 Sandy J. Neary |
Shadows When Shooting Portraits When I have shot some Portraits, I have noticed a shadow appears under the subject's chin. Please advise what I am doing to cause this shadow and what I can do to eliminate it. Thanks!!
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John Wright |
If there is a shadow under the chin, light must be coming from above. You can correct this with fill (reflector or light). Do you have an example photo so that we can take a look and be more accurate?
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Sandy J. Neary |
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Sandy J. Neary |
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John Wright |
Are you difusing your main? It appears to be overwhelming your fill. It's not terrible in any case... You might also be able to lessen the degree of shadow using a reflector to the front and lower, getting that light back under the chin.
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John Wright |
A couple of other things to watch is the space under the nose and the specularities (high concentration of light). I can see some specularities that appear just a little hot (on her chin and cheeks). Backing off the main and/or difusing it will help... :-)
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Sandy J. Neary |
Yes, my main light has a diffuser over it. So, if I understand you correctly, place a reflector in front of the subject and should I have the reflector tilted to bounce the light back under the chin?? Thanks!!
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John Wright |
You got it... you might also need just a little more distance between model and main light (to correct of the specularities). If you have no more distance available, more diffusion or less light strength is the answer...
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Sandy J. Neary |
Thanks! I am limited on my distance--so I am going to lower the light strength. What do you think of using just an umbrella as the only light source? Will it give an even fill on the subject or cause too much shadow? I was thinking of trying it...???
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John Wright |
Using just the umbrella and a reflector would be worth shooting. I often shoot window light portraits in this same manner. One other thought I had in looking at the shadow was about the placement of the main. It appears to be fairly high and more to the side than I would expect. Most portraits that I've seen place the lights at about a 45 degree angle from the model (where the model is 180 degrees (straight ahead of the camera).
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Sandy J. Neary |
So, you think I may have my main light too far to the side...I thought it was at a 45 degree angle, but I could be off and as far as height...what do you suggest as to how high the main light should be? Thanks for all your help on this!! This is the 1st time I've written for help and I do appreciate all of yours!!
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John Wright |
Hard to say for sure... To make it a little easier, I would suggest keeping the same set up, add the reflector to get a little more light under the chin and nose - see how that works. If possible, I'd suggest just a very slight movement of the model away from the main (a matter of inches could make the difference regarding the specularities). Try the umbrella and reflector to see how that works (it should be nice even and softer). You have a lovely photo and the tweaking of the lighting should really make it fabulous... I'd love to see how this works out for you, so drop me an email when you get it tweaked... I hear a pillow calling my name - time to find it... :-) john@photoblast.com |
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John Wright |
See I am tired... You can check out my site HERE
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Lisa Lenderink |
Sandy sorry to use your post to respond to John....but just checked out your site John...beautiful work!! And Sandy, I'm learning from your question too :) Thanks!
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John Wright |
Thanks Lisa... I'm hoping to see how this info worked out for Sandy... :-)
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