Beginner Advice on lighting options for indoor profile images

[mikeyw]

Hi,

I've been asked by a friend to take some images for him and his colleagues at work. I plan to use light grey back drop and on camera flash with bounce at roughly 45 degrees with bounce card, also using some available window light if possible. Ceilings are quite low and whitish in colour.

Could i benefit from introducing a studio light in a softbox that i have available also ? lens wise i'll be using a 50mm or 85mm on a D7100.

I'm a real novice when it comes to lighting so any advice much appreciated, especially on what options are likely to work best and how to best position them. Images will be head and shoulder only.

Was thinking of starting with the backdrop opposite the window light and seeing how little bounced flash i could get away with that yields a good exposure or is natural light from the side preferable with a little fill in flash.

Many thanks in advance,
Mike.

 

[UaeExile]

Hi,

I've been asked by a friend to take some images for him and his colleagues at work. I plan to use light grey back drop and on camera flash with bounce at roughly 45 degrees with bounce card, also using some available window light if possible. Ceilings are quite low and whitish in colour.

Could i benefit from introducing a studio light in a softbox that i have available also ? lens wise i'll be using a 50mm or 85mm on a D7100.

I'm a real novice when it comes to lighting so any advice much appreciated, especially on what options are likely to work best and how to best position them. Images will be head and shoulder only.

Was thinking of starting with the backdrop opposite the window light and seeing how little bounced flash i could get away with that yields a good exposure or is natural light from the side preferable with a little fill in flash.

Many thanks in advance,
Mike.

You will benefit IMMENSELY from introducing studio light in a softbox.

I'll let others guide you on lighting techniques as I'm no expert.

 

[mikeyw]

Thanks Adam - i'd love to know more about good lighting technique indoor but wouldn't know where to start.....any ideas ?

I'm sure i'd get endless articles on Google but don't want to follow duff info

 

[Kodiak Qc]

Could i benefit from introducing a studio light in a softbox that i have available also ?

A studio light is a light used in studio… it doesn't say if it is continuous or flash.
If continuous tungsten, make sure the modifier can stand the heat. If diode or
flash, no problem

lens wise i'll be using a 50mm or 85mm on a D7100… Images will be head and shoulder only.…

If you have a bit of room, the 85 would be a better choice.

Was thinking of starting with the backdrop opposite the window light and seeing how little bounced flash i could get away with that yields a good exposure or is natural light from the side preferable with a little fill in flash..

You might as well set the background at an angle to the window for a directive light look.

 

[Garry Edwards]

You're right, there's a LOT of duff info on t'internet...

There are no absolute rights and wrongs on general lighting, but a light at 45 degrees (although a popular beginner choice) is really more suited for painting, where shadows can be controlled absolutely, than photography.
My own starting point, for most subjects most of the time, is to place the key light high and directly in front of where the subject's head is facing, and then to put either a fill light or a reflector, if required, much lower down to introduce some fill light. The fill light typically goes on axis with the camera lens, but if the subject isn't facing towards the camera it can sometimes work better directly under the key light - it's a learning process and you'll need to experiment.

A studio light is a much better choice for a number of reasons.
1. You get a modelling lamp, so you can see what the lighting is doing
2. Almost instant recycling, compared to a speedlight, this doesn't affect the quality of the shot but makes life a whole lot easier
3. Far more power, which allows you to disregard any other light that is also present.

We've got a few tutorials on the Lencarta Lighting Blog that may help.

 

[saul01]

My own starting point, for most subjects most of the time, is to place the key light high and directly in front of where the subject's head is facing, and then to put either a fill light or a reflector, if required, much lower down to introduce some fill light.

Would I be able to use a pop up softbox or shoot through umbrella for this? Or would these be too small?

 

[Garry Edwards]

You can use literally any kind of modifier of any size - there are no rights or wrongs as such.
Shoot through umbrellas though are limited, because the light from them goes everywhere which means that you will have virtually no control of the lighting. About 40% of the light bounces backwards and goes everywhere.
Softboxes are more controlled. The larger the softbox, at any given distance, the softer the light will be, and you may or may not want soft light. If you do want the light to be soft then the bigger the softbox the better, because you will still get reasonably soft light if you move it a bit further away, a small softbox can only produce reasonably soft lighting if it is extremely close to your subject, which is usually not possible. As a guide, if you move a light twice as far away then, in effect, it becomes only a quarter of its size.

Hotshoe flashguns don't perform well in large softboxes, the fixed reflector stops the light from bouncing off the walls of the softbox and mixing the light up properly, which is another reason to use a studio flash, which doesn't create that problem.