Took your advice on Self headshots

[Braineack]

thanks for your comments everyone! I am chuckling right now because I was thrilled when I took these...and then you guys tear me apart!! haha I want to improve though so I am very glad for the help. I'm just a regular person though, not a photographer so I don't even know what some of the things you say about light mean.

I spent all weekend taking pictures of myself just to practice lighting.

I think I'll just go to a professional soon. These are pageant headshots, thus the hair and makeup. I bought this light set and it came with 2 tall lights and one short one. I use the 2 tall ones with umbrellas on either side of me,then I put the shorter one in front of me which was a mistake obviously. I didn't think about the shadows that would be cast. If you had 2 tall lights and 1 short light, where would you put them for photos such as this? I need elementary language. This is the kit, please tell me where to put the lights Amazon.com: LimoStudio-Photography Photo Portrait Studio 600W Day Light Umbrella Continuous Lighting Kit: Camera & Photo

If I had that kit and was trying to take the shots you want (besides using speedlights instead of continous). I'd probably try something like this:



I put the one further back so it will work as a fill and the one closer a key. This setup is called "clamshell" if you want to look it up. The third bare light I'd put directly behind you facing you as a rim/hair light, or you can point it directly at the backdrop, see which you like better.

this video is pretty much what I was thinking:





Also take this post with a grain of salt, im just as amatuer at lighting/portraits as you are. But here's what I was able to come up with on Sunday with just two lights in a clamshell like configuration: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80607199@N08/10776531416/

 

[lambertpix]

I am unsure why these weren't focused since I used a tripod and auto focus.

Depending on your camera, you might be able to see where, exactly, the camera thought it was focusing. If you're letting the camera autofocus and you're not looking through the viewfinder to see the focus point(s) it's using, all you know is that the camera thought *something* was in focus -- even it it's not your eyes. If you can pre-set a focus point to an area that's likely to contain an eye when you get back in-frame, you might have better luck with that, but I've found focus to be really tricky when doing self-portraits.

 

[Braineack]

What camera do you have?

 

[tirediron]

thanks for your comments everyone! I am chuckling right now because I was thrilled when I took these...and then you guys tear me apart!! haha I want to improve though so I am very glad for the help. I'm just a regular person though, not a photographer so I don't even know what some of the things you say about light mean.

I spent all weekend taking pictures of myself just to practice lighting.

I think I'll just go to a professional soon. These are pageant headshots, thus the hair and makeup. I bought this light set and it came with 2 tall lights and one short one. I use the 2 tall ones with umbrellas on either side of me,then I put the shorter one in front of me which was a mistake obviously. I didn't think about the shadows that would be cast. If you had 2 tall lights and 1 short light, where would you put them for photos such as this? I need elementary language. This is the kit, please tell me where to put the lights Amazon.com: LimoStudio-Photography Photo Portrait Studio 600W Day Light Umbrella Continuous Lighting Kit: Camera & Photo

If I had that kit and was trying to take the shots you want (besides using speedlights instead of continous). I'd probably try something like this:

View attachment 60112

I put the one further back so it will work as a fill and the one closer a key. This setup is called "clamshell" if you want to look it up. The third bare light I'd put directly behind you facing you as a rim/hair light, or you can point it directly at the backdrop, see which you like better.

this video is pretty much what I was thinking:





Also take this post with a grain of salt, im just as amatuer at lighting/portraits as you are. But here's what I was able to come up with on Sunday with just two lights in a clamshell like configuration: Selfie 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Just so no gets confused with terminology, that is NOT clamshell lighting; that is probably (depending on how you refine the angles) most likely to give you a loop lighting pattern. Clamshell uses two lights in front of the subject; one above and one below with the two modifiers acting like the shell of a clam. It produces a very nice light, but is a little trickier to nail. The pattern you've shown in the diagram is a good one the type of work the OP has shown however.

 

[Braineack]

Just so no gets confused with terminology, that is NOT clamshell lighting; that is probably (depending on how you refine the angles) most likely to give you a loop lighting pattern. Clamshell uses two lights in front of the subject; one above and one below with the two modifiers acting like the shell of a clam. It produces a very nice light, but is a little trickier to nail. The pattern you've shown in the diagram is a good one the type of work the OP has shown however.

My bad, I thought any two light sources being above and below or from the sides roughly 45° from each other was considered clamshell.

 

[tirediron]

No biggie... this is clamshell.

 

[kundalini]

If I had that kit and was trying to take the shots you want (besides using speedlights instead of continous). I'd probably try something like this:

View attachment 60112

I put the one further back so it will work as a fill and the one closer a key. This setup is called "clamshell" if you want to look it up. The third bare light I'd put directly behind you facing you as a rim/hair light, or you can point it directly at the backdrop, see which you like better.

