Next Day Review

Am I deluding myself with my cheap Oliphant?

Who would know this is not heavy duty canvas skillfully textured?

The length in particular does something unexpected. It makes my tiny 8’ studio floor seem irrelevant. It could be a corner of an aircraft hanger or a New York loft as far as viewers are concerned, so it can be added to the range of “small studio tricks”.

So far my brush mask manipulations have been crude, but the image above was produced with minimum intrusion.

With a little more work the results can be seamless.

An easy conversion to mono.

Realistically this is itch scratched. I did not ever envisage heavy use of this type of backdrop, but it is awesome to be able to just literally roll it out.

The whole 4m length is easy to roll up, stores well, is easy to maintain, being furniture grade covering, is light to carry, but heavy enough so wrinkles fall out easily. If it came in 4m wide bolts, it would be perfect. Surface texture is very close to my Kate microfibre, with a similar mild sheen and softness, but unlike the Kate, wrinkles do fall out of it within minutes of hanging, leaving a fake, but hard to pick worn-canvas look.

Art? No, just fun.

Noise......What Noise?

I was cleaning out an old card the other day and found some images taken on the EM1x. The lens was a 45mm f1.8 wide open.

Happily processing the files, with no real application in mind, but they were of the dogs, who have been neglected a bit lately, I happened to notice the meta data. ISO 3200.

They are clean, bright, saturated and delicate.

Delicate, unlike Daisy’s treatment of her long suffering sister.

Nothing to obviouslty alert me they were in the upper end of the usable ISO range.

Clean and sharp, even in close.

Just a Captue 1 import, a little post and still with ON1 up my sleeve. I have a rule these days, that no RAW file should take more than half a minute to get right unless I am working towards fine art level images or it needs special treatment like ON1, then I will stretch to a minute.

Maybe boring to users of full frame cameras, but a nice reminder how far I have come with MFT and with the OM-1 avaialble, how much further I could go.

If the only hurdle that MFT genuinely has to beat is noise in comparison to larger sensor cameras, then for all practical purposes, the format is nearly there. If the real benefits of the system, which mainly come down to lenses, are fully exploited, there are really no real world situations where it cannot produce at pro level, but the secret is in the lenses (as it is for most systems). The point where the real benefits of full frame sensors in low light conditions pull away are testably find-able, but from a user perspective, effectively irrelevant.

Nikon Z series are in a similar space, only reversed. The benefits they have with a wider mouthed full frame mount mean that yuu can have an f4 kit lens, with effective depth of field of a full frame f2.8 lens, so where their format works against you DOF-wise for exposure (less depth at each stop so more exposure needed for the same depth), it allows you to buy their excellent kit glass for pro looking results.

So, MFT ca give you f2.8 full frame DOF while using f1.8 light gathering and Nikon Z can give you f2.8 looking DOF at f4. Two paths, same result.

Conversely, a Z series with their f0.95 lens or MFT at f16 produce extreme results at the other end of the spectrum.

Pick yuor poison or play it safe with Sony or Canon etc.

And The Oliphant In The Room Is.........

My wife is the practical, clear headed one of us. She cuts through to the core of things while I dream big, often getting nowhere but broke (but I have fun).

Backdrops have been doing my head in, and she knows it. I have an order in for the 1.8x2.1 Lastolite collapsible grey/black, which, being on short term back order so not despatched yet, I have requested be changed to the 1.5x1.8 Walnut/Pewter, but being the Easter holidays, I have not heard back yet either way. To be honest, I would be happy either way, I will leave it up to them to make up my mind for me!

I looked at the Westcott Joel Grimes* and Glyn Dewis Drops, the Eziframe’s, some double sided Kate’s and even post processing (bringing back Photoshop into the fold). Nothing felt right, or was realistically available or practical, so it was a Lastolite (which one still to be determined) or nothing.

The issue is, I can easily change colours, but texture is proving harder to achieve without total replacement. If I have texture, I can change the colour, the hardness and grit, but with no texture at all, I only have tones and colour to manipulate.

By the nose I was dragged to a local fabric supplier, although my long honed intuition when it come to things to do with Meg also allows for some quiet anticipation. Sure enough, amongst the furniture coverings, ideal for width at 1.5m, we found a faux leather, semi matt mottled vinyl in a not brown, nor grey, but neutral tone on sale and several rolls to boot.

