Monika Epsefass , Apr 06, 2009; 08:40 a.m.
If they need to have a halo, you’d need a strong backlight. In addition, you could add some lighting in PS later, which you direct on their faces and calculate in ’soft light’ mode. Don’t forget to soften their skin a bit, too, to give them that candlelight look. You might also use a (turned down low) snoot light on their faces, to prevent overexposing but give them a gentle glow, maybe together with a gelled bulb…. be imaginative!
More Images from Photo Shoot 1 April 16, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Contains Images, Indoor, Portraiture, Strobist, Studio, Studio Lights.Tags: assignment 2, depth-of-field, earth hour, lighting, Portraiture, Shedding Illumination, soft box, Studio
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I did shots of each model without light bulbs (in their hands) to test light, get my models more relaxed before doing the “real” shots, and so I could give them each a nice photo of themselves as a “thank you” later. 
You can click the photos to go to my Flickr gallery where there are additional comments on each photo.
“Light bulb” shots:
Positive feedback! April 13, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in General Comments, Portraiture, Strobist.Tags: advice, butterfly, discussion, forum, hollywood, lighting, on-axis, photo.net
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I posted my first few images to my Photo.net discussion thread and it elicited this response:
Mark Chartrand
, Apr 12, 2009; 12:40 p.m.
Leonard,
I think your lighting is very nice on these subjects.
FYI: Direct lighting (just above the nose – or “on the axis”) has often been referred to “Hollywood” or “Butterfly” lighting as it was quite popular with “stars” in the 40’s and creates a “butterfly” shaped shadow just under the nose. It is really quite a flattering lighting setup, especially when used with soft focus on females.
Mark
Yaay!
PHOTO SHOOT! April 11, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Contains Images, Indoor, Portraiture, Strobist, Studio, Studio Lights.Tags: chocolate, lighting, modelling, Portraiture, posing, Studio
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It was the last class before term break last night, and our teacher allowed those of us who wanted to, to use the studio. By sheer chance I happened to have a bag full of delicious Lindt chocolate Easter bunnies (my favourite kind btw) in class, and I had a few classmates offer to help me with the shoot – for payment in chocolate.
Lighting and props had a few issues. Because this session was impromptu, I hadn’t brought any of my light bulbs with me… but fortunately, our teacher found me an incandescent pearl bulb somewhere to use as a prop. No CFLs, unfortunately – which I would have preferred… 
Lighting was more problematic. I wanted to “set” my portrait photos in urban or home settings, in case I get time to Photoshop those incongruous natural elements into the background (flowers, plants… maybe even the odd critter). The studio has a “kitchen” set, which happens to be a working kitchenette but is filled with props. In the middle of the setup there is a non-movable “island” bench area, and I had to place my models between this bench and the benches around the wall.
This left no room for any of the lights we had in the studio, to do the backlighting for the “halos” that I wanted. The best I could do was to put a snoot to the right of my models and try to get some of the light on their hair. This helped a little but was nowhere near the effect I was hoping to achieve. Nevertheless, the session was relatively successful, and I certainly have a better idea of lighting setup. For example, the snoot was good on the hair… but if a model brought their head too far back into the light, it cast shadows across their face – not big ones, but enough to spoil the image a bit.
So perhaps even more importantly, I’ve learned the importance of posing the models and paying attention to detail! In some of the photos the modelling was almost perfect, but a few wisps of hair cast shadows across their face and spoiled the photo. In some others, the angle of the head or its position relative to the key light was just a little off, and again there were undesirable shadows. Oh well – I wasn’t expecting to have *anything* at this point, so this was a bonus shoot and certainly helped me learn some important lessons.
Refining my lighting April 8, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Portraiture, Strobist.Tags: advice, discussion, forum, lighting, photo.net
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It was definitely helpful to get some ideas from the pros at Photo.net… I’ve been able to refine what I’ll need to do to capture the images I want for my assignment.
- Charles from Photo.net and our portraiture notes concur that on-axis lighting is the way to go for the portraits to make them look more attractive. So that will be my main light in the setup: a diffuse soft-box from above the camera.
- I’ll need a strong backlight behind my subjects to light up their hair for a “halo” effect.
- I’ll want a gold reflector on hand to warm up the images and fine-tune and shadows that might be cast.
What I think I need most of all is some studio time to have a go… it’s hard to figure out if you’re designing things the right way if you haven’t had a chance to try things out and see what works and what doesn’t!
Some responses already! April 7, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Portraiture, Strobist.Tags: advice, community, discussion, forum, lighting, photo.net, Portraiture
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I have responses on Photo.net!!!
Monika Epsefass , Apr 06, 2009; 08:40 a.m.
Jennifer Spencer , Apr 06, 2009; 05:42 p.m.
I assume you’ll be using some sort of flourescent lighting for the “ugly” shots? Nobody looks good in that light!
Charles Heckel
, Apr 06, 2009; 07:27 p.m.
Don’t use people–hire angels.
Post to Photo.net April 6, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Portraiture, Strobist.Tags: advice, community, discussion, forum, lighting, photo.net, Portraiture
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I just posted the following on the Photo.net “Portraits and Fashion/Portrait Lighting” forum. I’m hoping to get some advice from the many professionals and enthusiasts in this awesome online community:
Making a Subject Glow
I’m working on a set of photos for a photography assignment, where the brief is to promote Earth Hour. I’ve decided I’d like to take some portrait shots of people holding unlit light bulbs, but make it look like they themselves are sources of “illumination” through posing and lighting. I’d either like to shoot these subjects as if they’re glowing themselves, or as if they have a halo, and make them look attractive. I’m going to contrast these with photos of people holding lit light bulbs, and make them harshly/unflatteringly lit.
Does anyone have any ideas or advice I could try to make the most of my limited studio time and achieve the difficult halo/illumination shots? I’ll probably only get a few hours in the studio to try to get the “look” I’m after, so I guess I’m doing as much research as I can *before* getting in there.
The college studio is fully equipped with professional studio flashes, modelling lights, snoots, barn doors, gels, soft boxes backdrops, etc. and I’ll be shooting on a Canon EOS 5D Mk II equipped with a 50mm f/1.4 USM prime.
Thanks for your suggestions!
L.
Classes: Studio Portraiture April 3, 2009
Posted by Leonard Low in Assignment, Class, Contains Images, Indoor, Portraiture, Studio, Studio Flash, Studio Lights.Tags: Class, lighting, Portraiture, Studio
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Our studio sessions on portraiture have been very helpful for my assignment as they’ve given me a real chance to think about how I want to light my own shots and practice with how to do things like checking the lighting ratios (between lit and shadowed areas on the face).
In the studio session pictured above, we’re looking at lighting ratios and using the two diffused lights on the sides to try to create a low ratio for a more flattering and less harsh effect. The modelling lights were REALLY bright though, and the subjects had to keep their eyes closed while we were setting things up between shots. We were also using wireless studio flash in this session, and it was even brighter!
