A portrait and an apology

simon ess

simon ess

Just call me Roxanne.
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Just starting to take seriously the learning process to take good portraits.

At the moment I only have myself to practise on. So, apologies for unleashing that on the world, and for the scruffy T-shirt, and for the razor dodging. :)

Would appreciate feedback on the lighting though. Thanks.

DSC_3640 by simon ess, on Flickr
 
Just realised I've put this in the wrong place. Needs to be in photos : people and portraits.

Could it be moved please? Cheers.
 
always difficult with glasses but looking at the zoomed in version on flickr i would say the focus point isnt quite sharp on the eyes and has most likely caught the glasses/frames themselves.
lighting wise i see no real isses, youve got no shadows and as you head is slightly turned its a tad lighter on the right side but this just gives the portrait some depth rather than having a flat image
 
Thanks Dean. That's encouraging.

I'm not bothered about the focus issue. It' totally pot luck with a selfie like this.

The lighting is what I'm interested in.

I'm absolutely trying to avoid flat. So if you feel I've achieved a bit of depth and form, I'm happy.

Thanks.
 
As I said on Flickr lighting is fantastic imho, now nasty rim shadows on show from the glasses. No flare of any sort showing the glass of the glasses... what a tongue tie that is.

And as Dean said its not Flat so all in all this is a great start.
 
The lighting looks pretty good to me,what was the setup.:)
 
Thanks folks. Nice to know I'm on the right track.

@jockwav There's natural light from a large window on the right of picture and a shoot through umbrella left. I also had a large whit card at waist level reflecting up.
 
Simon, good on you for having a go, but you're not on the right track yet. The lighting is very confused and lacking in direction. You have to decide what your primary light source is because here it looks like you have two - the window and the umbrella. The window camera right is providing about 1/2-3/4 of a stop more light than the umbrella camera left. There is no clear understanding of what the key light is doing or even what it is.

I would suggest forgetting about the window light and reflector for now and just use the umbrella. Sit against a wall and kill the ambient light by closing the curtains and turning the room light on. Shoot at about f8 and your sync speed at base ISO and set the brolly up a couple of feet away from you, up and off to the side 45* or so. Get the exposure right and make sure the light is getting into the eyes - we need to see catchlights! Work on moving that key light around at different angles (always remembering those catchlights) and heights to see the effects it produces.
 
Crikey, it gets confusing. That's brought me back down to earth. :) I understand what you mean though Dean. I shall indeed do the exercise you suggest.

Many thanks for your input.
 
It's a pleasure. I understand why the guys above have said they like it, but you need to understand why the light is there or best leave it out.
 
Great advice from Dean as usual.:)
 
The23rdman said:
Simon, good on you for having a go, but you're not on the right track yet. The lighting is very confused and lacking in direction. You have to decide what your primary light source is because here it looks like you have two - the window and the umbrella. The window camera right is providing about 1/2-3/4 of a stop more light than the umbrella camera left. There is no clear understanding of what the key light is doing or even what it is.

I would suggest forgetting about the window light and reflector for now and just use the umbrella. Sit against a wall and kill the ambient light by closing the curtains and turning the room light on. Shoot at about f8 and your sync speed at base ISO and set the brolly up a couple of feet away from you, up and off to the side 45* or so. Get the exposure right and make sure the light is getting into the eyes - we need to see catchlights! Work on moving that key light around at different angles (always remembering those catchlights) and heights to see the effects it produces.
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I have to say even though its not my thread so can remove it if you so wish Simon, but thanks Dean for the simply put idea I have been thinking about portraiture more and more recently and not once have I seen it put like this in a non patronising way and as detailed (with regard to settings). My wife doesn't know it yet but she will be my unwilling subject lol.
 
Tintin124 said:
I have to say even though its not my thread so can remove it if you so wish Simon, but thanks Dean for the simply put idea I have been thinking about portraiture more and more recently and not once have I seen it put like this in a non patronising way and as detailed (with regard to settings). My wife doesn't know it yet but she will be my unwilling subject lol.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, Bryn. Once you have played around with one light you can think about adding in a second or third. Maybe a fill light, but don't put it on the other side to the key - it creates weird shadows. Instead keep it on axis. Maybe play around with a kicker at the back... Saying that though there are dozens of permutations with one light. See what happens when you use different backgrounds and move the subject further away or the light further away. The one light can become two if you consider how it lights the background.
 
Tintin124 said:
I have to say even though its not my thread so can remove it if you so wish Simon, but thanks Dean for the simply put idea I have been thinking about portraiture more and more recently and not once have I seen it put like this in a non patronising way and as detailed (with regard to settings). My wife doesn't know it yet but she will be my unwilling subject lol.
Click to expand...

I totally agree Bryn.

I'm pleased that a response to one of my pictures has helped someone else as well as me.
 
ive always found Matt granger youtube live vids a fantastic source for learning and he does many of these with single flash and umbrella all shot unedited live with the lovely Tina
https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy/search?query=live

this one is a perfect example. single speedlite, single umbrella and shows all the different types of light depending on position and angle
 
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dean messenger said:
ive always found Matt granger youtube live vids a fantastic source for learning and he does many of these with single flash and umbrella all shot unedited live with the lovely Tina
https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy/search?query=live
Click to expand...

I watch a lot of his videos (not his tutorials you buy) and he has the tendency not to advise on the settings or why he does something on the free vids. I think its useful for someone who knows what they are doing or has an idea. May not be the same with the paid tutorials.