It is hard to pass on how excited I was. It instanlty bought to mind Oliphant, Lastolite and Grimes textures. It is gently done, even and subtle. Perfect.

Four takes on a single shot, so easily done. All the images were taken with the 25mm at f2.8, using ambient light or shot through a 26” soft box, then two more levels of diffusion for that Leibovitz “book light” look.

So for $60au, we grabded a 4x1.5m section and I will go back and get a 3m long one as backup and for just hanging. I also like the idea of the two section, “The Last Jedi” shot taken for Vanity Fair.

There is a little sheen to the fabric, but nothing lighting and a little post cannot fix. It has a few packing wrinkles, but the fabric is quite heavy and soft, so they are falling out already and stool feet etc don’t leave permanent marks. It also hangs well, so the edges, neat as they are, can be included. The back is even a decent soft brown felt.

So many variations on a theme, so easily applied.

Using the Dehaze and Clarity tools in reverse, adds an antiqueness overall, or if applied to the backdrop only you can increase or decrease texture. The middle image below is close to “as shot”, the right hand one “full noise” the left, “milky”.

I could even use two sections horizontally for a 3m wide shot, with a little healing brush joint removal (or not).

One of the benefits of this system is the subject is neutrally captured, then the background colour can be shifted, without colour failure.

Can this be a workable solution?

The “Jonah” leather look upholstery fabric, comes in three shades, the darker grey-brown above and a beige and light grey, so maybe a couple of metres of the light grey would add options.

Unlike the Kate, the pattern comes out more with some extra clarity, but is otherwise quite subtle. The Kate is more obvious, which to me feels less pro looking. The art in the Oliphant, Savage, Lastolite and Westcott backdrops is in their deep colour, layered look and subtlety.

If this works out, based really only on light reflection control, I can get solid colours, other textures, even patterns, all at any length I want and for roughly $30-80 per piece. All the fabrics are high grade furniture fabrics so they are tough, resistant and long lasting and generally heavier than most. I may even be able to find some wider ones!

*I confess, I have never seen a more extreme set of reviews than those on B&H’s site for the Grimes backdrops. Either 5 or 1 star, nothing much in between.

The Art Of Subtlety In A World Of Grey

The grey (and black) Lastolite backdrop is coming and I am a little excited.

The potential is nearly endless, even if the actual item is bland, utilitarian even. The lure of the Pewter/Walnut is still strong and I may still get one if this experiment works out, but my gut says my burgeoning “style” will be catered for here.

In my minds eye the frame is tight, full and animated, therefore the background is only a support to the subject. This support can come in a few forms, from manipulation of the background colour or tone, to vignetting or shaping and even wholesale replacement.

The next element is framing.

I will not be stubborn adout it, but if I can, I will push to make the humble square my framing shape of choice. The square is again subtle in application, but strong in effect. It invokes in me a compositional freedom that no other shape can.

Any one of these images works on some level, which cannot be said for a rectangle which is too opinionated and is not possible with a vertical, which is the most restricting shape.

The square allows for relaxed horizontal shooting, then square framing after. An easy and ideal work flow.

Tight cropping is also powerful in this format.

The third element of my style may be the triptych.

Above is a simple example of this, but a true triptych can tell a story using more abstract elements mixed with standard portraits.

The triptych gives me the ability to show three sides of the same subject, either as a matching set of images or a deliberately different set, exaggrating the disperate moods, interests, props or poses of the subject.

The square facilitates the triptych, being the perfect shape to form an elongated rectangle (my other favourite format) and then the grey base allows subtle background shifts to bring these elements together harmoniously.

Lots And Lots Of Light

I just ordered another Selens 150w (?) light from the same seller, who had one left at a discount.

The casing is identical to the Neewer, but that’s where the similarities end.

In a test I just ran (see tech and processes), it looks like it is the only single constant light I have that is capable of fighting daylight* and without making objectionable noise. Two guarantees this and doubles output. More output also means softer light. The Neewers are fine for darker rooms etc, but the fan noise is obvious at higher outputs.

The trick is exposing the background to within post-processable levels, then brighten up the main subject to match with soft, shaped light.

I also grabbed an ART DNA 36” double diffused soft box at a great price, making any of these bowens mount lights more useful.

