Shadows

[Angel_Baby]

Hi there. I am wondering if anyone could give me some tips. I am shooting some maternity pictures for a friend next week and I am not having much luck with this reflector. I did a few practice shots with the sun to the subject's left and the reflector on the right, but the reflector didn't seem to do much for the harsh shadows. The time was around 6 as the sun was beginning to set. Today was cloudy so I had a few good shots due to that, but I can't count on clouds. I just got the 580 flash (cannon), but I haven't completly figured it out so I'm not sure if I would be successful using that as fill. Am I positioning the subject/light correctly? Any suggestions?

[katrinak]

Can you post a sample photo? Are you shooting in the shade?

[ajfetzer]

Did your reflector come with a scrim? Part of the reflector and sort of looks like vellum? I haven't tried it yet but the scrim is supposed to diffuse the sun making it less harsh if you have one maybe you could give that a try

[bluelemur01]

Therese, if you post a sample picture, we could help you troubleshoot the shadows.

In general, though, I don't like to shoot portraits in the actual sun unless I absolutely have to; the harsh shadows create black holes in the eye sockets, and even though fill flash can help "bounce" them out, it also sometimes creates hotspots on the face or clothes. A reflector usually will not eliminate the shadows; instead, it will provide pretty "glint" (catchlights) in the eyes and will add some light and color to the face. I wouldn't rely on the reflector to be the ultimate solution for the shadows.

I MUCH prefer to shoot in the shade, and direct sun into the subject's face with a reflector that way, if there is not already light providing nice catch-lights or facial highlighting.

My recommendations would be:

1. Try shooting with your subject fully in the shade. Use the reflector to catch sun from a nearby sunny area & bounce it back into her face. Try it without flash, and then try it again with flash; you may need to dial your flash down to -2/3 EV or even -1 or -2EV. Basically you want a LITTLE flash to lighten up the face & eyes, but not so much that you get blown highlights or hotspots. You'll need to experiment to get the right level for your lighting situation. Also, be sure to shoot in RAW. Although the setting sun (6pm+) is lovely, sometimes it can look *too* yellow on skin in the finished picture, and shooting RAW will allow you the opportunity to fix that more easily than in a .jpg. And conversely, sometimes pictures in the shade can make the skin look a bit blue, even with fill & reflector; again, you can more easily correct this on a RAW pic than a .jpg.

2. Try some indoor shots too! Try this: Hang a white sheet in front of a large window in a room with a relatively low ceiling, and move all the furniture out of the way. Have your subject sit, stand, pose in front of the window. Take pictures with your external flash mounted to the camera and pointed at the ceiling. When you point the flash at the ceiling -- as long as the ceiling is low enough -- the light will bounce down & 'waterfall' around your subject, creating nice light without shadows behind her. If your flash isn't strong enough, though, the backlight from the window will force her into underexposed silhouette. You can experiment by pulling out the "white card" piece on the flash so that some light goes forward to fill her eyes. You could also hang the sheet along a wall perpendicular to the window, have her pose in front of that, point the flash to the ceiling, and have someone else use the reflector to bounce window light into her face to add catchlights & color. This can work really well! And sometimes this is easier to control than outdoor shots.

good luck!
J

[iUma]

Dang, Jennifer. Can you come over?

[Aino]

Jennifer, that was a really good explanation - well written!!

[donitab]

Yes Jennifer! I learned a bunch & can't wait to try some of it out! THANKS!

[Angel_Baby]

Thanks for all of the tips Jennifer. Unfortunately, I don't have a very big living space inside for taking pictures and there is zero shade in my back yard. Hard to believe, I know. I usually go to a park or somewhere with shade, but these are maternity and she wants some privacy since she'll be showing her belly.

Yesterday was very overcast so those pictures turned out ok, but in between the clouds, the sun was VERY harsh. Even as the sun was going down. I'm a little embarassed about the pictures. Please ignore that my son is not wearing a shirt. I was using him as a model and really didn't think I'd be sharing these. One picture is an example of the shadow and one is an example with thick cloud coverage.

eta: these images are sooc