What up with my lighting situation?

[Amikasmom]

Ladies!! I need your help again! You guys are so good about that! Thats why I adore this place and miss hanging out more!

Everytime I try and take pic's with the backgrounds and lighting I purchased, I have horrid shadows on the background? Things are not going smoothly, and by the time I get going the babe's is fussy and I have to restart again someother time!

I have two lights, and one I was using with a softbox. (and yes I'm putting it as close as I can) I'm just wondering if it's because I don't have enough room on the one side to manouver the one light? How high/far should it be if I'm doing floor pics with a babe?

If you could help, please do!
Thanks again!

[Jen D]

I am not a pro but I have my subjects at least 4 ft away from the backdrop. I also shoot with two lights at 45 degree angles from the subject (with kids I am just looking for a ton of light because they move so quick!) I think the cross light helps with any shadows. Hopefully one of the more skilled ladies can give you some more info. Here is a link to some pictures I took just the other day with this method.

http://flickr.com/photos/jenniferdel...7614021501524/

HTH

[Amikasmom]

Oooh those pics look way too cute!! They did turn out well also!
I am putting my "subjects" lol about 5 feet infront, I guess I will try the lights that way...so you dont point one at the background? Cause in those pics I am assuming you used white paper? Thanks for the reply!

[Jen D]

Thanks =)

Nope I didn't use a back light... and I am using the paper rolls I bought from B&H photo.

[Julie DeGuia]

Amikasmom - sorry, I don't know your name. Do you have an example you could show us of the images with shadows?

Jen - Very cute photos! Are they your kids... I am assuming not b/c of your avatar! One suggestion. Have the little ones take off their socks. Bare feet are SO much cuter than dirty socks! :-)

Julie

[Starlite9711]

Jen those photos are fabulous!! Great job!! Thanks for letting us know how you did it too!!

[Jen D]

Originally Posted by Julie DeGuia

Amikasmom - sorry, I don't know your name. Do you have an example you could show us of the images with shadows?

Jen - Very cute photos! Are they your kids... I am assuming not b/c of your avatar! One suggestion. Have the little ones take off their socks. Bare feet are SO much cuter than dirty socks! :-)

Julie

Thank you... I tried to suggest bare feet and mom wasn't having it

[Julie DeGuia]

Originally Posted by Jen D

Thank you... I tried to suggest bare feet and mom wasn't having it

That's weird! I just tell them it looks better and they go along. Sometimes moms are just odd ducks! :-)

[Jen D]

Originally Posted by Julie DeGuia

That's weird! I just tell them it looks better and they go along. Sometimes moms are just odd ducks! :-)

She thought it would make them cry... I don't argue I just smile and nod

[SAHMom]

Can you post an example with the settings you used?

How are you metering your light?

You could try feathering your light more if you are in a tight space that is throwing shadows on your background too.

My home studio is small! I actually really prefer using one light and a large reflector... maybe you could try just doing a one light set up before trying to tackle two lights.

[SAHMom]

I really need to remember to take set up shots... this is the one I found that I actually remembered. This is in the clients home, not my studio... but you can see how close I get my light and the position.

set up:


result:

[SAHMom]

from the same session:

set up:


result:

[bluelemur01]

When I first started, it took a lot of trial/error for me to figure out how to arrange two lights with umbrellas & strobes and avoid harsh shadows. Typically you need to have your subject at least 5 feet away from the BG. You also need to angle the lights correctly.

Try angling the lights at a 45 degree angle to the subject and put them equidistant from each other & the subject. This is not the absolute best light for portraits, but it will give you a starting point. If you do it "right" you can get a near-shadowless picture this way. I'd really recommend practicing on your hubby first, or another adult who will sit there for about 40 minutes while you try different setups.

You also need to ensure that the power on your lights is not too high or low. Have you purchased a light meter yet?

For a babe on the floor, try lowering your lights as low as the stand allows, and get close. Remember you might need to cut the power down on the lights, to 1/4 or even 1/8 sometimes, in a small room!

The thing with umbrellas/strobes, though, is that minor movements to the lights can mean major changes to the shadows and lighting on the face.