Sufferig a little purchasing amnesia, I remember I also grabbed a couple of Neewer NL140’s the other day. These new LED’s with a good power to cost ratio, but possibly a design flaw (very power surge sensitive), but they will be good studio lights. Embarassingly, that makes 2x60w, 2x 80ish-w, 2x 50w, 2x 35w, 2x 200 Led.

*daylight back-lighting when shooting against a window without any reflected light available aka airport window silhouette syndrome.

Watching Movies

For a change of pace, I thought I would share my take on what a little knowledge can do.

Specifically, the monster that deep diving into cinematography has created.

All very boring I know.

I now find it very hard to just “watch” a movie or TV show. I now feel I have to analyse it.

This was great at first, seeing the inner workings and understanding them. I felt like I could reverse engineer a lot of techniques, rate them compared to others and plan my own smaller versions of them. It is cool being able to work out why programme “X” is avergae looking compared to programme “Y”.

The problem is, turning it off.

I have always been aware of this with stills photography. It is a common problem when you get inside of the process, you can see the cogs turning and tend to be awed by brilliance, dwell on short comings and compare it all to your and others work. It was not a real issue because apart from a decent collection of books, I did not spend too much time dwelling on others work and when I did, I did it in context.

With video however, it is really hard to avoid it, because like most of us, I escape to TV and movie land regulalry. Now I just tend to notice more, both good and bad. It’s distacting.

Example;

Teal and gold are “on trend” with a lot of cinematographers. I like it, but am already a little over it. When I point the trend out to others, they immediately see it and I feel a little crummy, because they are now also, more or less, too aware of the process and less accepting of its effect.

If I had said nothing, then they could have happily just let it run its course along with everyone else, but by highlighting it, I have possibly shortened their acceptance span and possibly their enjoyment of the production (or maybe I am making too much of it).

On the funny side though, I watched the ‘70’s “To the Earth’s core” yesterday and had a giggle. Sometimes anyone can see the cracks and a little more knowledge only makes it more enjoyable.

Perseverance (From All), Making In-roads.

My poor wife was under the delusion that I would leave her alone once “Joe Black” came into the equation. Unfortunately, he does not cut it for skin tones, animation nor wardrobe, so Meg has become my reluctant model (again).

EM5 mk1 (semi-functional*), 45mm f4 with the K&F 1/8 Black Mist. Single 42” shoot through upper left, silver reflector under the chin and the tiniest bit of blue pushed into the black background with the brush tool and white balance. The slight ripple in the background is from the cheap black/white collapsible letting some back light through.

On the plus side, she is liking a few of the images, so I must be getting something right.

*My studio camera for tooling around is an old EM5 that cannot shoot above 1/500th shutter speed, which for studio work is ideal. For serious stuff, the Pen F is my choice.

Backdrops......Yes, They Do Matter It Seems.

After deciding last night over a lovely anniversary dinner, that a textured backdrop was not for me, I went to sleep last night with a clear head and happier wallet.

When walking the dog this morning, I realised though, being able to fix background issues for both stills and video is still a priority.

I recently completed a large job based on talking head interviews. The indoor ones were a bit hit and miss, with unseen before locations pushed me a little and required in one case, several fixes to combat a wall of glass.

I have just ordered the Lastolite 1.8x2.1 grey/black backdrop, which I discovered by mistake is only a little over $200au, considerably cheaper than the textured ones. Black is handy, because yes, I can theoretically make any location black by directing light away from it and underexposing the ambient, but if I want black when I point light at the back ground, then only true black will do. I can also push deep colour into black with predictable results.

The real winner though is grey.

My other option is the mottle grey Kate, which also looks much better a little light starved and a shift to blue, but the Lastolite does not need a stand, always unfolds smooth and flat, and if it does need support, it only needs a single stand and it is bigger than any other 5x7 equivalent.

A subtle push to Olive using the brush tool and a little white balance shift.

With a true grey back drop, I can measure my white balance off of it, turn it any shade of grey from true white to true black or even shape colour based on lighting application, turn it any colour (gently) using post, which I much prefer to gels and RGB LED’s as they retain the muted, matt finish of the background, do not effecsct skin tone balance and use I can use it as a colour bleed free green screen for total replacement.

I can now enter any environment and shoot a 1-5 person portrait or video with a safe and reliable background.

The other thing is something that has come to light after the research and investigation I have been doing.

I like textured backdrops for the right subjects and in the right circumstances, but for my use, grey with tonal and colour shifts is more than enough. Textures compete with the subject, becoming part of the image, sometimes too much of the image.

