 Marius Liebenberg |
Studio portraits How many light soft boxes would be sufficient to create a good setting for studio portrait photos? Mainly head shots and from the waist up.
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Michelle Andersson |
I have one large softbox (main) and then I use a reflector or an umbrella for fill. So far I have found that works well and I've not found myself ever dreaming of having a second softbox. :)
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Justin G. |
I don't have lights yet so I hope I'm qualified to answer this but I've been reading critiques on photosig lately and with portraits I've seen a majority of shots that have 2 softboxes as mains and then some hair lights and BG lights. So I would guess to have two mediums or one extra large, but take it for what it's worth, I can't shoot studio yet, but this is the trend I've seen from those guys and most of them are pros on that site.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
One. Using more gives you a differnt look to it. But there's no set number. Standard olan mills type stuff I always see using more than one.
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Debby A. Tabb |
Good Morning, it is truly preferance. sometimes if I want a bright , bright look I will use one softbox and one ( or 2) umbrella, with a full backlight on the backdrop. other times (mostly in storytelling Portraits and others that need a softer look) I will use two softboxes with the lights on full on full power ( this will also depend on the power of your light heads-I use Photogenic 2500DR) and some with the fill light on 1/2 power-back light on 1/2 with a scoop. and then there are those times I want dramtic lighting and I will use only 1 light, my main with either a soft box or parobolic reflector with soft filter. all these can be seen in my gallery. My best advise to those intrested in Lighting- is to PLAY with it. books , my CD's and others- they can all help- but the VERY BEST thing you can do foryourself is to get in there-set up your lights and a subject (even if it's a teddy bear) and start with the standard studio set up- then change things a bit and test shoot- log this , so you can sit and look at your outcome and know what you did- the more your eye sees it -the easier for your mind to just respond to your ideas. and soon you see your self getting a idea and you find yourself already putting the light in place. it all becomes natural. Playing with your lights and seeing the way different placements have different effects will do you the most good. I suggest you play with placements first(moving lights futher away or closer- then go one to play with the actual light head settings) for more on studio lighting and placement try reading the threads "Studio Photography 1-8" there is so very much there to help you and others there who try and post what they are accomplishing. I do hope this helps, Debby
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Mark Feldstein |
Greetings Marius: A single softbox can be used with a light source to produce 100's of lighting variations depending on how you decide to use it. One important thing you should consider is that a softbox can significantly cut your light output by 2 or more f-stops. So, if for example, you're working at ISO 100 and want to shoot at f11.0 for sharpness and depth of field, (depending on how near or close your camera is to the subject) a loss of three stops can send you down to working at f 5.6 or 4.0 and so your depth of field may not be what you require. You can check that with a depth of field preview on your lens or camera. I usually shoot portraits using a 1000 I suggest you take a look at the portraiture works of artists like Rembrandt or Van Gogh among others and see how they used light and shadow to convey an impression. In many instances they had a single light source from diffused window light, not unlike a softbox. You might also study the work of photographers like Joseph Karsh and Phillipe Halsman and more recently, Richard Avedon. When you read about these guys, you'll find one common thread to their work was that they all concentrated on their subject, not their lighting or equipment and often used just a single light source to capture the image they were looking for. With either softbox I mentioned, I usually use a large fill card, 4x8' ( fomecore) which is white on one side to bounce or reflect light back into the subject. Or I'll turn it around to use the black side to control reflections or produce shadows while keeping light off the background. For some free online courses in lighting techniques, including how to use single lights with modifiers like softboxes, reflector cards, umbrellas, scrims, snoots, flags, cutters, gobos and plain ole reflectors, take a look at Photoflex Equipment's site. Their free lessons are quite good (I contribute to them from time to time. ;>) Chimera lighting tutorials, also free, are found at http://www.chimeralighting.com/solutions/lighting_tutorial.cfm BTW, your local libray may either have or can get photo series on studio portrait lighting along with books on those artists I mentioned. Just remember that there is no single way to do this. What works for you is all that's important. Practice and experience are the best teachers and over time, I think lighting tends to become second nature to you. You'll probably develop a repertoire of basic set-ups and then change them slightly for each subject you work with. BTW, when I teach, one thing I have my students do is to use a styrofoam mannequin head set up on a stool in front of a black background in a darkened room and try moving their lighting around to different positions while checking it in their viewfinder, recording the images and then keeping notes as to placement of light, subject to background, camera and any fill or bounce cards. One light only, with a modifier, without one, and then with a simple bullet lightbulb reflector, like the kind you buy with a socket and clamp in a hardware store. Generally, a single light is all you need to produce effective, dramatic, and high quality portraits. Take it light.
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