Key Light From High and Above

Tags

Expoimaging, fashion, Foto Care, Nikon, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, One light portrait, portraits, Rogue Flashbenders, Rogue XL Pro, SB910

Hi and welcome back.

I like to set my key light high and above my subjects for nice drop shadows and a simple yet edgy fashion look.  This also allows you to get your light out of the way and work around your subject unencumbered by your light.

When you set your key light this way, you can literally change the look of your work.  The traditional 45×45 key light setup can get stagnant, so you always want to be able to work and get your client different looks.  You can do this easily by just moving your key light high and above.

In the BTS shot from my lighting workshop at Foto Care in NYC, all I did was put my light high and above and pointing directly at the model.  We posed her against a round column in the event space, which had just enough room, and went to work.

Gear:

• Manfrotto 1052 BAC lightstand
• Manfrotto 40″ Hollywood Grip arm (I borrowed this from Foto Care)
• Nikon SB8910, Nikon SD9 Battery Pack
• Pocket Wizard Plus III
• Lumopro LP633 Umbrella Bracket
• Rogue Flashbender XL Pro with diffusion panel attached

That was it.  If you haven’t checked out the Rogue Flashbender’s from Expoimaging yet, what are you waiting for?  These things are amazing and fit easily into your bags for storage and transport.

Exposure: 1/125 @ f/5.6, ISO 200, WB Custom with Expodisc. 

Here’s a final from this setup: a simple fashion look with one key light high and above.

Change your key light position, change your lighting looks, change your work.

That’s it for now.  Till next time, keep on lighting.

Sticking with the Shoot Through Umbrella Today

Tags

CT Commercial Photographer, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Photographer, Headshot Photographer, Nikon, OCF, off camera flash, Off camera flash workshop, Photoflex Umbrella, Shoot Through Umbrella

Hi and welcome back.

For today’s post on off camera flash, we are going to stick with the shoot through umbrella.

I love the shoot through umbrella.  It’s compact when folded, opens to give gorgeous soft light, and is only about $30.00 to replace if it gets broken.

For today’s post, we’ll look at the shoot through umbrella as a direct source of light.

In the BTS shot, I have my speedlight high and above me and pointing directly to the model on a white seamless paper backdrop.  I love getting my light high and above as this takes you away from the stock standard and sometimes boring 45 x 45 key light placement.

The light here is flat but the model is not flatly lit.  You can still see shadow detail on her skin and a soft, soft drop shadow on the backdrop.  I pulled her off the backdrop about a foot or so to get this nice, easy, commercial style look.

Gear list:

• Manfrottto 1052 BAC Lightstand
• Lumopro LP633 umbrella bracket
• Photoflex 45″ Convertible Umbrella
• SB800, SD8A battery Pack
• Pocket Wizard Plus II’s

Exposure: 1/125 @ f/5.6, ISO 320, WB Daylight.

You’ll notice the ISO got a bit of a bump up.  Not wanting to sacrifice shutter speed or depth of field, I sent the ISO up 2/3 of a stop in order to get a good exposure in this location.

Here’s a final from the shoot.  Look at how the light is flat on her face but there is still significant shadow detail on her cheeks and under her chin.

This is a simple commercial style look you can do just about anywhere.

Get your light source high and above your subject to completely change how the light interacts and you’ll change your work.

That’s it for now.  Till next time, happy lighting.

 

 

Off Camera Flash Techniques

Tags

Beauty headshots, california sunbounce, CT headshot potographer, CT Photographer, OCF techique, off camera flash, over and under beauty, Over and under beauty with off camera flash, Photoflex umbrealla

Hi and welcome back.

For the next two weeks, I’ll be posting simple Off Camera Flash Techniques using one to three speedlgihts and showing you how to get great results with simple gear.

Here is a gear list:

• Nikon SB910 and SB800’s with battery packs
• Ansmann 2850 Mah Nickel Metal Hydride AA Batteries
• I usually use Pocket Wizards but will pull images from multiple sources so I’ll tell you what I used
• Manfrotto 1052 BAC Lightstands
• Matthews Hollywood Grip Arm
• Photek or Lumopro umbrella brackets
• California Sunbounce reflectors
• Impact reflectors 42×72
• Modifiers from Photoflex, Rogue, Westcott, Creative Light (Note: Creative Light softboxes have now been re-branded and brought under the Profoto RFI brand.  They are excellent and reasonably priced softboxes with a great speedlight speedring)

Ok, let’s jump right in.

