Simple strobist portraits

[texxter]

I worked with my two favorite subjects this evening, just to exercise the trigger finger and have fun. I wanted the light to look natural, not dramatic, and also wanted to use portable flashes, not studio flashes. Finally, I wanted a non-studio location, so we did this around the house. Post-processing is minimal, resizing and sharpening. These are simple, natural looking photos, nothing more.

Image #1 - Lighting was three portable flashes, two SB800s and one SB24, set manually and triggered with Pocket Wizards. The key light was in a xsmall Photoflex softbox to camera light, about 3 ft from my girl. The fill was a small silver umbrella positioned right behind the camera and at eye level with the subject. The ratio between key and fill was less than 1 f-stop. The third portable flash was on top of the steps, bare, pointing to the ceiling and acting as a second fill for the steps behind her. Without this extra flash the steps behind the subject get dark very quickly.

I used a silver umbrella to create a crisp, clean look that would go well with the children theme. White would have worked as well, but I like the extra clarity of a silver fill.



Image #2 - same lighting setup, I just moved the camera position a little.



Image #3 - I set the light the same as above, but I used only key and fill, as the second fill was no longer needed. This is in the breakfast table and wallpaper behind it. Very simple lighting.

[texkam]

Nice. A little early for homework isn't it?

[49884]

Very nice, even lighting. Appreciate the explanation. They are also tack sharp, what lens did you use?

[xseption]

worked out well!

[texxter]

Thanks for the comments! The kids were cooperative and even pretended to be working on their homework! The limages were created with the Nikon D700 and a 24-70mm lens. I had a circular polarizer filter on to reduce the reflections on the steps. Using a circular polarizer with portable flashes is tricky, as I can't see the reflections until after I press the trigger, hence I am turning the polarizer more or less blind. I ended up putting a tungsten lamp where the flashes were to be able to turn the polarizer to the right position. I still got some reflections.

Shooting people around the house (or any "real" location) with portable flashes is a good exercise on problem solving. For example, light stands don't always provide you with the right placement of lights, and you need to use other ways to place them where you want them; or you've got reflective surfaces, and need to deal with them; or, in general, you don't have full control of the environment as you do in the studio.

[stuckupsigns]

Nice work, Paco.

The reflections in the first one are a little hot and off to the sides. I know you used a polarizer (which I wouldn't have even thought of ) but maybe moving the camera angle so the strobe reflections are behind your model?

The third one is greatness!

[texxter]

Shane, thanks for your comments. It was tough to work with a highly reflective hardwood floor and the subject sitting on it with strobes close by. Because I had two lights, one hitting the floor from the front and another from the side, it was difficult to eliminate all these reflections by moving the camera while still capturing all of her. When I zoomed in the problem disappeared, but I got an image that was not what I wanted :-) It was a good experience to have to deal with, and I'll probably continue to shoot in "flash unfriendly" environments so that I can develop solutions to these problems.

If I were to make commercial use of these images I would remove the reflections in postprocessing.

[stuckupsigns]

You are a brave man! lol BTW, these do look very natural.

[mkothare]

Paco, you have some great and co-operative subjects to practice with and you do them great justice. #3 is such a natural pose with your daughter's expression saying "and what is it that you are saying???" :-)

[texxter]

Thank you, Milind, very kind of you. I just need to catch them when they are motivated to be photographed - normally I need to create that motivation with some sort of incentive! The homework session was funny, as they really got into their roles and started to act... I'll post a couple more when I get home.

[JohnT]

Love it—lighting and all. The wallpaper makes a nice background. Maybe next time have them change into shirts of a color that complements the background color? Just a thought.

Wish I had two or three cooperative subjects under my roof.

[carrbowl]

John...I'll put them on the bus...how many would you like???? : )

[ChristopherCoy]

Paco... I'm coming take lessons. How much do you charge?

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by carrbowl

John...I'll put them on the bus...how many would you like???? : )

LOL! Ready for school to start?

[texxter]

Paco... I'm coming take lessons. How much do you charge?

Chris, not sure if you're serious, but...

I don't mind having a pilot workshop/sharing session with people interested in joining me in or around Plano. My garage is only partially climatized with a portable A/C, so it's not a good place for a few photographers in a hot summer day. We could do it when the weather cools off. Or if someone has a large (two car garage or larger) climatized space to experiment with light and go over techniques, I'll be happy to facilitate the discussion.

The first offering of this seminar could be free in exchange for good feedback on how to make it worth paying money for, and I would probably limit it to five people or so. For this initial workshop we'd try to get a couple of local talents looking for TFCD, or friends/relatives.

I envision four areas that could be covered in such a seminar: (1) principles of lighting for photography, and an introduction to equipment; (2) application of those principles to location photography with ambient light only; (3) application of those principles to studio or indoor location photography; and (4) application of those principles to location photography where ambient and flash light need to be used together. I can see this being a very long day or two shorter days. A good understanding of camera operation would be required.

If anyone is interested send me email and we can discuss privately. If this idea ever becomes an official workshop I'd use the rules of TPF to publicize it.