This setup is cross lighting the subject. If you're trying to remove all shadow, this type of lighting will work, but is IMO is quite bland. It is far more conventional to have a lit side and a shadow side to the face. The gradation can vary from minor to major, depending on the mood to be achieved. Having the Fill light on the same camera side as the Main will produce a more natural lighting because the lighting patterns are not in conflict with one another.

I would suggest something more in line with this diagram.

Also, a "Clamshell" lighting pattern will have a light above and a light below the subjects face, not on either side.

 

[kundalini]

Just so no gets confused with terminology, that is NOT clamshell lighting; that is probably (depending on how you refine the angles) most likely to give you a loop lighting pattern. Clamshell uses two lights in front of the subject; one above and one below with the two modifiers acting like the shell of a clam.

Beat me to it John, I got a phone call while typing that distracted me.

 

[Braineack]

Kundalini, in that diagram you're basically using a reflector to bounce the main light (next to camera) onto the subject?

 

[kundalini]

Kundalini, in that diagram you're basically using a reflector to bounce the main light (next to camera) onto the subject?

There is no reflector used in the diagram, otherwise you would read the word 'reflector' in the verbiage. The descriptors are Soft Box or Umbrella, with a corresponding graphic.

 

[Braineack]

got it. was just making sure.

 

[MyOwnPaparazzi]

thanks for your comments everyone! I am chuckling right now because I was thrilled when I took these...and then you guys tear me apart!! haha I want to improve though so I am very glad for the help. I'm just a regular person though, not a photographer so I don't even know what some of the things you say about light mean. I think I'll just go to a professional soon. These are pageant headshots, thus the hair and makeup. I bought this light set and it came with 2 tall lights and one short one. I use the 2 tall ones with umbrellas on either side of me,then I put the shorter one in front of me which was a mistake obviously. I didn't think about the shadows that would be cast. If you had 2 tall lights and 1 short light, where would you put them for photos such as this? I need elementary language. This is the kit, please tell me where to put the lights Amazon.com: LimoStudio-Photography Photo Portrait Studio 600W Day Light Umbrella Continuous Lighting Kit: Camera & Photo

I am chuckling too because I just saw you changed your profile picture Anyway, 600w is a lot for one light, but that's for three light total in your case, which means only 200w per light. And the light you have is "Watts: 45W - Equals to 200W Regular", in reality I never feel 45w as bright as 200w, so I doubt you have enough light to freeze your motion when taking portraits. Now I am laughing again, at myself this time. Because I bought continuous light to start taking portraits thinking they are cheap. I never used them to take one single portraits I like. And they are stored in my place and I used only the light stand, which are flimsy. Anyway the short light is for background, so it can be hidden behind you to light the background, that's why usually it does not come with umbrella to soften the light and small enough to hide. Surely you can put somewhere else for other use. If you do want to try to take portraits with these lights, here are some advice for you, You can use two tall lights as front side lighting. For you, You need one of them brighter and one of then darker to create some shadows and dimensions on your face. Since you probably cannot adjust the power output of each light you can adjust the distance of two lights relative to your subject to adjust the power, one closer and one far away. And since the lighting is not enough, you will need to bump up your ISO I would say above 800 to achieve fast shutter speed like faster than 125th second for sharp image. You can put a light stand in front of camera to manual focus then remove it to take photos you want to try self portrait. If you want more advice, I recommend watching some videos on YouTube, a guy called mark Wallace on either adorama tv or snapfactory channel has lots of great tips about taking portraits and general photos. What's your headshot for ? If you want real professional one, check their website first and compare which photographer you like. Hope it helps. Cheers, Julian

what profile pic are you referring to? Thanks for the advice this truly helps! I have no idea why I'm trying so hard at this. I usually take photos outdoors, of flowers and my doggies. I bought the continuous lights initially to use for filming my youtube videos and they work very well for that purpose most of the time. It never dawned on me that I needed strobe lighting but I am looking at getting some soon to play with. I use a canon rebel t4i to the person who asked. the lens is a 17-85 mm and pretty awesome. I have a 50mm fixed one as well, would that be better for portraits?

 

[kundalini]

got it. was just making sure.

For instance.....

 

[kundalini]

what profile pic are you referring to? Thanks for the advice this truly helps! I have no idea why I'm trying so hard at this. I usually take photos outdoors, of flowers and my doggies. I bought the continuous lights initially to use for filming my youtube videos and they work very well for that purpose most of the time. It never dawned on me that I needed strobe lighting but I am looking at getting some soon to play with. I use a canon rebel t4i to the person who asked. the lens is a 17-85 mm and pretty awesome. I have a 50mm fixed one as well, would that be better for portraits?

Either will work fine, especially since you have lighting to use. My only suggestion is to use the 17-85mm at a focal length from 35mm onward. Shorter focal lengths will introduce distortion to facial features, like a honker of a nose.

Also keep in mind what tirediron mentioned earlier about your aperture, f/5.6 to f/8.

 

[MyOwnPaparazzi]

ahahaha i already have a...err...prominent nose so I don't want to make it look even larger hahahaha