Serious Jem

Firstly, it's a great example of split lighting.
But I'm confused by the phrase 'best I could do with what I had'.

There's hundreds of different shots you could have got with a single light, that phrase smacks of 'I'm happy with it and my gear limits me' :rolleyes:

If you were aiming for split lighting, good work, if you were aiming for attractive, you could have done much more with a single light IMHO.

To give a true crit I'd want to know:
What modifiers do you own and what were you aiming for?
 
•


This portrait convinces me that you can use your
limited gear quite well and that your model is an
attractive subject.

Your next steps…
  • explore reflective surfaces and diffusers
  • direct your model to optimize your common
    quest for beauty, for the better image through
    proper lighting supporting your aim.
 
Phil V said:
Firstly, it's a great example of split lighting.
But I'm confused by the phrase 'best I could do with what I had'.

There's hundreds of different shots you could have got with a single light, that phrase smacks of 'I'm happy with it and my gear limits me' :rolleyes:

If you were aiming for split lighting, good work, if you were aiming for attractive, you could have done much more with a single light IMHO.

To give a true crit I'd want to know:
What modifiers do you own and what were you aiming for?
Click to expand...

To be honest I'm not sure what a modifier is?
I guess I was aiming for split lighting.... just didn't know it was called that. And no...I know the equipment will never be what's limiting me... it is my knowledge... but I was happy with it as it was my first attempt with off camera flash.
Since it was taken I have viewed a few U tube videos and bought an umbrella, a reflector and another flash but have not found a mode/opportunity l to shoot....

Thanks for the feedback... any further tips would be useful.
 
It's really not at all bad for a first attempt.

When I started I made the mistake of going for drama and demanding lighting setups too. I'd encourage you to start simple - and try to recreate flattering, natural looking light first. Unnatural light is easy; natural looking flattering light isn't too hard but unnatural flattering light is tricky.

The easiest way to do the former is to bounce the flash off a white wall to the side of and slightly above and in front of your subject - possibly flagging the flash so no light hits your subject direct from it.
 
Last edited:
Useful tip....many thanks. Yes I think I will try to keep it simpler in future and understand the dynamics of the lighting.....thanks. very helpful.....
 
Seochris said:
To be honest I'm not sure what a modifier is?
I guess I was aiming for split lighting.... just didn't know it was called that. And no...I know the equipment will never be what's limiting me... it is my knowledge... but I was happy with it as it was my first attempt with off camera flash.
Since it was taken I have viewed a few U tube videos and bought an umbrella, a reflector and another flash but have not found a mode/opportunity l to shoot....

Thanks for the feedback... any further tips would be useful.
Click to expand...
Sorry
A 'modifier' is something you'd use with a light source to change its shape intensity, shadow fall off etc. Usually starts with umbrellas and soft boxes, moving to beauty dishes, snoots, grids, strip boxes etc.
I can see you're now on your way with that and look forward to seeing more.

As Simon said, it's a common 'mistake' to start with the difficult stuff. At least you avoided the 'white background' debate.
 
Oh ok....what is the white background mistake.....?

Might have done it already....☹
 
Seochris said:
Oh ok....what is the white background mistake.....?

Might have done it already....☹
Click to expand...

80% of folk who want to get into lit portraiture start off by wanting to create a white background. To do it well takes more lights and more precision than you might imagine - and even then the results often don't look as good as they would have using a different background, e.g. grey.
 
Seochris said:
Oh ok....what is the white background mistake.....?

Might have done it already....☹
Click to expand...
You did ;)
As Simon said, it's often what people want to start with and it's the most challenging thing to do well, particularly in a small space.

One of the difficulties is getting a clean white background that doesnt then reflect light back on the subject eating into edges, or into the lens causing flare and reducing contrast ;)

I'm sure you can imagine what the results would look like ;)
 
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