 Niccole Olsen |
Family Portrait Lighting Hi there, I have been asked to take a family portrait for a friend of mine. I have done this in the past with some senior portraits and had some very nice results using natural window light (I have no professional lighting equipment, just the flash on my camera). My problem this time is that I will be taking the photos in the evening with no natural light available. Any suggestions??? I know that using your average home lighting can sometimes be harsh and difficult to manage, so any ideas would be greatly appreciated. (I am using a Canon Digital Rebel, by the way.) Thanks!
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Mike Rubin |
If you shoot in RAW, you will be able to adjust the WB if you need to because of the type of lighting in the room and how the camera interprets it.
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W. |
Niccole, I'm afraid an on-board flash with GN 11 won't make for a pretty family portrait. The lighting will be harsh, frontal, with heavy shadows and possibly red-eye. If it's enough... If you don't have more light - much more light! - it may be wise to turn this one politely down.
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Alan N. Marcus |
Hi Niccole, For occasional portraiture, you can get by without any fancy lighting equipment. Go to your local hardware store and buy several clip-on reflector lamps. Get the ones with 8 or 10-inch aluminum reflectors. Load them with 100-watt lamps and place them around the room shining up at the ceiling and/or at the walls. This elevates the ambient light level. Your task is to simulate open shade. Reflected light from the ceiling and walls is non-directional like open shade (i.e. under a tree, etc.). Some will tell you this is wrong because the color balance of ordinary household lamps is far too warm. However, most digitals will have auto white balance or have a setting for incandescent. You can replace the incandescent with compact fluorescence advertised as “true-color” or “full-spectrum”. You can become creative and make fine portraits using these inexpensive pin-up lamps. Try them shining directly on the subject. One lamp (the fill) at camera height near the lens. One lamp (the main) off to the right or left and high. Place the main closer than the fill. Measure fill to subject distance and multiply by 0.7. This revised distance is main to subject distance. This set-up will give you a pleasing 3:1 lighting ratio. Good luck, Alan Marcus
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dennis w. mcclain |
i have a digital rebel, a 320ex speed light. I used to do the bounce off the celling thing with that. I just recently bought a gary fong light sphere. best 50bucks I ever spent. you can use it inside and out. high cellings low cellings. they make 2 versions, cloud and clear. the color is great for skin tones. I love it. its the best cheepest way ive found so far
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Alice Schneider |
If I shoot with film with the reflectors from the hardware store, what should I do to get a true color balance? Is the fluorescent light bulb [true color] enough? Thanks
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She-She Killough |
Alice, if you shoot RAW like Mike suggested you won't have to worry about color balance at all becuase you can adjust it to your liking later. Or if for some reason you can't shoot RAW you can always get (if you have one close by) a Photo bulb at a Camera Shop (that is, if it is a good size store one like I have by me) Or you can order one most likely at B&H Photo online (if you have the time)... I have used the Photo bulbs in the past with those round reflectors from Home Depot and they produced a wonderful light when I shot with film. Also if their walls are colored if you are thinking of bouncing light off of them that will effect your coloring. You can get large sheets of white styrofoam to bounce the light off of instead of colored walls. (Home Depot is a good place to get them also) Hope that helps.
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Stephanie |
If you want to go the clip on light approach and can't find photo bulbs, DIY networks "The Whole Picture" program suggests using the new Reveal bulbs (they are bluish color...I found 150 watt bulbs at a Big Lots store.)I would suggest trying a few shots at home with a willing test model to double check your results before going on location. Hope this helps a little!
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She-She Killough |
One other thought...if you do go with Photo bulbs...do not handle them with your hands/fingers take a tissue or cloth to handle them as the oils from your fingers can cause them to expode from the heat (that is what I have always been told anyways) :)
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Alan N. Marcus |
Alice, Use color negative film and send it out to most any lab for developing and prints. The resulting color negatives will have the wrong color balance; however, Aunt Sally and Uncle Marc will be looking at prints not negatives. The miracle of the negative positive process is: The printer at the typical one-hour shop exposes your negatives on conventional color paper. The printing cycle affords the lab an opportunity for the lab to adjust for color balance and exposure errors. The lab does this as a matter of course. Your pictures will turn A-OK. Alan Marcus
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Alice Schneider |
Thanks Alan...the miracles of modern chemistry at work!! I was hoping not to have to use a filter!! Alice
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Denyse Clark |
If you do the construction work lights, you can also use Daylight Bulbs. Philips makes some, and everyone pretty much carries them (I got mine at home depot. 4 pk was like $3) The light is much more white like daylight than regular household bulbs. Use several lights though b/c the wattage is only 100 max I think. I used to do my setup with 2, using my 420EX speedlite and it was still not enough. Had trouble with shallow depth of field.
