In order to practice some of the learned lighting techniques from sources like strobist.blogspot.com, MacNally's fantastic "The Moment It Clicks" and the very recommended book "Light - Science&Magic" in the beginning it was my very patient sister that would serve as a model. Thanks Ewelina!
Portrait photoghraphy is one of the most difficult areas in my opinion. Especially if you shoot somewhere on location you have to plan thoroughly everything before, actually you have to visit the location in the run-up to the shooting and paint already some images in your head. Then on the day of shooting you have to build your lights up (of course there is still the possibility that available light alone will work), make some testshooting with a dummy or your assistant to arrange the lights and finally shoot the object of interest. And in this very moment you have to pretend the model that you are mastering all the equipment surrounding it without any problems letting it feel comfortable. You will have to get close to your model to draw a secret out of it if you want a special expression.
So as you can see there are many parameters that have to be managed sometimes several of them at the same time. I must admit that I am still somewhere on level two or three struggling with the equipment while shooting because I still lack the requested experience in handling the light but I think I am getting there gradually.
Main Light
"Placing the main light is, of course, our first decision. Look at the ball: It is the simplest thing we could draw to convincingly represent a ball; without the highlight and shadow , it could just as well be a ring, a hole, or a disk. Notice also that the placement of the highlight simply feels more "right" than if we had centered it, say, or put it near the bottom of the sphere.
The most common placement of the portrait main light is about where we have it in the sphere illustration. Faces are more complex. They have noses, eye sockets, mouths, wrinkles, creases, and all the other irregularities that come as part of the human form. Let's look at all of these as we fine-tune the basic light placement.
Generally speaking, we prefer to position the light so that there is a shadow
on one side of the face. This, as we have seen, is accomplished by keeping the light
to one side. In addition, we want to keep it high enough so that there are similar
shadows under the eyebrows, nose, and chin. Having read this, however, you may well
ask just how far to keep the light "to one side" and how high is "high enough".
These are valid questions.
... "
Source: "Light - Science&Magic"
Fill Light
"Shadows are essential to most portraits. Much of the time, however, we prefer
to lighten a shadow or even eliminate it altogether. We can do this with a single
light source only if we place it near the camera lens. If we want to keep the main
light farther from the camera, however, we need some kind of filllight. Photographers
commonly use a fill light that gives the subject about half as much illumination
as the main light, but this guideline is by no means absolute. Some photographers
like to use a lot of fill in portraits, whereas other equally talented ones prefer
to use none. The important thing is not to try to memorize any set of rules, instead,
adjust your lighting until it is satisfactory to you. Some photographers use additional
lights for fill, whereas others prefer Hat reHecting surfaces. Both methods have
their advantages. The most basic multiple light arrangement consists of a main light
plus a filllight. An additional light allows good Hexibility in filllight placement.
We can put the filllight far enough from the subject to be out of the way and still
expect it to be bright enough.
... "
Source: "Light - Science&Magic"
Background Light
"Background lights illuminate, as the name implies, the background rather than
the person being photographed. ... They provide a degree of tonal separation between
the subject and the background. This separation helps give a feeling of added depth
to a portrait and surrounds the subject with what is often a visually pleasing "glow." You
can be heavy-handed with this, giving the subject has a pronounced halo, or you
can be subtle, puHing the light further from the background or using multiple lights
to light the background evenly.
Background lights can also add color to portraits.
We do this by attaching colored gels, or filters, to the light. Gels are not expensive
and they come in a wide range of colors. By using them and a white background, photographers
can reduce the number of different colared backgrounds that they need to keep around
the studio. Several background lights with filters of different colors can create
color combinations impossible with colored seamless paper and white lights.
Hiding the background light behind the subject
is more difficult in a full-Iength portrait. Furthermore. lighting the background
uniformly, instead of a bright center spot, is alm ost impossible with the background
light in such a position. To photograph the whole body or to illuminate the background
evenly, we prefer using two or more background lights on each side of the subject.
Background lights may be very bright or very dim. Experiment until you come up with
the lighting you like. For portraits you intend to later paste into another scene,
try lighting a background slightly lighter than pure white (just to be sure). You
can then often place the portrait into another scene using the software "darken" mode.
In many scenes, this eliminates the need for tediously silhouetting the hair.
Source: "Light - Science&Magic"
Kickers
"Along with the different lights that we have talked about so far, some photographers
also like to use a kicker as apart of their setup. A kicker adds extra illumination to, or "kicks up," the brightness
on part of the object by providing an extra highlight. Kickers are usually about half
the brightness of the main light. The position of the kicker is the least
standardized of any portrait light. As was the
case with hair lights, when you are using a kicker you have to be careful that light
from it does not spill into the lens. If it does, it will cause flare.
