Portrait Photography Basics 3
Now the gear and background have been looked at, it is time to talk process.
Here is my basic process for artificial light portraits.
Step 1; Background.
Once the place is set, decide on the background. If it is to be supplied by me, it is usually the magnetic bracket on a tall stand, or my 8kg C-Stand if I can for extra stability.
This allows me a few options. I can use a Lastolite Black/Grey (no texture) or Walnut (antique texture)/Pewter (mild texture), a Neewer White/Black or even a cloth backdrop on a pole will hold. If a bigger backdrop or a vinyl is needed, then I will switch to a pair of stands with a cross-bar. This allows me to use clips for tension and takes more weight. I can even use a third stand for my widest backdrop.
For me colour is not too imortant, but texture is. I can change colour several ways, but texture is harder to mimic.
From here, the basic distances can be set. Usually about 4-6 feet from the backdrop is plenty, then what ever is needed for the subject to lens magnification and your cropping. Supply a stool if sitting is needed.
I always use manual flash. The main reason is consistency of setup and consistency while shooting. I know from experience that at ISO 200, f2.8 and about the same distances (2m to subject, 2m subject to background), I can start at 1/64th power for my “A” lights and adjust from there. At this power setting, I can shoot over 1000 images with a single set of Eneloop Pro batts.
Step 2; Key light.
I have waaayy too many options here, but at the end of the day, bigger and closer equals softer, smaller and further away is harder. My softest modifier is a 72” reversed white brolly with my double diffused 5’ soft box second, but anything from 33” up will work. Smaller than that is less soft, more directional.
Even softer is bouncing light onto a large surface then through a large surface, called “book” lighting, which is when my extra flash units will come in handy, because that type of light is power killing.
Shooting into the room supplies a mix of a black and location abckground. I use a single 42” reversed brolly for these shots 45/45 right side, which is forgiving and gentle and generally devoid of hotspots, but less brilliant or efficient than a shoot through (about 2 stops). For fill, I used on this occassion a single 480 LED panel set to warm and about 50% power, which helped me focus as well. My lucky camera for these balls is an EM10 mk2 and 12-40 zoom.
The key light is effectively you deciding on the look you are after. There are a lot of terms used here like Rembrandt, split, butterfly, open, closed, loop etc, but for now, just go with what you see. The basic and I mean “average” key light is about 30-45 degrees to the side of the photographer, and about 30-45 degrees above. Aim the centre of the light at the subjects eyes, then adjust.
Butterfly lighting, which is shooting down from above is a differnet look from standard. Key light choice is image defining.
The light, modifier size and “shape” will determine softness of the light and intensity. I have found a shoot through umbrella is bright and has some subtle hot spots, a reversed one is more forgiving and gentler, but looses power.
A single Westcott pearl-white, black backed 45” reflective brolly at the 45/45 angle. There is plenty of room in the file to add post processing “fill” by raising the shadows, but that was not what I was looking for.
Using a massive 48” soft box located just off to the left and above, this image did not need any fill, but in hind sight a rim light would have helped brighten it up a bit. Poor Meg does get the toughest gigs as I experiment with new gear.
Step 3; Fill light.
Once the key light is placed you need to decide on your fill light. This may be nothing if you are going for dramatic-powerful, but if you use a strong key light and a more open and softer image is wanted, then fill is usually a must.
Fill can be from a reflector, even bounced off a wall on the opposite side to the key. For more reliable and stronger fill (usually about 1/2 or 1 stop to 1/4 or 2 stops less than the key), a second light is ideal. This is often placed close to the photographer and often lower than the key, basically aimed at the shadows created by the key.
A 42” shoot through brolly key light 45 degrees to the left/30 degrees above, with a reflected 42” at eye level and the same distance. By reversing the brolly, I have reduced it’s power by 2 stops at the same distance. Easy to remember. Both lights can be set to the same power and channel on my remote, saving confusion, or the fill can be moved closer or further back for fine adjustments.
Step 4; Rim light.
At this point I will decide on a rim light or not.
If I do use one, only a little soft box (65 cm) on a third light or even an LED panel will do. This is often a warmer light, but not always. The rim light helps a lot with dark haired people against dark backgrounds, but it is really a matter of taste (and time). I have found I generally dislike the third light, but clients respond well to it.
The rim and fill lights in this portrait allowed me to push contrast a lot in post, without risking impenetrable blackness, which I did not want. Notice the mild hotspot on the forhead, which is the price paid for the ectra brilliance of the shoot through brolly.
Step 5; Back light.
If a different background is wanted, a light can be applied to the background. A single flash with a 7” diffuser grid and a coloured gel, which is a cool way of saying a bit of coloured cellophane, can change a background colour or create a hot spot-halo effect.
Camera is irrelevant, but I usually use an EM10 Mk2 for warmth, Pen F for maximum crispness or Panasonic G9 for the skin tones. Lenses range from 12-40, up to 75mm f1.8.
Re-capping, so far we have a basic camera, lens to suit and three YN560 flash units and controller with a pair of 42” brollies and 65cm ARTDNA soft box on Neewer stands and my Lastolite Grey collapsible on a fourth stand and bracket (but that could be anything, even a wall).