie Photo]

Yeah same distance...

Have you ever tried having both lights with the same output, but position the fill further back... behind the camera?

This is an old "film" approach. The thinking was "expose for the shadows, print for the highlights." This doesn't apply to digital. These days, I expose for the highlights and adjust the shadows to get the ratio I want.

But anyway.... I still work with the main light in close and the fill light behind me just to free up the space between the subject and myself (I like to move in a lot to adjust hair/clothing). And, the light will act differently with main in close... softer, wrap-around quality, softer edge shadow. You get larger catch lights too.

I keep the modeling light on the fill turned off so I can better see the modeling from the main.

 

[Big Mike]

I position the main/key light as close to the subject as possible...to make it as soft as possible (when I want soft light).
My fill light however, is farther back...sometimes a lot farther back if I've got the room. One reason for this, is because it minimizes the catchlight from the fill.

Also, the fill light need not be opposite the key light. The fill should be (can be) thought of as a flat wash of light that brings up the levels of everything the camera sees. It does not (or should not) cast it's own shadows for the camera to see...so it could be right above the camera or wherever works for you.

 

[Christie Photo]

The fill should be (can be) thought of as a flat wash of light... It does not (or should not) cast it's own shadows for the camera to see...so it could be right above the camera or wherever works for you.

Well said, Mike.

And remember... that light (the fill light) is providing one unit of light on the entire subject. So if your main is twice the output (two units of light), you add two to the one coming from the fill, giving you three units in the highlights and one in the shadows... a 3:1 lighting ratio. This is a great place to start.


-Pete

 

[jlykins]

Very helpful info. I'm going to mess with that later when I get back to the studio. They're new lights, so. I'm learning their quirks.

 

[craig]

Why is she wearing a swimsuit in the studio? Why are you using chairs? The lighting could use some work, but that is a personal opinion. Seems like you have the basics down.

Love & Bass