... "
Source: "Light - Science&Magic"
sister 1 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 25mm | ||
Aperture | f13 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/160sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
3 Lights | |||
"Hair Light" or "Kicker" | sun: top right behind | ||
"Fill Light" | manual 1/32 on axis | ||
"Main Light" | manual 1/8? top left | ||
Description | |||
Image content description At the local bird sanctuary there are some spots for shooting some interesting images. Of course without disturbing the many wild birds there! At least you should try :) |
sister 2 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 25mm | ||
Aperture | f13 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
3 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Fill Light | manual 1/32 on axis | ||
Main Light | manual 1/8? top left | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My sister and some underexposed reeds in the background |
sister 3 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 24mm | ||
Aperture | f13 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
3 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right behind | ||
Fill Light | manual 1/16 -1/3EV | ||
Main Light | manual 1/8? top left | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My sister and some underexposed reeds in the background Please excuse me but since I was working with the strobes in the manual mode I don't remember the settings exactly :). |
sister 4 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 35mm | ||
Aperture | f13 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
3 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Fill Light | manual 1/32 on axis | ||
Main Light | manual 1/8? top left | ||
Description | |||
Image content description In a different spot, now the sun is coming more directly from the right |
sister 5 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 35mm | ||
Aperture | f16 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
3 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Fill Light | manual 1/16 -1/3EV | ||
Main Light | manual 1/8? top left | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Catched a more serious facial expression :) |
family in the wood 1 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length - left img | 30mm | ||
Focal length - right img | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Planned as a mushroom foray the lack of any mushroom forced us (me and my family) to insert a photo session in the wood :) |
family in the wood 2 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 20mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My father and my sister |
family in the wood 3 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 32mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My mother and my sister |
family in the wood 4 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 32mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My mother and my sister |
family in the wood 5 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 19mm | ||
Aperture | f7.1 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Mother, father and sister |
family in the wood 6 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 35mm | ||
Aperture | f7.1 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Robert De Niro, James Bond? Nope, it's just my father:) |
family in the wood 7 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length - left img | 32mm | ||
Focal length - right img | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f9 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 100 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Hair Light or Kicker | sun: top right | ||
Main Light | manual 1/2 or full power? top left on a boom with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My little sister :) |
drosde's 30th birthday 1 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data - both | |||
Focal length | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f6.3 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -1.0EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Having been invited to an old friend's birthday party it was already to late for an exquisite present. So I decided to make some party pics there. |
drosde's 30th birthday 2 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f6.3 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -1.0EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Two friends: Paray in the background and Dule in the foreground smoking a cigarette |
drosde's 30th birthday 3 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length - left img | 32mm | ||
Focal length - right img | 28mm | ||
Aperture | f6.3 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light - left img | iTTL -1.0EV ceiling bounce | ||
Main Light - right img | iTTL -0.7EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Left img: Goeser with a nice specular on his glasses Right img: Dule's friend |
drosde's 30th birthday 4 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -0.7EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Some motorcycle helmets were lying around so we tried them on :) |
drosde's 30th birthday 5 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -0.7EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Some motorcycle helmets were lying around so we tried them on :) |
drosde's 30th birthday 6 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 17mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -0.7EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Some motorcycle helmets were lying around so we tried them on :) |
drosde's 30th birthday 7 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 22mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -0.7EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Uta and Caro try the oriental look |
drosde's 30th birthday 8 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data | |||
Focal length | 22mm | ||
Aperture | f5.6 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/125sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | ambient -3EV? | ||
Main Light | iTTL -0.3EV ceiling bounce | ||
Description | |||
Image content description Jovi, Dule and Caro (from left to right) |
my cat 1 | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data - both | |||
Focal length | 19mm | ||
Aperture | f11 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | sun / ambient -2EV? | ||
Main Light | manual 1/8 on boom frontal top right with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My cat on our terrace playing with a halm |
my cat 2 (and me:) | H | ||
---|---|---|---|
H | |||
H | |||
Exif data - both | |||
Focal length | 22mm | ||
Aperture | f11 | ||
Shutter speed | 1/250sec | ||
ISO | 200 | ||
2 Lights | |||
Fill Light | sun / ambient -2EV? | ||
Main Light | manual 1/8? on boom frontal top right with umbrella | ||
Description | |||
Image content description My cat and me posing for a selfportrait :) |
photography | Project photography / "portrait" |
Camera Equipment | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Device: | Nikon D200 | ||||||||||
Lens 1: | AF 50 F/1.4 | ||||||||||
Content images of family and friends exploring the creative lighting possibilities |
Lens 2: | AF-S 17-35/2.8 | |||||||||
Lens 3: | AF-S 70-200/2.8 | ||||||||||
Peripherical Equipment | |||||||||||
Tripod: | Gitzo GT3540LS | ||||||||||
Lights: | 4xNikon strobes | ||||||||||
Light Stands: | 1xBoom 2x101B |
contact me! | H | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H | |||||||
H | |||||||
Address | |||||||
Name | Klaudiusz Szatanik | ||||||
Street | Ulmer Strasse 48 | ||||||
City | 73066 Uhingen | ||||||
Fon | 0173 3030301 | ||||||
racl@klaudiusz.de |