I recommend creating little diagrams of each setup you try; that way you know what works & doesn't work. I track the following for each setup I try:

Height of light(s)
Angle of light(s) to subject
Angle of light(s) on stand
distance of light(s) from subject
distance of light(s) from camera
umbrella position & placement for each light
light power for each light
distance of subject from bg
ambient light?
aperture
ss

I do it with a little chart that I made in Excel. Then when I get a GREAT setup, I can easily recreate it.

It takes time. You may have to have hubby sit there while you take a pic, check it, adjust the light angles, take another pic, adjust light angles, again, etc. Eventually you'll get a pic where you like the shadows & the catchlights, and THEN...write down all of you settings so you can duplicate the shot!

If you want to use one of your lights as a backdrop light, it works best to have it "skim" the backdrop; if you point it directly AT the backdrop, you will get bad shadows or bright hot spots. You may also need to soften the light by placing a baffle over the light and cutting the power. You can also place the light low and EHIND the subject (if they're sitting) and point the light up at the backdrop. If you're doing just a head & shoulders shot you won't see the light on the floor and you can get nice light behind the head, esp. if you feather or baffle it. However, this too takes practice and can be easily overdone!

good luck!
Jennifer

[Amikasmom]

Ok, seriously this is WHY I love this place You ladies never fail! Thanks so much for the help, the pics and explainations soo are going to make my next photos rock! No I don't have a light meter yet...Still working on that. I was feeling pretty deflated about the amount of $$$ I have already sunk into this, that I kinda am feeling like I dont want to dish anymore I just don't want to get over my head (too late!) But I think I am going to buy the reflector first, and like asap....
I think I really do need an adult for practicing, just hard finding that 40minutes! LOL! Seriously!
Thanks again so much, I'll reread this thread probably a few times till I "get" it!
Nichole

[bluelemur01]

Kim, your photos are, as always, BEAUTIFUL! I love the portraits you do of the teeny babes. That scale is an awesome idea!

[Amikasmom]

ok so I played around with everything all afternoon today, and used a stationary bear that I hope to use as a prop. Unfortunately I am getting harsh shadows on the right and more along the bottom where the paper roll meets the floor. The bear is far enough away from the bg, and the lights are at a 45 angle and so close, they are almost in the picture. I tried moving the lights around and such but that darn shadow wont disapear!!
I had my lights as low as possible, which is at 1
shutter 1/60
f stop 4.5
Ap 4.6
Iso 100
I am including a pic while my 2 year old is having a sever temper tanturm

[SAHMom]

Remind me again what lights and softbox you are using?
Looking at the catch lights and the shadows, the light looks too much in front of your subject and a smidge too low. Are you certain the power of "1" is your lowest and not full power? (the lowest on my Alien Bee 800 is 1/32)

Picture a clock, and your subject in the center and you at 6 o'clock... your light needs to be closer to 9 o'clock (or 3 o'clock if you put it on camera right). To feather you can put it between 7 & 8 o'clock and aim it at the opposite wall.. so the light sort of skims the front of your subject.

This is a hard thing for me to try and type out... LOL It would be so much easier if I could just come over and show you. LOL (wouldn't that be nice... and fun!)

[Amikasmom]

Seriously I am on cloud 9!! I read your furthur directions, and had my husband alter the lights while I tried the photos, and here is the results I am potentially getting....I'm super excited to put my daughter in the photo! I'm really thinking I need an actual spot other than my dining room to use for this set up-maybe a bigger house with more storage! LOL.
I also using the great advice to mesaure my "spots" and have actually just appied lots of "positioning tape" all over lol!
Thanks so much for your help and advice!
Nichole

[Jen D]

That looks awesome... Kim is amazing!!!

Kim if you wouldn't mind sharing... in your first photo showing your set up... what is under the white cloth positioning the baby so well? I use a boppy and it doesn't really work all that well =(

[audrey77]

I think the baby is laying on the floor for that one right?

[bluelemur01]

You can buy special "baby photo posing tables"; I'm not sure if that is what Kim is using but you can find them at on-line photo supply stores. They also sell cute little chairs with seatbelts in all different styles, fun blankets, etc.

http://cart.owens-originals.com/Prod...ctCode=BBYPSR1

You can also use beanbags covered with a nice blanket or fur cloth.

