Trying new lighting, opinions wanted

Hi guys. One of the things that stops me from taking as many photos of my DDs as I would like is lack of good lighting. I have basically been using the wait-for-a-bright-day approach and using natural daylight from a window.

 

I actually went out and bought a lighting set-up to try to fix this problem, and I took a few test photos today. The problem is, I'm not sure if the pictures I'm getting with the light is too different from those I get with the window. As well, I'm worried that the lighting is too harsh. So . . . please share your opinions! I still have a few days left to return the lighting if I decide to go another way. In total, it cost around $140. I felt like I had "newbie" tattooed on my forehead when I went into the store, but you've got to start somewhere, right?

 

A crappy shot of the setup:

 

P1030890 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

It's a 10" diameter reflector lamp with an umbrella. Is this even a good choice for DD photos?

 

Some example shots:

 

P1030889 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

P1030888 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

P1030878 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

P1030858 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

And here's the way my photos looked before. I used a desk lamp as well as the window.

 

P1030628 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm really not sure how serious I'm going to be about photography, so the lighting set-up feels like a bit of overkill. On the other hand, it might encourage me to take more photos if I had a good lighting setup. But should I just take a giant step back and learn some composition and photo basics before investing in lights?

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

I'm also a noob at lighting. I got a small hand reflector and a led light. The main reason is portability, i never know when and where i need the extra lighting.

 

This is the LED light i got.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=891

I'm just the usual casual photographer, ie some one who points and click.

 

The photos of your girls look pretty good and clear compared to the ones I started to do which were taken without any fancy indoor lighting.

 

The saying goes .......... "practice makes Perfect" and I would imagine that as you get to know the lighting equipment and what suits best for your girls and the clothes they wear.

 

My goal this year is to try and take some more indoor pictures using a tripod and then expand into lighting to see what I get.

 

The lighting set up you have is nice, but looks to big to be up all the time in my place, so if i was do anything I would have to down size.

I think the board ate my post.

 

I do think the new light setup improved things a good bit, but do you think it might be possible to replicate the same effect for less money?

 

I found this setup online which is a bit cheaper than $140.

 

http://www.nixiepixel.com/lighting-setup/

It's all goes down to physics

So to clarify something - it is a good setup, BUT it's - as I see - a silver umbrella.

It means it reflects light and - by the same principle as headlight - gives more or less narrow beam.

Such light appears harsh and gives quite sharp shadows. But, of course, sometimes it's what we need.

You can use this from one side and use some reflector disc to lighten the shadow from the another side.

(different x-in-1 Collapsible Circular Reflector Discs are available from 10$)

 

Another thing You may need is a translucent white umbrella (another 10$) to put in place of the silver one.

The difference is, You put the translucent one between the lamp and the subject, like here:

 

 

( I'm using flashgun with radio trigger here, but light is light )

 

The light is much softer here and more similar to daylight (of course without direct sunlight).

Try using lower ISO values (in compact cameras more than ISO 200 usually has quite high noise).

Put the lights as close as possible - distance weakens light very fast.

 

PS. And then You can buy next lamp, a softbox, another softbox, and another lamp, and beauty dish, and so on and so on...

Actually, the black part on my umbrella is removable, so it works as a clear umbrella as well! I tried it that way, but the light coming through seemed too dim. The bulb the guy at the store recommended to me might not be bright enough . . . Can I get a brighter bulb? The max wattage on the lamp is 250 watts.

 

A reflector on the other side is a good idea, though. I feel that to get a good, bright pic, I would need two lights.

 

I have a bad feeling that this purchase has been a "gateway drug" into an expensive world . . .

 

Edit: it's actually not silvery, just black. A piece of black fabric that goes over the clear part. I am interested in your flash gun, how does that work?

Can I get a brighter bulb? The max wattage on the lamp is 250 watts.

 

It's probably max for a classic bulb (lots of heat). You can use some Spiral Fluorescent Lamp (not very cheap, ~30$ or more) with 80-100W power, which give much more light than regular bulbs (like 300-400W ones). For daylight white color type there are ~5000K models.

 

The flashgun is a regular Mets flash used on camera (with hot-shoe), equipped with separate radio trigger.

 

 

I put the transmitter on my DSLR (into the hot-shoe) and the flash is mounted on the receiver.

The shutter triggers the transmitter and then the receiver fires the flash.

There are many types of that equipment

 

Another option, when Your camera doesn't have a hot-shoe, is to use a optical slave to trigger the flash.

It's best when the flash (both in-camera and external) has the ability to change its output power level to balance the light... But it's another and quite long story

You lost me at hot shoe. I just have a point and shoot camera right now. I like the idea of the fluorescent spiral bulb, but I kind of wish that the sales guy had told me about that option first. I might drop by the photo store and see what options they have.

A hot shoe is a place on top of a camera such as a DSLR where you attach a flash or other accessory. Your point and shot probably doesn't have one.

 

I think your photos look fine. The Kanu one has a bit of a hot spot, but shooting through the umbrella will definitely soften it up. But who are we kidding. We know eventually you'll have multiple lights and reflectors to let you direct the light where you want it.

It's certainly an improvement. If you realized your shot on Kanu has a very harsh shadow forming under her hair on her face. That's a no-no.