For today, we’ll look at over and under beauty or clamshell lighting.  I love this kind of light as it is soft, wrapping light that envelops your subject and is easy to execute.

Here, in the BTS shot, I have my SB910 set to Manual Mode at 1/2 power, omnibounce on, and shooting through a Photoflex 45″ umbrella.  The umbrella here works well as it throws and scatters soft light and helps to illuminate your entire subject.

Below is a California Sunbounce Micro Mini reflector.  The CS reflector is the best on the market as you can get a grip head to attach it to a lightstand and work alone.  You can use the silver or white side depending on the amount of fill and contrast you want in the image.  Here, I used white.

In the final, you can see the double reflection indicative of this type of lighting setup in the model’s left eye.

Here’s my exposure: 1/125 @ f/7.1, ISO 200, WB Daylight.

I shoot all my headshots with long lenses, here the 70-200 vr.

With the light so soft and wrapping, finishing in Photoshop only requires a few short minutes.

Here’s a final:

That’s it.  You have a simple one light setup with a reflector that gives fantastic soft and pleasing light that’s easy to execute.

Give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed!

Till next time, happy shooting!

 

 

Another Look at the 40’s Glamour Shot

Tags

Expoimaging, Forties Glamour, George Hurrell, Nikon, OCF, OCF Workshops, off camera flash, Rogue Flashbenders, Rogue Grid, SB800, SB910, Workshops

Hi and welcome back.

I found another, better BTS shot of the 40’s glamour setup and wanted to post it and a few extra images shot under this light.

The settings are all the same from the last post, but I shot this in Suite 201, an NYC rental studio on 26th St.

I used all Rogue Flashbender products for all these looks.

In the BTS, you can see not only all the lights working, but I used an old French door as a go-between, or gobo, to put the pattern on the wall behind the model:

As you can see, the Rogue Flashbender snooted lights only put light where I want it, and the grid pushes light through the French door for that cool effect on the background.  Here’s a final in BW:

And here are a bunch of image shot under this condition from multiple sittings.  All setup the same way, using Rogue Flashbenders as snoots and the Rogue grid:

That’s it for today.  Enjoy the weekend and I’ll be back next week with a full round of OCF techniques.

Till next time, happy shooting.

 

 

 

The 40’s Glamour Shot

Tags

40's Glamour, 40s Glamour headshot, Expoimaging, George Hurrell, Grid, OCF, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Rogue Flashbenders

Hi and welcome back.

I received an email a while back about shooting the 40’s era glamour shot.  If you like this look, Google the preeminent photographer in this genre: George Hurrell

I take great inspiration from Hurrell for posing and lighting.

The 40’s glamour style shot used hot lights and was a tedious concern as you had to set your lights, pose your subject, and use a large format camera to get the shot.  Today, we can use strobe or speedlights.

I love this look and it is a signature shot for me using small flashes and Expoimaging’s Rogue Flashbenders.

Here’s my setup with all bare head flashes, no omnibounce installed:

Key light: SB910, manual mode @ 1/4 power, Small Flashbender rolled into a snoot.  This light gives me a direct beam on the face and also illuminates the upper body.

Hair light: SB800, manual mode @ 1/4 power, Large Flashbender rolled into a snoot. This light gives me hair and shoulder separation.

Backlight: SB800, manual mode @ 1/4 power, Rogue Grid.  I start my grid at 16 degrees and will change to the 25 or 40 degree depending on the spread of light I want on the background.

I set all my flashes at 1/4 power and then adjust from there.

I start my exposure at 1/125 @ f/8, ISO 200 and adjust from there.

I finish all my images in Totally Rad Actions Portrait Retouch V2, then into PS for a glamour glow, then into Totally Rad again and the Bitchen B/W action for a high contrast look.

If you like Totally Rad Actions, you can purchase any product from them for 15% off with my coupon code: 1434rhstudios.

Here’s a behind the scenes, showing key, hair, and the grid is kind of hidden but it is at head height to the left of the model:

Here’s a BTS with the lights dimmed and all the flashes firing:

You can see how all the lights work her and how the key light actually lights the face and upper body but that’s it.

Once you get set up, you can adjust exposure, light, and subject position to get the look you want.

Here’s a finished color image:

And here’s a finished B/W converted in Totally Rad Actions Bitchen B/W:

This is a great and fun lighting look using small flashes.  You have to remember that the light is hard and contrasty and the shadows will be deep, but that is how it’s done and that’s the way I do it.

If you like the look, check out my previous post on upcoming workshops as I may be in your neighborhood soon!

Till then, happy shooting.

