The Gymnast - help please?

sunnyside_up

sunnyside_up

<span class="poty">POTY (Joint) 2016</span>
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Bethy
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So I took this Saturday - Maisie has been one of my models for quite a few shoots, very athletic and up for anything. So I had her come round in her gear and do a few gymnast poses for me. One of the things that bothers me and I must admit have struggled with in the past, is double shadows. I lit her with two strip boxes, one either side. You can see that one was more powerful than the other by the shadows, which is another failing on the photo. But I think the biggest failing is the double shadows. So my question is: how would I have prevented this from happening in the first place? I'm pleased with how her body was lit, just not the lower part to the floor. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

The Gymnast by BethBotterill, on Flickr
 
Can't say it bothers me that much Beth if I'm honest and I have no idea how you'd solve it.

One thing I have noticed with your shots is the curve in the background. It obviously catches the light and stands out on them all. Again, not sure how you'd combat this?
 
minnnt said:
Can't say it bothers me that much Beth if I'm honest and I have no idea how you'd solve it.

One thing I have noticed with your shots is the curve in the background. It obviously catches the light and stands out on them all. Again, not sure how you'd combat this?
Click to expand...

Thanks David. Regards to the curve, I think it comes down with not having a large enough lounge... I could do with bringing it out more, and separating my subject from the background further... unfortunately, the space I have doesn't allow for it. I guess I'm going to have to get my husband to build me that studio after all... ;)
 
Yep. Good excuse I reckon. A nice big shed on the back garden all kitted out. :D But you'd have to do your jumping around on the front garden then...

I have the same problem, space! I'd love to use 'proper' portrait lenses but just can't get far enoughaway from the subject with them so I tend to stick with my 35. II've been contemplating some backgrounds but just don't really have the required space to utilize them in the house properly.
 
Maybe placing the light source at floor level would reduce the shadows acceptably while still ensuring the model was lit in the required manner?
 
some times you have to clone to get the effect or the photo that you need, less pressure i think
 
I had cause to do something remarkably similar a little while ago. The double shadow is almost inevitable with split lighting but it can be avoided. However I found that the image looked wrong when lit from both sides but with only one shadow.

I am not an expert but if you do want to get rid of the shadows then I can think of four possible approaches:
  1. Can change the angle of the light so it doesn't cast a shadow
  2. Add more light to eliminate any shadows cast
  3. Shoot from a lower angle to make the shadows much less apparent
  4. Photoshop
.. or more likely, a combination of all four.

I often fit grids to stripboxes to improve control - I suspect that you didn't in this case? If you use a grid and position the strip boxes as low as possible - and then angle one of them upwards then you can reduce the amount of shadow cast on the floor.

Or... it would give quite different results but you could use a much larger diffuse light source on one side so the light wraps your model, reducing shadows that way. Could you turn one of the stripboxes around so that it bounces off a white wall? Or turn the strip box so that it is either horizontal or on the diagonal (this last is a very useful trick that I keep forgetting!).

A similar approach would be too illuminate the floor in a subtle targeted way - add a bit of fill via reflector or another light, perhaps flagging it so that it doesn't strike the model. I suspect that would be hard to get right.

I don't mind the shadows at all - in fact I chose to make a feature of them - but I'm not a fan of the highlight emphasising the curve of the backdrop. Again, grids would help to avoid illuminating that part of it, though I ended up using large flats to keep the light from my strip boxes off the backdrop and illuminated it separately. Even then I find that this kind of work needs a certain amount of attention in Photoshop.

hth
 
juggler said:
I had cause to do something remarkably similar a little while ago. The double shadow is almost inevitable with split lighting but it can be avoided. However I found that the image looked wrong when lit from both sides but with only one shadow.

I am not an expert but if you do want to get rid of the shadows then I can think of four possible approaches:
  1. Can change the angle of the light so it doesn't cast a shadow
  2. Add more light to eliminate any shadows cast
  3. Shoot from a lower angle to make the shadows much less apparent
  4. Photoshop
.. or more likely, a combination of all four.

I often fit grids to stripboxes to improve control - I suspect that you didn't in this case? If you use a grid and position the strip boxes as low as possible - and then angle one of them upwards then you can reduce the amount of shadow cast on the floor.

Or... it would give quite different results but you could use a much larger diffuse light source on one side so the light wraps your model, reducing shadows that way. Could you turn one of the stripboxes around so that it bounces off a white wall? Or turn the strip box so that it is either horizontal or on the diagonal (this last is a very useful trick that I keep forgetting!).

A similar approach would be too illuminate the floor in a subtle targeted way - add a bit of fill via reflector or another light, perhaps flagging it so that it doesn't strike the model. I suspect that would be hard to get right.

I don't mind the shadows at all - in fact I chose to make a feature of them - but I'm not a fan of the highlight emphasising the curve of the backdrop. Again, grids would help to avoid illuminating that part of it, though I ended up using large flats to keep the light from my strip boxes off the backdrop and illuminated it separately. Even then I find that this kind of work needs a certain amount of attention in Photoshop.

hth
Click to expand...

Thanks Simon. You're an absolute star. Fab pointers/tips and advice, all taken on board for my next attempt! :)
 
sunnyside_up said:
@juggler : https://www.facebook.com/SimonCarte...5387723826728/853438758021623/?type=1&theater

This!!! This is such a fab image!!! Now I wished I thrown a Gobo into the ring as well! Super dude! And you're right, your double shadows work well here. Nice infinity curve ;)
Click to expand...

You're too kind! I like this one because it's not flat on to the viewer, unlike most acrobatic poses.
The gobo was a speedlight in a 60cm softbox with the diffusers removed, and wide velcro strips stretched across the front of it.
The shadows from the gobo were actually too strong but I didn't realise until afterwards. Getting good separation from the background was really tricky as the legs would either vanish into the shadows or the highlights according to how they caught the light. You may want to leave some diffusion in place when you give it a go!
 
yea, I have to agree... I fiddled with it at work, one monitor is calibrated, the other isn't.. guess which one I was working on... doh.
 
minnnt said:
Even just a touch more exposure on her face would work, her arms seem fine on second viewing.

Be careful that you don't get caught fiddling with it at work, can have disastrous consequences...
Click to expand...

I won't tell if you won't.
 
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