Second studio shoot

[jetrim]

Spent the day at TYE Studios here in Ft Lauderdale today taking a course on studio lighting. It was incredibly informative and things went so well we actually ran TWO HOURS over schedule. There were no models scheduled for this class so we ended up taking turns shooting each other. We spent nearly an hour on histogram interpretation, checked out virtually every light modifier in the Profoto line and a bunch of cool parabolics in the Broncolor line, then ended the day with a discussion where we each picked out a photo in a major magazine and dissected how it was done. Very very cool stuff!

These are all virtually straight out of the camera, just resized:

[GB1]

Jet,

Considering the circumstances (no models), not bad. I think the lighting is too hot on the fellow at the top but I can see this effect working on some models and in some situations. Normally when you only have light on one side like that you get a very moody shot, and in my experience it usually doesn't work, UNLESS you're trying to make the model/character sinister looking or slightly out of whack.

The middle shot is better in that respect, light is more even, sharp but needs to be even sharper at his eyes (should be able to fix this in PP). His left shoulder cut off like that doesn't work IMO. The camera strap (?) there is distracting - I want to see more of it or less.

The bottom shot of the woman is OK. GOod placement in the frame, decent sharpness. She doesn't have a lot of modeling experience you can tell, but it works from a humanistic standpoint because she shows a lot of emotion in her eyes. Her front hand is a bit too obscure. The background like and 'halo' around her looks really neat to me... If you had to cut off her legs a bit you did it at a good pt (never cut off at the joints).

Anyway,.. hope my viewpoint helps.

G

[Didache]

I think you did a good job considering you are new to it. Probably a lot better than I would have done. I think you have a good eye for the composition and pose. The lighting could be a lot better, but I imagine that takes a fair bit of practice.

Cheers
Mike

[jetrim]

Thanks for the comments guys. First shot was a single reflector (left). Second shot was a beauty dish 45 deg forward left level and a fill light w/ cutter 45 deg back right high. Third was using only a 7' parabolic w/ defocused ring flash at about 60 deg left. These were all shot in front of a bright white wall and without benefit of any makeup (leading to the extra shiny skin in 1 & 3). One of the cool fringe benefits of taking the class is that we each get 1 free hour in the studio that can be scheduled at some point between now and August 1, which gives me the opportunity to pre-plan what I'd like to try next.

It was a fairly steep learning curve with a lot of theory. I have PAGES of notes, and now understand which light meter I need to purchase, how to use it, and why I need it. The shots above represent 50% of all the shots taken yesterday :lol: I agree with both of you that these certainly could have been better, but I'm not at all unhappy considering this is the second time ever, and the first time when I had to decide the layout, exposure, type/size/number of modifiers for myself (first shoot was all set up, just set the shutter speed/aperture to what they told us and shoot). I will also say, for someone who's always used natural/available light and never thought much about studio stuff, this is HIGHLY addicting!