Solid, subtle and elegantly applied colours can compliment the subjects clothing, eyes, role, demeanour, mood, location and the images future display without competing with the subject.

I do not love basic grey, in fact I will probably never use it as supplied, but with very little effort, it can be what ever I want.

Backdrops.....Do They Matter (To Me)

So, the bigger question I need to ask myself is, do backdrops really matter for me, or more to the point, can backdrops be “faked” when needed using what is around, some post processing, creative thinking or using “A” to become “B, C, D” etc?

Processing.

Post processing is of course the standard way of creating backdrops of any type after the event. A little Photoshop or similar and away you go. This has a few issues for me, not the least of which is, I do not actually have Ps loaded these days, shunning all things Adobe, but ON1 has a background tool available as well as many others, so no real issue. The other thing is that I think I would like to see the results in camera, rather than in my head.

Removal.

Simply taking the background out of the equasion is also easy. Shallow depth, manipulation of light and shooting angles can all help to remove the background as an element. Black is the prime example. Black makes the subject stand on their own, no distractions, no gimmicks, as there is literally nothing other than the symbolism of black and the subject in the image.

White is similar, but black is king. When I was crash-coursing flash, the bulk of the environmental portraitists I came across use DOF and lighting, but not backgrounds. Those who did use backgrounds, did not always and often applied the same techniques with or without.

All about the person. This could easily enough have a little colour added, maybe even with some shape and be achieved in almost any environment, even outside on a sunny day.

Using soft focus blur or Bokeh, is also a tried and true method, heavily drawn from natural light styles and creates interesting backdrops out of bad ones (when blurred) using compression and fast glass. MFT format is less easily blurred, but there is plenty if you go about it properly.

Standard non-studio portraiture.

Staging.

An alternative to removal is to use the elements you want to tell a story. This is much like setting a stage for cinema. Storytelling portraiture is a style in itself and goes back to my roots, dreaming of being a National Geographic shooter, but may not always be possible.

A combination of using the enviroment balanced with blurring it out.

Basic Manipulations.

Changing colours and tones is easy enough, with several methods available. If I take the cinematography path, then just making the main subject the brightest element in the frame is probably enough. This means all my portrait shoots would be light dependant, not background dependant, which is closer to my standard method, natural light candid shooting.

This has bought me to a revelation, belatedly.

Replacement.

Textured backdrops do one main thing, they allow you to include the backdrop in the image as a strong element of the image, sometimes a near equal partner. The backdrop in effect replaces a connection to environement or a void with its own statement.

Of the above, the only one I cannot do right now to a satisfactory level is the textured backdrop used as a partner in the image, so the question is, do I need it or can a combination of the above, be enough?

This is a style, it is a recognised look, is it me? Annie Liebovitz, Joel Grimes, Glyn Dewis, Rory Lewis and many, many others make their living from backdrop style shots, I don’t, but it does not hurt to know a little more about it.

For me, black is cleaner, easier and more relevant and I do not need to produce large bodies of work in this style. One well practiced and applied look is enough. When black is not relevant, the subjects environmet probably is. So, either a complete removal of outside influences or an equally complete embracing of them, but no replacing with a stylised outsider.

Possibly a plain grey as a base for formal portraits, but then I am half way to the pewter Lastolite anyway.

In my wife’s words, I can dabble in a lot of areas, master a few, but some can be let go. If asked, yes I can do this style, but my way, within my self imposed limits.

Final thought is to fore-go a better backdrop at this point.

My studio is allowing me to explore lighting techniques, but as for better backdrops, I will stick to using what I know and cut out the traditional portraitists path. The reality is, I have never been that guy and likely never will be. If I suddenly need to be up-geared for a student ID shoot or similar, I will simply get the balck/grey Lastolite and apply the skills I have learned.

My money, should I spend any is likely better spent on a modifier to fill any perceived holes in my kit. The only one i can think of is a large white brolly, like the Godox 165cm parabolic white with lining. This calls to me, being a better version of the type I like best.

Door closed, for now.

Backdrops Redux

Looking at this backdrop thing logically after a nights sleep and more time on the net and after breaking down my likely uses, preferred looks and processes and aiming for maximum versatility, my thinking has drifted towards doing it the best I can, just once, then see how it goes.

The Lastolite 1.8x2.1 collapsibles seem to be the undisputed kings of this space. They are expensive, but looking at several other options, maybe they are not as dear on balance as I first thought.