One photograph I know used to have the parents bring in the child's car seat. He would then drape a 6x6 foot pretty cloth over it all, hiding the edges and buckles and etc, and place the baby back in. Then he elevated the back of the carseat with some books to make it tilt forward for better light, then would take pics.

Other people sometimes have seamstresses make a cute cloth cover for a bumbo and sit older kids in that.

I like many of these idea but haven't tried them, although they sound fun. I would love to hear more ideas from kim & others on how you pose babies!

Jennifer

[bluelemur01]

Here's a few more links of "fancy dancy" baby posing equipment. But I assume that cheaper, Target-style things will work just as well if you find the right size and cover with a cute blanket.

http://www.wickerbydesign.com/cart/i...4029ede7b0a76e

http://www.backdropoutlet.com/BABY-P...FRENDQod2Sm51A

[SAHMom]

Oh, I don't use anything fancy! It's just a bean bag! It works better for me than a boppy because it gets the baby higher up off the ground and if the baby is sleeping, I can changed his/her position easily by just molding the bean bag around (if that makes sense).

[Jen D]

Thanks so much... I never even thought to use one of my kids bean bags!!!!!!

[Amikasmom]

ok, here are the results of the pictures that I tried over the weekend, with all you're awesome ladies help (which I appreciate sooo much BTW!!)
I am showing one how it was taken and one I edited on LR....
The original looks like something is wrong to me though....why doesn't it look "right" you guys are the pros so I need your pointers on how it looks.
My daughter is just coming down with the flu, so no practice shots for awhile....

[SAHMom]

Sorry you daughter is getting sick!
Lighting looks good, I think the "off" you are seeing is just the white balance. All that pink can get tricky unless you do a custom white balance.

I got a new color paper today that I wanted to see how it photographed, so Thomas played model real quick... and I remembered to pull back and take a shot.

Nothing fancy. Just a one light set up, more low key lighting, and I could have brought the reflector in more to fill in more shadows on the dark side, but I was lucky to get these 3 shots... LOL


meant to add settings to this too... shutter 1/125 @ f/5.6 @ 200 ISO

wide angel view


and the result


edited to add, these are just straight out of the camera... the "result" isn't a finished/polished image. And excuse my crazy cramped and messy studio!

[Angel_Baby]

Originally Posted by bluelemur01

You can buy special "baby photo posing tables"; I'm not sure if that is what Kim is using but you can find them at on-line photo supply stores. They also sell cute little chairs with seatbelts in all different styles, fun blankets, etc.

http://cart.owens-originals.com/Prod...ctCode=BBYPSR1

You can also use beanbags covered with a nice blanket or fur cloth.

One photograph I know used to have the parents bring in the child's car seat. He would then drape a 6x6 foot pretty cloth over it all, hiding the edges and buckles and etc, and place the baby back in. Then he elevated the back of the carseat with some books to make it tilt forward for better light, then would take pics.

Other people sometimes have seamstresses make a cute cloth cover for a bumbo and sit older kids in that.

I like many of these idea but haven't tried them, although they sound fun. I would love to hear more ideas from kim & others on how you pose babies!

Jennifer

I too have used the infant car seat for positioning, but I prefer just laying them on a pillow so that you can get different angles. Also, some of my favorite pictures I placed my baby in a clothes basket. Probably the same effect as the bean bag, but it takes up less space in my already crowded space. I have attached some examples. Please keep in mind, I am just beginning to learn about photography and lighting, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

[muddygirl]

Just had to say that that colour backdrop is just gorgeous.

[Amikasmom]

Hello again, thought I should revisit this thread, as I hired a lighting instructor, and have to come to find out that one of my lights was actually NOT working properly the whole time. I think it was not as bad in the beginning when I first got them, and it got progressivly worse. It was the flash bulb? All I know is that it would have cost me $150 to replace it, but they ended up doing it free of charge, which I'm sooo happy about.
I kinda thought something *might* have been wrong with the light since the beggining, but just assumed it was my ignorance about the whole thing. I'm glad to know that something was wrong, and am excited to try it all over again, with a light that actually works. Just thought I'd share