First speedlight shots.

A very nice start!

Things you could try to mix things up.. these are by no means essential, just ideas:
  1. Bring the brolly round to the front a bit; frontal light is more flattering to older skin
  2. Add a reflector below to fill some of the shadows on the neck
  3. Add some fill light
  4. This applies to the second more than the first - try feathering the light a little. It looks as though the central hotspot of the umbrella is aimed directly at the forehead. Try aiming it down a little to give slightly more even coverage.
 
Thanks for the comments and advice. I certainly agree about the forehead hotspot. I don't possess a reflector at the moment but will acquire one soon. I am also a portrait painter and so as a consequence I tend to prefer some good light AND shade to describe form and provide more interest. Many times with clients I have been given perfectly good photos that work in terms of photography but make poor sources for paintings. I am aware that I could fall into the same situation with my photos in reverse so will certainly experiment with the position and quality of the light.
 
Whilst Simon has a point, it's all about intent.

I would assume that the setting above was aimed at flattering the subject, in which case Simon is spot on, clamshell lighting is going to be the most flattering starting point, followed by some subtle PP. (just to add - get the light in close)

However if your aim was to show 'character' then a harder angled light source will really bring out the lines and wrinkles.

There's no difference between lighting for painting or photography, except painters are less likely to default to flattery.

Surely as a painter you don't need to buy a reflector, you should have large sheets of white paper, card or canvas knocking about?
 
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This shot was not primarily aimed at flattery on my part but I was encouraged to spend some time with the healing tool, which I complied with. I did do a few shots with white paper the week before but it was awkward for her to hold or find another way to position it so continued without it on this occasion. This was one with a white paper reflector taken a week before and another using a snoot. I hope for a slightly longer session this weekend and will try out other lighting setups including clamshell. Thanks for the advice - it is greatly appreciated.

Penny-034-2 by Peter Dransfield, on Flickr

Penny1-044 by Peter Dransfield, on Flickr
 
lady 22 by mrcrow_uk, on Flickr

nature isnt the photographers or models friend especially in non natural lighting
i would try...and probably unsuccesfully...to remove some red band
the dress in no 1 will not help at all...
or as you have done revert to black
like the lady though good aristocratic nose and eye spacing
cheers
geof
 
Thanks for the comments - I am not sure what you mean with 'remove some red band'. I think I see you have reduced the reds in the skin tones - is that what you mean? I will pass on the message regarding aristocratic nose as her mother is in fact from a Belgian aristocratic family.
 
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Peter Dransfield said:
Thanks for the comments - I am not sure what you mean with 'remove some red band'. I think I see you have reduced the reds in the skin tones - is that what you mean? I will pass on the message regarding aristocratic nose as her mother is in fact from a Belgian aristocratic family.
Click to expand...

its quite clear!! her pedigree that is

i said red band as that is what i call the red tone on my lr2
i also in the edit tampered with the orange and yellow mainly desaturating
i did some minor cloning in some areas
but left the eyes which shine like a lady who has no hang ups
cheers
geof
 
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Not bad at all.

When working with a single light, probably the biggest variable in how the image turns out is the ambient light level. If you want a softer/more flattering image the two levels need to be more closely matched. If you're looking for more dramatic/starker images then the ambient needs to be farther below.

Spot healing of/over the base image is (IMO) a rather coarse technique... I would suggest you learn about frequency separation as well.
 
Hi Peter. Nice photos.
Just thought I would reply, more to let you know I had viewed and enjoyed reading/learning about your lighting trials. Was good of you to have uploaded the white paper ones as this really does seem to have softened the image up. You seem to like the more dramatic images though which is fine :)


Gaz
 
Thanks Gaz. There is indeed an argument for both IMO and for a lot of other variations as well. At an abstract level every image is composed of line and shape plus tone and colour so those are the variables we all play with to help say what we want to say about the subject. It's all fun including the balls ups:).
 
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