 

Right now your shots are better but still there's a little bit of shadow left. If that's the case, get a reflector. There's no need to get multiple lights because if you can't master a single light source, don't bother getting another light source. It's not worth your money, and your setup gets more complicated. What makes it worse you don't have TTL to control your lights, and ended up losing a lot of time trying to fix your light more than trying to adjust posing on your girl.

 

All this can be resolved by getting a lightmeter. I have a Sekonic flashmate l-308s (Note: 250 USD) to fix my camera adjustment.

 

What can you achieve with only one light and a soft box?

 

This:

 

Terrible picture by AntElitist, on Flickr

 

This is what you can do with single light source. Experiment first with that umbrella you have before you go off and buy a second light. Oh get a reflector as well. A reflector can be a simple polystyrene board.

 

If you want to upgrade your camera, consider Sony NEX 7. The best compact you can ever find... other than Leica. At least Sony has Hotshoe!

A hot shoe is a place on top of a camera such as a DSLR where you attach a flash or other accessory. Your point and shot probably doesn't have one.

 

I think your photos look fine. The Kanu one has a bit of a hot spot, but shooting through the umbrella will definitely soften it up. But who are we kidding. We know eventually you'll have multiple lights and reflectors to let you direct the light where you want it.

 

Yeah, yeah. I already admitted this was a gateway drug I think I will get a reflector and a fluorescent bulb.

Right now your shots are better but still there's a little bit of shadow left. If that's the case, get a reflector. There's no need to get multiple lights because if you can't master a single light source, don't bother getting another light source. It's not worth your money, and your setup gets more complicated. What makes it worse you don't have TTL to control your lights, and ended up losing a lot of time trying to fix your light more than trying to adjust posing on your girl.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will look at getting a reflector and just playing around with the lighting some more. I have this perfectionist tendency that makes me feel like I should be perfect without practice, but fortunately I realize that this will take a lot of trial and error.

 

As to a light meter, that seems to be a bit complicated for me right now. I think I really have to go back to basics -- I've been looking for book recommendations in another thread. Please share your suggestions!

Just wondering, if you know, how are the digital slave flashes?

 

I know my camera doesn't have a hot shoe but there are external flashes you can buy for it. The flash is triggered by the red-eye reduction light. I've been thinking about getting one but not sure if it would be worth it, although it is cheaper than buying a new camera.

I'm still learning, but I've found that placing the lights really close - just out of frame of the photo- usually gets good results.

 

I noticed on your Rin picture the eyes are very dark. For Kanu, she's got a small reflection on her eye- looks like the window. That angle, where the light is reflected clearly in the eye, is usually a good one. If you had two lights or a light and a reflector, you would arrange them in a V shape, on either side of Kanu. Then you could get that nice sparkle reflected in the eyes.

 

You can experiment using white fabric or posterboard as a cheap reflector.

Thanks for the advice. I will look at getting a reflector and just playing around with the lighting some more. I have this perfectionist tendency that makes me feel like I should be perfect without practice, but fortunately I realize that this will take a lot of trial and error.

 

As to a light meter, that seems to be a bit complicated for me right now. I think I really have to go back to basics -- I've been looking for book recommendations in another thread. Please share your suggestions!

Just a sharing:

 

For each photoshoot, I ended up with 6 shots of the same pose with slightly minimum changes like different angle, tilting to the head, and others. And only one shots is picked to be the best.

 

It's all the same, even the experienced does it as well. Shoot over 2000 pictures and only choose less than 10 for final editing.

 

Light meter believe it or not, it's easy to use. Save all your time and worries. But for that piece of equipment, it cost a lot ^^;; even for a basic ones.

 

I am still looking for books to read to be honest. I never actually buy books to read, but getting experience by shooting a lot of picture. However I can advice you to get photography magazine to read!

 

I'm still learning, but I've found that placing the lights really close - just out of frame of the photo- usually gets good results.

 

I noticed on your Rin picture the eyes are very dark. For Kanu, she's got a small reflection on her eye- looks like the window. That angle, where the light is reflected clearly in the eye, is usually a good one. If you had two lights or a light and a reflector, you would arrange them in a V shape, on either side of Kanu. Then you could get that nice sparkle reflected in the eyes.

 

You can experiment using white fabric or posterboard as a cheap reflector.

 

Reflection of light in eyes? To be honest. I don't think that's very nice and kills a lot of detail especially if you girl has beautiful eyes. Well up to one opinion if you like it.

 

For portrait photography, when someone is wearing a pair of glasses, you don't want to have any reflection of light in their glasses right? It's the same to Dollfie Dream, to get the reflection out, it's difficult cause you need to reach the perfect light density in the environment to remove the reflection.

 

I try to minimize the reflection available in my shots as much as possible. Still learning hah.

Thanks everyone, for the advice. I think I need to just practice a lot, and see which results I like.

Thanks everyone, for the advice. I think I need to just practice a lot, and see which results I like.

Don't forget to study your photos!

I found it was very helpful to look at photos I liked, and check very closely the lighting and reflection to analyze their setup.

 

This is what I was trying to explain before:

 

If you don't want the hard highlight on the eye, use the flash through the umbrella or bounce it, but the placement should be at that 3/4 angle to nicely light the eyes and face.

Thank you, that diagram is really helpful!

Me thinks I need to invest in maybe a small light set up as i am currently a mixture of cystal clear pics and mucky (not as clear) pics.

 

Then it might be because I am constantly playing around with the settings on the camera.

I ordered a 150 W fluorescent bulb, a reflector and some books based on the suggestions here. Thanks guys!