Happy New Year !
Here is my first photo tip update for 2012 and I going to start the year with some basics for all those interested in studio flash or strobe photography.
As long as some basic rules are followed studio lighting is actually very straight forward to master. The first thing to remember is that in the same way as natural light works it is always directional so the main light comes from one place and it is best to start with just one light understand this principle.
The advantage of studio lighting over on camera flash is that it can be set at an angle to both the subject and the camera, and also the modelling light will pretty much show you what the end result will look like when the flash is used.
Until you understand the basics and get consistent results please resist from the wish to "experiment" as this will simply result in a large quantity of random images and even if a couple of these are" passable" their random creation means it highly unlikely that they can ever be repeated.
Ideally our main light needs to at about 45 degrees to our subject as in the illustration here:
As we look at the above image you will see the light is directed from the the right and falls off into the shadows once it has lit one half of the face. This main light is through a soft box which is at 45 degrees to the subject and positioned just above eye height and then direct slightly down ways to create a small shadow under the nose and chin.
For all these illustrations the background is constantly lit with a coloured gel (which I will go into more detail on in the next blog article).
To get the correct exposure for the main light we should use a flash meter directed towards the main light from the subject, a good place to start is a manual setting on your camera of F8 at 1/125 and adjust our lighting power output to achieve the correct exposure for this. Also once you know your lights you will pretty much be able to get this first time every time.
The shadow on the left side, as we look at it, helps to create depth and shape to our portraiture or still life image. For say a strong black and white image, especially of a rugged male face this would be very effective lighting, but for this softer female portrait we want less shadow.
The shadow could be removed using a reflector to bounce some of the main light back to the face from the left side. However for the next illustration I am going to to use a second light to fill the shadow and not surprising this light is known as a "fill" light:
The image above shows only the constant background light and the fill light in operation .
You should also meter for this and look at being 1 -2 stops under the main light, and often photographers will mention ratios of light to control the amount of shadow in the shot. Such as a ration of 2:1, which is basically the fill light being one stop under the main light. So if you have two flash heads of equal output power, if they are at a equal distance from the subject and one is on full power and the second is turned down to say half power you will get somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1 the difference of 1 - 2 stops depending on your particular lighting.
So lets pull it all together now, and add the main light along with the fill light and background light and see our final well exposed image :
As you will see from the above image there is still some shadow present giving a three dimensional look to the subject. By choosing to have the main light coming from our right the sprig of mistletoe in the hat is well light and very much part of the composition. Likewise when choosing the the direction of the main light we should look at the subject, in this case the face, and decide which side is best to be most well lit.
In the next Blog article I will give an explaination on the background lighting, but for the time being prcatice this lighting set up using two lights or simpley one light and a reflector until it is spot on, the experimentation comes much later when you have perfected your craft.
Here is my first photo tip update for 2012 and I going to start the year with some basics for all those interested in studio flash or strobe photography.
As long as some basic rules are followed studio lighting is actually very straight forward to master. The first thing to remember is that in the same way as natural light works it is always directional so the main light comes from one place and it is best to start with just one light understand this principle.
The advantage of studio lighting over on camera flash is that it can be set at an angle to both the subject and the camera, and also the modelling light will pretty much show you what the end result will look like when the flash is used.
Until you understand the basics and get consistent results please resist from the wish to "experiment" as this will simply result in a large quantity of random images and even if a couple of these are" passable" their random creation means it highly unlikely that they can ever be repeated.
Ideally our main light needs to at about 45 degrees to our subject as in the illustration here:
As we look at the above image you will see the light is directed from the the right and falls off into the shadows once it has lit one half of the face. This main light is through a soft box which is at 45 degrees to the subject and positioned just above eye height and then direct slightly down ways to create a small shadow under the nose and chin.
For all these illustrations the background is constantly lit with a coloured gel (which I will go into more detail on in the next blog article).
To get the correct exposure for the main light we should use a flash meter directed towards the main light from the subject, a good place to start is a manual setting on your camera of F8 at 1/125 and adjust our lighting power output to achieve the correct exposure for this. Also once you know your lights you will pretty much be able to get this first time every time.
The shadow on the left side, as we look at it, helps to create depth and shape to our portraiture or still life image. For say a strong black and white image, especially of a rugged male face this would be very effective lighting, but for this softer female portrait we want less shadow.
The shadow could be removed using a reflector to bounce some of the main light back to the face from the left side. However for the next illustration I am going to to use a second light to fill the shadow and not surprising this light is known as a "fill" light:
The image above shows only the constant background light and the fill light in operation .
You should also meter for this and look at being 1 -2 stops under the main light, and often photographers will mention ratios of light to control the amount of shadow in the shot. Such as a ration of 2:1, which is basically the fill light being one stop under the main light. So if you have two flash heads of equal output power, if they are at a equal distance from the subject and one is on full power and the second is turned down to say half power you will get somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1 the difference of 1 - 2 stops depending on your particular lighting.
So lets pull it all together now, and add the main light along with the fill light and background light and see our final well exposed image :
As you will see from the above image there is still some shadow present giving a three dimensional look to the subject. By choosing to have the main light coming from our right the sprig of mistletoe in the hat is well light and very much part of the composition. Likewise when choosing the the direction of the main light we should look at the subject, in this case the face, and decide which side is best to be most well lit.
In the next Blog article I will give an explaination on the background lighting, but for the time being prcatice this lighting set up using two lights or simpley one light and a reflector until it is spot on, the experimentation comes much later when you have perfected your craft.
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