Megan and Ellis

[Leon]

rushed home today to set my new lights and backdrop up, (I need a bigger house)

 

 

two 135W bulbs no other lighting in the room, so pretty bright although I will probably buy 2 coldshoe's and some kind of flash release for the speedlights I  have

 

the two below were shot with the nifty 50 (can I have my own section?)

 

 

Megan's 1st picture with her new glasses, she looks so much older now

 

 

this is a bit soft...... 

 

yes I know my backdrops need ironing, going to find some cardboard tubes to put them on.

[geodar]

what I have found using a white background is that It always looks a tad grey. no matter what kind of lighting I have tried to whiten it up.

tried different camera settings as well.

that's why I mostly use a black background, also less risk of shadow.

mind my backgrounds are material and not paper so don't know if that makes a difference.

 

I bought single bed sheets from asda (any supermarket will do) (they do various colours) to act as a backdrop, being a single sheet is seemed to me a cheap way to have different coloured backgrounds available.

went to a material/art type place and the material was quite expensive.

 

like you say I need a bigger room as it has to be taken up & down when done as it gets in the way when not shooting.

geoff

[Guest]

I just got a empty cardboard vinyl roll and stapled two cloth backdrops to it then just roll them up around it when finished and they do not then crease.

 

Good luck with the studio set up practice makes perfect.

[Black Pearl]

Couple of points:

 

Leon.

 

Drop the lights down a touch and pull them closer together so you're not getting a darker strip down the centre of the faces.

Try a big white sheet of card or similar under their faces to bounce some light back under their eyebrows and nose.

Try keeping the subject away from the backdrop (if there is space) and open the lens a little which will help mask marks and creases.....see below.

 

Geodar.

 

All you need is another light (lights if the space allows) on the background running one to two stops over exposed. This will ensure you get a perfect white and will also mask any marks.

 

Best example I have is this:

 

Two lights on the bikes correctly exposed for the power, distance etc - regardless of the colour of the bike.

Two lights on the backdrop, flagged so they didn't spill forward and set two stops higher so the white was over exposed and pure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Korky]

This isn't an area of photography I have experience of...... but good luck with the new kit!

 

Korky

[Leon]

Thanks for the advice guys, my 1st ever pictures using lighting, I know I have a lot to learn, andthere was no more room to pull the lights away from them.

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice guys, my 1st ever pictures using lighting, I know I have a lot to learn, andthere was no more room to pull the lights away from them.

When you are working in a small place like I often have to you are better of with one light and reflector on the subject and the other on the background if needed.

 

This was shot in a kitchen 10 feet long by 4 feet wide.

 

[colinb]

Leon good luck with that lot, I have been looking around for something similar myself so I'll be following your progress!