 Tami Rook |
Portraits Wow I have been reading for days….. there is so much information on portrait shooting from lighting to back drops…. 1st I forgot who talked about making back drops with walmart spray paint (sorry for that) big hugs and kisses they look great, we made 3 to start with, (1 sheet, 1 flat material and 1 out of 60” material like T-Shirt) we did this as a family (my kids are all teens) we had a blast, now we have 9 back drops LOL we just like making them. Oh by the way the T-shirt material is great since you can fold it up and pull it out with no wrinkles (very portable) I love it. 2nd We are working on light now, outside natural light…. I took quite a few just grabbing kids out of the back yard (they were not happy about it, no changing your clothing, no you do not need to comb your hair LOL how cruel is that) but they turned out quite nice. Now we are trying it in the house…. This is not going well, I am not sure where I am going with this (portraits) they are fun, and wow now I have too many people asking me to take senior photos (really I am not that good lol) but I just do not get the light thing in the house. ??? I have read about lighting, I have taken a lot in and I am unsure where to go… ???
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Tami Rook |
ok it is not like I did not spend days reading, looking for all the information. Lighting is a trick or an art.
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Jessica A. Eiss |
Well Tami, I was waiting to see what others were going to say too! Can't help here. Jess
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Stacy L. Robertson |
What kind of light are you tring to use? Window light, flash, or light bulbs? Theres all kinds of light you can get inside your house for pretty cheap..(trust me I know) I have used every kind of cheap lighting there is. What would you like to try first?
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Mark Feldstein |
Photographic lighting is both an art and technical skill. Which type of light you use and how you use it is up to you and usually based on what you want to accomplish or how you want your subject to appear in the photo. In a sense, light is like an artists paint or modeling clay. You can direct it, shape it, modify it or use it straight, heavily or lightly, use artificial lighting either electronic studio strobe or hot light (tungsten) or incandescent (like from table lamps) or just plain window light, available or room light which may be a combination of window and artificial light. There is no right or wrong way to use light in photography. The object, above all else, is to control it to obtain a particular result and hopefully, when necessary, repeat it so that your lighting is deliberate and controlled rather than chaotic and accidental. Get the picture? ;>)
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Tami Rook |
Thank you all, Stacy I took a look at your gal. what I am wanting to get is like your "Real and Sydney" Mark thank u, I have purchased 2 direct light (floor style and small) I have purchased light bulbs... 70 wat and under when I was reading I notice they all talk about really big wats could that be my problem? I am getting wash out, with my slave flash it is even more so...... ???? lol however the back drops are awsome
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Stacy L. Robertson |
For "Real" it was outside lighting on an overcast day...there were alot of clouds in the sky and was very dreary. I turned the contrast up on the camera and focused. For "Sydney" I used one 500 watt tungsten light bulb on a stand with a bounce umbrella. The light was pulled back about 4 feet away from her and pointed down from about 6 feet high. My camera was on a tripod and 4 feet in front of her zoomed to 85mm. I used no alterations on that photo..it's the original. Hope this helps.
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Tami, I have never seen an unreal photon, but I haven a lot images where the photons could have been better controlled. Strobes allow you to control the light in your environment and thus make better pictures. The problem is that strobes are one of the larger investments a photographer will make, so it is good to be sure that you will get what you want from them. I should point out that strobes allow the photographer to control the light; they do not control the light for the photographer. In order to use strobes you will need to put your camera on manual exposure. You will control the strobes with the power levels, accessories and light placement. One of the advantages of working with digital cameras is that will we be able to see the light we have made in seconds. This gives us the feedback we need in order to control our images. Because we have such feedback we do not need meters, but we do need patience and experience. Good luck! John Siskin
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Tami Rook |
Thank you John very much. as I think I stated I am not sure where I am going with this, however I am looking at a small beginners set of lights. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290023626070&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D290023626070%26fvi%3D1 some times it is hard to understand, these would be strobe lights and I have been told it is better to start with constant light???? does strobe only fire when you want to take the photo? Tami
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John H. Siskin |
You are not asking too many questions, but I have had a long day. So I will need to keep my answer brief. If you buy this stuff you will either give up on portrait lighting or buy other stuff. This stuff will probably create more frustration than good portraits. You want strobes, rather than quartz lights. The temperature of quartz lights is very high, unpleasant. No other continuous light gives you enough light to take good pictures. Strobes only go off when you trigger them, either by taking a picture or to test them. They do not randomly pop most of the time. Of course, as with any piece of electronic gear sometimes they do do unexpected things. If you would like more answer let me know. Thanks, John
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Rebecca A. Steed |
Here are my two cents Tami. Natural light through a big window works great. God's light is always best, and it's constant. However (and this goes for light-bulb shots as well) your shutter is relatively low and your subjects have to stand very still. I got some alienbees studio lights for mothers day (so I haven't had them long)and I love them. I bought a meter reader, so you hold that in front of the face, then test flash, then set your lights according to that. They are strobes and not at all hard to use. just point your camera (after you've metered) and shoot. the lights will go off (the lights are connected to my camera). You don't have to worry about your shutter either, because the lights cause the exposure. What I mean is, if you have a digital camera and the in camera meter says you are way under exposed (because your aperature is f8 and your shutter is 1/160), it's okay. when you take the photo, it's exposed.
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Tami Rook |
Thank you John and Becky, natural light is without a doubt the best, LOL however it is not always where I need it.... I did order some less expesnive lights for now. A starter kit, since I am unsure where I am going with this at this time LOL and in a few months when I know we should be around mothers day or Christmas and we all know what I will be asking for then LOL... Thank you again for your help
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