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Rex A. Looney |
Hey Nicole, There's a lot of good info here. I have studio lights, but they are a pain for location shooting. I then bought some small clamp lights there were supposed to have a CRI (Color Rendering Index) of 97 or 98. By the scale, 100 is natural light. Many household lights are down around 80 or lower(?), not good. I have now ordered the medium base (regular lamp base) bulb from Adorama that has a CRI of 93 (PhotoPro Screw-Base 93 CRI Fluorescent Lamp $14.99 each). If you get where I'm going with this, sometimes cheaper is just as good and easier, especially if not used all the time. I'm also going to use the clamp on construction light fixtures I got at Home Depot. Of course, you have to have something to clamp the lights to. You may ask others to hold the lamps, but they may get hot, so use caution and advise your volunteers. Most fluorescent bulbs, such as the one's I ordered above are supposed to stay "cool". http://www.schorsch.com/kbase/glossary/cri.html Great advice about bouncing the lights off the ceiling or walls, if they are close enough and if they are neutral color. I have some sheets of foam core available at most craft/art and some discount stores. Also, there has been talk about fixing your photos later on the computer. Do you have a Photoshop or Corel or other program? I have a couple Canon 20D cameras and each came with a Photoshop Elements II disc. I don't do much in PS, but I can adjust the lighting. One VERY important thing is to have all the same lighting. If you are shooting with the Phillips Daylight bulbs, ensure all your bulbs are the same Daylight bulbs. In addition, if you can, turn off the other lights, so only your lights are on the subject. If you are shooting Daylight bulbs and there are overhead fluorescents or incandescents, your colors will be mixed and more difficult to adjust on the computer. Anyway for them to re-schedule during daylight hours? Explain the issues to them. Some years ago, I got snagged by my brother to shoot his in-laws (with a camera that is ;-) and I told him I didn't have the lights and the photos wouldn't turn out. They didn't turn out. He listens to me now. It's digital... Shoot many many images. Bracket your exposures, +1 and -1 Stop and also adjust your lights a time or two to shine from slightly different angles. Tell your subjects this might take a few minutes. Let them know up front. Oh yeah, one more thing... GOOD LUCK! Rex betterphoto.com?ancphotos I have a few images where I bounced my flash off the ceiling. The ceiling was white and not too high.
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Alan N. Marcus |
Hi Rex, Well done! A tip of the hat from Alan Marcus
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Arlington Natl Cemetery Tomb Photos |
Nicole, I forgot one thing (at least). How big is the family and how much room do you have? This isn't ALL about lighting, but... If you have room to get the folks away from their background, do so. The closer to the background they are, the more prevalent will be the shadows behind them. If there's not much space behind them, due to room size, etc., you might place a light or two back there and shine it on the wall at an angle. Many portrait set-ups have this background light. If only one light for the background, place it in the center and upwards from maybe knee height (if they are standing). Make sure the direct light from the bulb is not pointed back at the camera. Adjust a bit and get it to where it looks good. Of course, that depends on the texture of the background. Some oblique or angled lighting looks good, some doesn't. You're the photographer... you make the judgment. Another thing I have read about portraits... I read where most portrait photographers use a 90-135mm focal length. Try to stay away from wide angle - less than 50mm. Using wide angle might distort the horizon and make the photo look curved and some folks on the end appear to be leaning out or in. (Depends on whether you are pointing the camera up or down.) Also, if you can get to this location and have time, practice setting up the lights at different angles, etc. Maybe you can enlist some volunteers to help with standing in for your "real" subjects. I just re-read your original post... Will you be indoors or outdoors? All these lighting tips are great if you are indoors or have the extension cords for the electric. Maybe now that we have about run the gambit on lighting, you can give us more information about your proposed set up (indoor, outdoor, around buildings, open lawn,etc,) and we can give you more detailed assistance. Thanks for reading, Rex Alan Marcus, Thanks. You can thank the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy (Basic Crime Scene Photography Course) That's where I learned the basics and the basis for what I have learned since. That was in an earlier lifetime when I was a law enforcement officer. Later
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stacey c. damon |
I also prefer natural lighting to the flash...for low light portraits I purchsed Gary Fong's Lightsphere you can go to his website to purchase, and sometimes find them on ebay. Also use a tripod and if the ceilings are low try bouncing the flash...good luck.
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stacey c. damon |
I also prefer natural lighting to the flash...for low light portraits I purchsed Gary Fong's Lightsphere you can go to his website to purchase, and sometimes find them on ebay. Also use a tripod and if the ceilings are low try bouncing the flash...good luck.
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stacey c. damon |
I also prefer natural lighting to the flash...for low light portraits I purchsed Gary Fong's Lightsphere you can go to his website to purchase, and sometimes find them on ebay. Also use a tripod and if the ceilings are low try bouncing the flash...good luck.
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