May be an issue of me watching too much stuff and confusing myself but think Dean's advice has just clicked with me and made me see sense in it. All my portrait work so far has been with ambient (large lounge window) as I've been scared of flash and getting it right.
 
Cheers Robert.

I totally get what Dean was saying about the light making sense. I paraphrase but that's what it boils down to.

If I was to add another light to this, and I'd like to, it's because I'd understand why I was doing it.

That's one of the best bits of advice I've ever received.
 
simon ess said:
Cheers Robert.

I totally get what Dean was saying about the light making sense. I paraphrase but that's what it boils down to.

If I was to add another light to this, and I'd like to, it's because I'd understand why I was doing it.

That's one of the best bits of advice I've ever received.
Click to expand...

Agree it just makes sense now! I do wonder how the on axis 2nd light would work as it would provide even light on both sides of the subject. So guessing would soften the shadows.
 
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The23rdman said:
Simon, good on you for having a go, but you're not on the right track yet. The lighting is very confused and lacking in direction. You have to decide what your primary light source is because here it looks like you have two - the window and the umbrella. The window camera right is providing about 1/2-3/4 of a stop more light than the umbrella camera left. There is no clear understanding of what the key light is doing or even what it is.

I would suggest forgetting about the window light and reflector for now and just use the umbrella. Sit against a wall and kill the ambient light by closing the curtains and turning the room light on. Shoot at about f8 and your sync speed at base ISO and set the brolly up a couple of feet away from you, up and off to the side 45* or so. Get the exposure right and make sure the light is getting into the eyes - we need to see catchlights! Work on moving that key light around at different angles (always remembering those catchlights) and heights to see the effects it produces.
Click to expand...
Wow. I'm just starting to dabble with portraits, by brolly came yesterday, and this looks like very helpful advice (y)
 
Tintin124 said:
Agree it just makes sense now! I do wonder how the on axis 2nd light would work as it would provide even light on both sides of the subject. So guessing would lessen the shadows.
Click to expand...
It depends on the ratio. In this situation it's often a good idea to add the fill light first. you can, of course, use the ambient as a fill light. Just adjust the shutter speed until the ambient creeps in enough to fill the shadows and then add the key.
 
The23rdman said:
It depends on the ratio. In this situation it's often a good idea to add the fill light first. you can, of course, use the ambient as a fill light. Just adjust the shutter speed until the ambient creeps in enough to fill the shadows and then add the key.
Click to expand...

Thanks again... this may be a little advance for me at moment think I understand it but should play with single light first. It was just the on axis 2nd light thing that took me a little while to work out what it would do or an idea on what it achieves. Model shoots use a beauty dish or similar on axis so it was that running around my head.
 
Well Simon, it looks better than half the corporate headshots I see in the business world!

The only thing which bugs me and it shouldn't because it's natural... but... is the refracted image through the glasses (left lens) which makes the side of your face stick out when you look at it through the lens... it's real but it just looks funny?

As a non-expert (by some considerable stretch) I think your lighting looks very natural and "appropriate" for a male headshot - the facial texture is there to be seen but just right... neither washed away with flat light nor jumping out at you. Well done :)
 
Thanks very much Paul. Really appreciate that.

The refraction bothers me too TBH. I think if I was doing it for real, so to speak, I'd want to eliminate that.
 
Simon that's excellent refraction is a little nuisance.

What did you use as your fill light and what settings did you use compared to the key light?
 
From my short time dabbling in portraiture, i found that as soon as i added a second light i started to struggle. The above does make sense and i will definitely try it.

With regards to 2 lights, i found that with clamshell lighting which yielded the best results for me that having the lower fill light on around 1/3 of the power of the key light worked well but playing with things and making a note of what works and what doesn't really helps too.

Like dean says, i found that slowing the shutter down to allow a little more ambient light come in helped with not only filling the shadows but bringing the background up a little too.
 
Tintin124 said:
What did you use as your fill light?
Click to expand...
The same lumiquest softbox that I used for macro

Tintin124 said:
and what settings did you use compared to the key light?
Click to expand...

Aah, now then....settings. I've been thinking about this.

Rightly or wrongly, I generally go by feel. I was the same when doing macro. I can get pretty close to what I want straight off. A couple or 3 test shots and I'm there.

Should I note settings? Perhaps.

But you'd have to note flash model, distance to subject, modifier used and perhaps other things. All make a difference.

So, at a guess, the fill was about 2/3 the power of the key.

I'll think about this some more.
 
For me, the learning process is a real motivator. Whatever you learn in one area transfers to other areas.

One day I might be able to put it all together to create something original.

Or maybe not - but I'll keep aiming for it.
 
Guys, guys, guys, you need to keep it simple. Get really comfortable with one light and understand what it can do before messing your heads up. work with a single light killing the ambient at max sync speed first and then experiment with bringing a second light source in. Fill lights are great, but there are countless, and I do mean countless, situations where they are not needed. Hell, I almost never use more than a single light source now because it is so adaptable. I can shoot one way then move that light source around and get several different looks really quickly.

Look at these from the same shoot...

Light camera left - broad lighting:

14037642660_b22cb96059_c.jpg


Light just off axis:

14201114826_9c234b30ce_c.jpg


Light almost behind Riaa here, but still the same source (an umbrella box and single speedlight):

14218703971_8f322b6ca4_c.jpg
 
Move her and the light closer to the background and you get grey...

14037639260_5cfc8893e6_c.jpg
 
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