 

 

 

Upcoming Workshop Dates So Far

Tags

expodisc, Expoimaging, off camera flash, Off Camera flash workshops, Rogue Flashbenders

Hi and welcome back.

I know it’s late, but I’ve had a flurry of activity today in booking workshops and events.

Here’s a partial list for Fall, look for updates and links soon:

August 23-25, Pasadena, CA, PPA Show

September 21-22, Berger Camera, LI

September 29, Photo Connections, Colchester, CT

October 16, Dodd Camera, Cincinatti, OH

October 17, Cord Camera, Cloumbus, OH

October 19, Dodd Camera, Cleveland, OH

November 15-17, Unique Photo, Fairfield, NJ

Bookmark these dates and maybe I’ll see you there!

Here’s a video from WPPI in Vegas this year for Expoimaging:

Expoimaging at WPPI

The Actor Headshot Continued

Tags

Actor headshots, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Photographer, headshots, OCF, off camera flash, Rogue Flashbenders, Westcott Rapid Box

Hi and welcome back.

One of the things I love about the Actor Headshot sitting is that I allot 2 hours for it.  This way there is plenty of time for my client to get into 3-4 different clothing looks and for me to get plenty of shots.

With Cassie, I had about 20 minutes left in the sitting when I decided to head outside.  She had brought this great dress and I wanted to shoot it against some natural green.

I set up two flashes:

SB910 as key into a Westcott 26″ Rapid Box

SB800 with a small Rogue Flashbender rolled into a snoot as back and edge light

Exposure: 1/125 @ f/5.6, ISO 200, WB Daylight

Nikon D3, 70-200 vr lens

In the time we had left on this early Summer day, we knocked out a few more great looks outside.

Everything for Cassie went swimmingly!

The hardest thing for her was choosing her final select images.

That’s it for now. Till next time, stay cool!

 

Behind-the-Scenes with the Actor Headshot

Tags

Actor Headshot Photographer, Actor Headshots CT, CT Headshot Photographer, Fluorescent lighting, fun, headshots, Nikon, NYC LA Style Actor Headshots, Profoto

Hi and welcome back.

To get a shot like this, you need some gear:

Heres a Behind-the-Scenes shot in my studio:

We’ll start from the front and work our way back:

Sturdy tripod in the foreground

On the right is a posing mirror attached to a lightstand

Savage Tech Table with my laptop for immediate proofing and exposure adjustments

Key lights are two Lowe’s 4′ Shop Lights attached to my Avenger A420 stands

On each side of Cassie is an Impact Silver/White Reflector, silver side toward the model to bounce wrapping light around her

Background lights are 2 Profoto Acute E heads with 1×4 Creative Light Softboxes.  I use strip boxes so the light wrap and flare around the subject is kept to a minimum

I shoot this look at ISO 800, WB Daylight adjusted in post, 1/125 @ f/5.6-6.3 with my Nikon D3 and 70-200 lens.

Kino Flo lights are really the industry standard for lighting your subject this way, but 2 four bulb, four foot lamps will cost you about $3,000.00.  Not having that to spare, I found an online tutorial on how to make them yourself for about $200.00:

Joe Edelman

Or you can get these great, pre-bulit Grow Lights from HTG Supply in Orange, CT

HTG Supply

The HTG lights are pretty much ready to go out of the box and have better and consistent color temps on the bulbs than the shop lights.

That’s how I shoot the NYC/LA look actor headshot in the studio.

I love the look and the contrast and the overall feel of this lighting technique and have a ball shooting the Actor headshot.

That’s it for now.  Till next time, happy lighting.

The Actor Headshot

Tags

Actor Headshot Photographer, Actor headshots, Actor Headshots CT, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Headshot Photographer, NYC LA Style Actor Headshots

Hi and welcome back.

One of my favorite headshot styles is the New York/LA style: High Key white background with beautiful, soft, flat key light on the actor’s face.

I love the clean look and fun crops that go with the style.  You can really pull a lot out of your subject and have a ton of fun with posing and looks in a relatively short time.

Here are a few shots of Cassie from a sitting a few weeks ago:

 

For tomorrow’s post, the BTS of how I did it and a full gear list.

Till then, break a leg!

 

On A Personal Note

Tags

CT, Triathlon

Hi and welcome back.

On a personal note, I want to congratulate my wife Kate and her sister Jen on completing their first mini Triathlon in Ellington, CT yesterday.  

Great job!!!

Tomorrow’s post will be on the Actor Headshot.

Till then, happy shooting!