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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
07-08-2019, 12:01 PM
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Big is actually forgiving! :)
A cheap shoot-thru umbrella is the best place to start for a beginner because it throws so much light everywhere that almost any pose or subject works, from food to people.
The hardest are the beauty dish and snoot, because the positioning has to be absolutely spot on. And the more intelligent the model, the better. But the looks you get are stunning.
A softbox is somewhere in between.
I'm sure your next session will go better, Hattifnat, we all know that's what photography's about. :)
Just to back up Peter's comments, once we get frustrated by any kind of difficulties in a session (personal or technical), it's over.
The girls can be talking and laughing with each other but the moment they step forward to be shot by you and you haven't matched that mood, you're not joining in because you're distracted by problems, that's the end.
Amateur models will appear lifeless in their expressions and even pros will be mechanical/not authentic.
Very hard to get keepers!
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Forum: Flashes, Lighting, and Studio
06-05-2019, 05:20 PM
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Briefly, Hattifnat, it's a different game when you're shooting two people. :)
Depending on the pose, one is going to block light from your key for the other.
In your first sample picture, that photographer decided to shoot frontally, resulting in a flat light scheme not too different from using a camera's pop up flash, but at least both are lit similarly. This is how Santa shots are done in shopping malls.
In the second, it was all about the pose, one girl backing off a bit so she didn't lay a shadow on the other's cheek. You can't shoot that at f1.4 even if you want to, because their eyes are at different distances from the lens. The shadows are dark, maybe three stops darker, maybe you want that dramatic contrasty look or maybe your subjects think it's too artificial.
In the third, two lights are used to solve the problem. The shadows are a stop or so darker.
If you decide to incorporate the windows in an actual shot (in cinema, those light sources are called 'incidentals'), begin with them for your camera exposure (blown? details revealed?), then change your flash powers appropriately.
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