Quality.

They win here pure and simple. The stitching, fabric and frame are all top notch. No other brand seems to come close, even with cost to performance ratios considered. Apparently, the heavier ring also folds more easily.

Price and value.

At about $175-200au per side, you want to get it right. This is a lot for a mistake or poorly thought through idea, but less paid for less is just as wasted if the quality and look are not there (I would rather have an item that is genuinely good, just rarely used, that a junk one, never used and the reality is, one good job and it’s paid for).

I am borderline on backdrops, only really responding to the top end ones, so it’s do it right or don’t do it at all. The cost is also a little less odious when freight comes into the equasion. X-Drop, Kate, Westcott etc are all potentials, but often when freight is calculated, the difference becomes even less. They are also the biggest and squarest, being genuinely useful horizontally deployed, effectively making them 4 backdrops in one.

Colours and textures.

This brings up the issue of limited choice and colour/texture fidelity. The Lastolites are in set combinations, but there are two I like and one in particular that is nearly ideal, but Kate has a few better combos, assuming they are what they look to be (not always the case and few examples I can trust). Lastolites are heavily used by top pro’s, so lots of very nice images available and no complaints of inconsistency.

My preference is for a very subtle texture or a very natural one. Most have overtly stylistic textures, that can be worked around, but they should be abke to be worked with. The Kate I have for example, really only works for me whan blurred out, which is not really what I was after.These, like top end hand painted ones, are clearly good enough to have the subject hard up against them, which many of the cheaper ones prohibit.

Use.

The collapsible type, especially the Lastolites with their very flat edges (they are bigger and squarer than most) seem the most convenient all round. Their shape means a wall or single stand with a clamp (or their magnetic bar), is all that is needed. If going horizontal, you can use two stands or sit it on a table, but that is all that is needed.

The X-Drop is an aparatus in it’s own right and cannot do horizontal (?-not seen it done) and their textures don’t go sideways either. The oval Neewers and Kates are also less horizontal or floor/wall friendly than the Lastolites effectively making them about 1/3rd smaller and less versatile and the cloth type need a cross-bar supported by two stands and a bunch of clamps to do the job.

My choice.

The Walnut/Pewter looks to be the one. The Walnut is a slightly cool take on antique browns and the texture is quite natural and uneven rather than obviously repetitive (a bit like an old decaying wall). Being the size it is and slightly graduated, I think different looks could be found with subtle shifts of the backdrop and the colour seems to display warm to neutral reds/browns and some cool metallic silver/blues also. With some post, I think this has many nice looks including warmer ones like the Olive/Tobacco to cooler ones and I feel it will like mono as well and match well with old floors or concrete equally.

The Pewter side appeals even more because it looks to be quite tightly textured and mildly graduated. This I really like, being more of a fan of the Oliphant super layered-to the point of only hinting at texture-look. It is a cold green-grey colour, but that is easily fixed and the texture is subtle enough that I think it sits perfectly between flat grey and textured. Lightening and darkening the grey are easily achieved with simple light control and colour can be very subtly shifted with RGB LED’s, strobes or more likely a tiny bit of post. I really like the idea of it being only just exposed above black with the option of the slightest hint of a red, green or blue added.

If I want balck, anywhere will do, if I want white, then a wall can be splashed with light, but texture is harder.

Below are three examples of simple processing from grey, all much stronger and clumsier than I would do with the more subtle Lastolite, but you get the idea.

The two below are the result of different amounts of light on the background itself.

So, a universal “antique” look with plenty of versatility and a lightly textured neutral grey with even more versatility.

Others I like, but would struggle with if I had only one are the Tobacco/Olive, possible a better choice for a portrait only business, Ink/Sage, but feel with both colours, some colour shifts on the Pewter would likely achieve something close and the Red/Aubergine. I love the red, struggle with the purple and would likely only buy it as a third or fourth option and again, dark red is possible with the Pewter. Kate also has a storm Grey and Red for $170au which would likely be fine for occassional use.

I almost pulled the trigger on the Westcott Grey/Chroma 5x6.5, but for the reasons mentioned above held off. For twice the money I get twice the useable backdrop colours (chroma does not appeal), better quality, better colours/textures and cover a bigger area.

The big queston now is, do I really need it at all?

Backdrops..........What To Do?

