By Peter Phun, on August 23rd, 2010%
Earlier this year, I met a very talented budding actress by the name of Victoria Walcott who needed some headshots.
Available light–Portraiture in available light requires an awareness of locations and times. Generally speaking available light portraits have to be very “static” because light levels tend to be so low. With today’s DSLR’s low light ability, a fast lens and some practice can give pleasing results. ISO 200 1/40 sec @ f 2.8 100 mm macro 2. 8 lens. See the catchlight in Victoria’s eyes where the main light is a large window on the left.
I tend to pack a lot of gear when I work. I may not use them all, but I sure like to have them at my disposal even if it means they are in my trunk.
Force of habit from working at the newspaper. I never knew what assignment I would draw, so I had all kinds of “stuff” in my trunk.
For this particular shoot, I kept it simple.
Needless to say, picking a good location can save you the hassle of bringing in lots of lighting equipment.
This is what I had to work with:
- A large window facing north
- My grey muslin backdrop
- 1 lightstand with reflector secured by a clamp.
- 1 shoot-through umbrella with Canon 580EX Speedlite triggered by off-camera sync cord
If you plan to shoot with available light, consider what lens you have, the shutter speed you can hand hold and if your camera’s noise level at high ISO is acceptable.
Consider having your subject sit or lay down. It might help them relax especially if it’s your first time working with them.
Once you’re sure you have something you like, don’t stop there. That’s when should push on and try something different or even outrageous.
Why? Continue reading Using available light & one flash for a portrait
By Peter Phun, on July 29th, 2010%
Hadia Habibi & Al Nar Bellydancers
Working on location outdoors can simplify matters especially if you’re photographing a group.
A well-chosen location and an equally well-chosen time of the day can free you from having to set up a seamless or Muslin background if your subject is a group of more than 5 or 6 people.
You see, the problem with photographing any kind of group is deciding what to use as your background.
What lens to use? Wide angle lenses make everyone smaller, introduces a lot of clutter in the background and has too much depth-of-field. I used the 80mm setting on my 80-200 zoom. The downside? I have to step way back from the group and that means if you’re soft-spoken, you’ll need a bullhorn. The other problem? How do you position your light without it showing up in the picture? Since your light will be closer to your subjects than you are physically, that may mean using a boom to raise the lights out of the frame. I got away with moving my light just outside of the frame on the left. Marvin, my assistant, was also holding a reflector on the left to kick back the directional sunlight coming in from the right.
Unless you plan on cramming everybody so close like sardines, the bigger your group, it follows then, the more space you’ll need.
Realistically, once you have about 8 people, you’re almost assuredly out of space indoors in most studios. And even the biggest seamless paper or Muslin background hung on the long side up will not be enough.
Continue reading On location group photos
By Peter Phun, on June 1st, 2010%
Graduating High School Senior–Samantha Some of you might recognize Samantha who modeled for my students when I taught my Small Flash Lighting workshop a few weeks back. She’s got such a pretty face and great skin, it’s hard not to get a good picture of her. I kept things simple for the most part. I used one Speedlite and a silver reflector for this picture.
One of the most invaluable skills I acquired while at the newspaper was learning to assess my lighting options on scene quickly.
Most of time it meant I would use what’s already at the scene. This approach means you have 2 light sources:
- what you bring (your small portable flash units) and
- what available light there is
Continue reading On location single flash lighting
By Peter Phun, on May 5th, 2010%
When cooking, if you’re the sort who thinks “one teaspoon is good, and 2 or 3 will be even better,” then you probably eat alone a lot.
Come to think of it, you probably eat lots of leftovers too.
When you’re making pictures, especially when you are starting to explore lighting, resist over-lighting.
It’s all about quality of light not quantity.
It’s precisely that reason photographers sometimes choose to light their subjects.
Less is more–Artist Johnnie Dominguez was photographed using just available light and a large gold reflector. My friend Ted Kulesa held the reflector on the left of Johnnie just outside the frame. Canon 40D ISO 800 1/125 sec @ f2.8 camera on monopod. 80-200 zoom @ 80 mm. No fancy schmancy lights or flash used. I did have an voice-activated assistant Ted Kulesa. I wish I took more behind-the-scenes pictures of this. I’m starting to do so now that I’m teaching.
Continue reading Too much light
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