Afer a lot of light tests, some format pondering and experimentation, I am now at the point where I need to choose a background style. This is not as easy as you may think. Choosing a background is tough enough, choosing whether you even want one or not is harder.

This is a question of style.

Doing my usual deep dive into the subject, and not for the first time, I have become a little numb to the whole thing. Lots of models, lots of ideas, nothing that really grabs me. The biggest question I guess is, do I really want to be this photographer?

The studio has been great, scratched an itch that was a long time needing to be scratched, but realistically it was a practical move to help me experiment with my environmental portrait and work processes, not a passion in its own right. I love portraiture, but I am not sure I love this type of portraiture, nor will I chase the subject matter that will make it worth while. Maybe for the odd project, probably for work, but video and other stills projects are more distracting.

Like a lot of things in my life at the moment, I need to “be across” this, but I have to resist getting carried away, as it is not needed at a higher level. It is however, good to master the basics, because like all things, skills bleed into each other. I feel it needs to be done professionally , but efficiently. This is not an area that will take well to a poor-mans implementation, as the crasks will show, so a simple, repeatable, classy look, with no gimmicks, no junk level gear or short term styles.

Textured.

This is the knee-jerk ground zero. All (most) portrait photographers start here and there are lots of options. I have a Kate grey graduated texture that has been (literally) hanging around for a few years waiting to be used and it is versatile if a little heavy on the gradation, but it can be quite effective especially with a little Capture 1 masked brushing.

The base grey first, then some density control, then changed colour using colour temp and a little manipulation from there (apologies to my wife for the poor image). These were all achieved with the brush tool and its mask, white balance controls and a little saturation adjustment. The pure black needs some work, but the others are quite natural. I especially like the more muted and darker ones.

I only really like a couple of these as they all feel a little heavy handed, but for examples they were easy enough, each taking only a few seconds after the initial brush and mask.

It is also easy to change the background density, simply based on light placement. Black and white are only a small step further away.

I already have this Kate one and may look at a few more for $50au, just for the different textures. They are hard to get wrinkles out of for free hanging, but with clamps, tighten up well.

My only real issue with textured is the distracting way it shares the space with the subject.

Texture does look good, but is that at the expense of maximum focus on the main reason you are here, the human subject? I have seen countless examples of beautiful people in front of these lovely (or sometimes not so lovely) textured drops, but tend to prefer the less process dominated ones of people and I have noticed, the top end ones are usually less textured looking. The Oliphant drops used by Leibovitz etc are nearly texturally smoothed out to being non-textured, just hinting at texture like an antique wall or tapestry, which is why they cost so much.

I think I actually prefer a plain backdrop, one that compliments the person, their clothing and their story, rather than a textured one that shares the composition, sometimes dominating it. This is based also on my preferrence for a dark, almost black shade with just a hint of colour showing through.

Basic black.

This is a project or subject specific style and one that I love and can implement any time, anywhere. It is basically backdrop agnostic (irrelevant even), but can be over used. I see no need to buy a black backdrop, so this would be using any one I have with lighting control.

Clean white.

White, with colour manipulation using gels, RGB LED’s or post processing (see above). With lighting, white is cleaner and more briliant.

Neutral grey.

Less brilliant than white, so less responsive to gels and LED’s, a grey will produce a good deep colour base and will post-process well, again as above. This is probably my best option. It is also possible to add texture to these, with the grey as a consistent base, so I could shoot now and process to taste later.

Westcott make a 5x7 grey/green and a solid grey for their X-drop system, that are both high quality and well priced as well as offering a Glyn Dewis textured grey for the X-Drop system (the whole lot coming in at about the cost of a Lastolite collapsible).

One of my favourite Rory Lewis images is of an Italian Army officer in her Khaki uniform. He used a grey background, that looks slightly olive in the shot, matching her uniform and complexion perfectly. It would be easy enough to use a solid grey and subtly shift it to a different colour with the above tools.

Another option with any of the plain backdrops is to shoot uneven light at them, using shadows, even light streak textures to break up their flatness.

The environment.

Here is where things get fun. I had settled on the square format for some of my portraits, as I feel this is the most interesting and the least demanding compositionally. I love the democratic square. It can be a little limiting for larger subjects and busy compositions as it shrinks things, but otherwise it is just right.

So, what if I composed a portrait like a movie set in wide screen, with supporting elements shaping the subjects environment? This would mean backdrops as we know them are irrelevant.

This plays into a couple of interesting areas for me. Cinematigraphy is my current crush, even more so than portraiture, which is more of a preparation thing, and the dressing of a scene can be reliant on constant lights as well as flash, again a strong area at the moment.

So, where are we now?

I can use any plain wall for a black or near black background or any other colour using lights or post, my Kate textured for the same and my environment blurred out or used as a stage, all based on context and subject.

I don’t feel I will over do backdrops. They are great for some, but just have not clicked with me yet. I think lighting will be more useful, so more tests, hypotheticals and out of the box thinking, but I may pick up a cheap Neewer grey/blue 5x7 or the Westcott in the same so I have a guaranteed wrinkle free option and maybe another Kate in a less overtly textured pattern. The Chroma-key may also be useful for video.

More Butterflies

Three takes on Butterfly lighting.

The 42” white reversed with diffused flash at full stem, 45 degrees to the front with a 60cm silver reflector under the chin. Very soft and even, but quite inefficient.

The 42” as shoot through with diffused flash at full stem 45 degrees to the front with a 60cm silver reflector under the chin. Slightly more brilliant/harsher, about two stops brighter.

The 4’ octa, overhead and feathered backwards with a flash fired into a silver reflector under the chin. This was brightest (almost ran out of options to reduce power), most dramatic and (physically) intimidating, but has the nicest skin tones. It also had the benefit of a single clean catch light.

Of particular note is the hair highlights, or in the first case, lack of and the more three dimensional look of the 4’ octa.

First option for dreamy-flat, second for work horse-safe, third for the most dramatic-pro look.

Also, a little try out of a blue background using one of my white walls.

Neewer 480 RGB at about 90%.

Something To Explore

Using the EM1’s in super high res mode (80mp RAW), gives me some obvious advantages in resolution, maybe some tonal and gradation advantages, a known ISO advantage and maybe, just maybe a feeling of an image being “bigger”.

The big issue is, no flash, becasue the mode uses silent shutter and pixel shift.

I just ordered what seemed to be a great bargain, maybe one with a catch or two, but theoretically a solid increase in constant panel lighting for my studio.

I picked up two NL140 Neewer LED panel lights, based on (1) seeing them cheap at about $63 for 50w units, (2) finding a good and honest review of them and (3) seeing that the price was under half the Neewer retail and (4) the seller was a rare ebay 100%-er. I have never seen these before, but they seem to be tapping into the newer LED designs.

They can run on a V-mount battery or an NP to V-mount adapter, but I won’t bother for studio use.

The next review I watched, after the purchase was despatched showed an easy fix for a common problem with these blowing out a capacitor regularly, but it was an easy fix and for studio use, it should not be an issue (my studio power supply is voltage regulated to protect the computer). My gut says these may be a double edged sword, a bit of a new and flawed but potentially potent design, but for my uses, I will make them work.

With these, I have roughly 350-450w total, constant light, with 120w allocated to the studio specifically (the two NL’s and a 216 mini panel) and the COB lights and 3 battery powered LED panels for field use. This is plenty (actually still too much) for my little space, so it should let me shoot in high res mode with the EM1x hand held or the EM1 mk2’s from a tripod.

Butterfly's Are Paramount

Butterfly or Paramount lighting is a style I am drawn to, so I gave it a go.

A 4’ Godox octa just above Meg* and a small reflector (soft silver), with a hand held flash fired into it for fill. The flash units were at their lowest settings (1/128), with the maximum zoom width setting and dome diffusers attached to weaken their effect and still they were close to too much. The fill created the catch light, the diffuser is a nearly invisible soft blob at the top. I also tried the K & F Black Mist.

Gently, almost gingerly in search of a signature style to call mine (can’t force it, just follow the little voices until it feels right), I also went back to an old favourite, the square format, which I think for portraiture is the “right” shape.

Horizontal has the advantage of camera “rightness” and always allows cropping, but tends to enforce rules of composition, while a vertical or portrait orientation definately forces compositional realities and can feel cramped and “done”, while a square lets you frame as you wish within the unbiased frame after being originally shot as a rectangle. It is directly opposed to the wide screen 16:9 or wider used for video, so it seems I am drawn to extremes.

I will try this again with the 42” brolly in both shoot through and reversed configurations. Straight through is apparently close to a beauty dish in effect, a butterfly favourite, but the reversed may add the extra softness I want without losing brilliance.

*

*Something I have noticed since setting up the studio is, nothing is wasted. I stripped a plastic thread on one of my favoured Bowens S-Clamp flash holders trying to hold the huge octa’s stem, so I employed one of the older slip-on types, the ones that are to blame for several dropped flash units (along with me I guess). These use a metal on metal locking screw and it held. Nothing wasted.

Happy Birthday Daisy

Daisy is three (young adulthood in dog years).

Big day for us, probably not her (she lives in the moment, more than for the day).

She clearly dressed up for the occasion.

Her sister, Lucy, aka “Luce the Goose”, aka “get down off there”, aka, “Big Gooner”, is a touch older, but unfortunately we are only guessing, so in lieu of a “Horses Birthday”, we gave her December 1.

Coffee Culture

Nice to see people out and about.

Lighting, The Big Question

What I need to ask myself now, with so much at hand, is what is my best quality light?

This is of course a tough question to answer with only one answer, but if I am tasked with creating the best possible light (light source, modifier and application), what would that be?

I like certain mods for their versatility and I have a plethora of light to push through them, especially for stills (theoretically 7x gn 60 flash units and about 350-400w of constant light via 3 Cob and 6 LED’s of various types), but quality over quantity is the key.

Rory Lewis is a good example, a photographer I discovered recently, he can produce perfect light using just a decent light and a mod as simple as a shoot through brolly, 80cm soft box or deep silver reflected. I have these and more, so surely I can produce something in the same class.

From a big 4’ Neewer soft box with no extras.

To be fair, I have only been tooling around in this arena for a while (if you do not count a stint years ago as a pro’s assistant), probably getting lucky more than I should, becasue I know that doing is much more productive than reading and researching, but this has already given me a preference for the softer effect of reversed white umbrellas. These are inefficient, but reliable with smooth and gentle highlights.

After my tests recently, I became aware of the two distinct looks to mods. They are either gentle-soft or run hotter-contrastier. Even some of the more open mods can be hot, and some of the smaller ones can produce softer, smoother looks. Stem position, mod to subject distance and type (bounce or straight through) are the things that matter. One brolly of a decent size (42-52”), used at different distances, angles, reversed or as a shoot through, can be all you need and if a diffuser and grid are available, you have pretty much every base covered.

What I am chasing is a soft, clean brilliance, something I have noticed more from shoot-throughs or silver brollies. Maybe the hot spots I have been trying to avoid are there the brilliance lies?

This is the favoured look at the moment.

Maybe this is the better one to chase.

The options are many, too many probably, but in my rockery, no stones are undisturbed.

The 7’ white brolly (1). This is the Annie Leibovitz super soft look. I have used this for a group shot pushing two flash units into it reversed over an area of about 15x8’ and it produced a soft and even look, but it was flat and a little lifeless. It can have the potentially massive spill issue controlled by a light weight black blanket laid over it. Video or stills.

The 7’ silver brolly (1). This one has the interesting effect, being one of my more “open” or shadow reducing mods, but with some brilliance and it’s about a stop or more efficient than its softer partner. Like it’s companion, these are of limited use, being too big for some environments, stand limited and very easily wind effected. Video or stills.

42” white brolly (2). These are my favourites, probably my “desert island” mods (and handy in the sun and rain!), doing the job when others have been too complicated or difficult to work with and are largely responsible for my preference for reversed brollies over shoot through. Light spill is an issue, so they tend to get used in larger spaces. I used these recently in a 1 mod shoot as shoot throughs and they worked well. My hunch is, these will be my studio go-to’s but as shoot throughs. Video or stills.

4’ octa-umbrella soft box (4). I have two Neewer and two Godox in these, both a little different. They are broad, efficient, versatile and multi faceted. The two types are different, both in depth and finish and I have a few ways of deploying them. They can be used as straight, deep silver brollies (potential?), single or double diffused and gridded. For travelling jobs, these will be ideal as they are more resistant to wind and I really want them to work, but the jury is still out on them, but I am confident one of their forms will be ideal, with others to fall back on. Video or stills.

The 4’ used as a deep silver brolly, slightly feathered with a 50cm silver reflector for fill. I need more light on Megs eyes.

33” Neewer brollies (various x10). I have a ton of cheap little 33” brollies in silver, gold and white all bought in those cheap beginner sets early on, often to get the stands and I have to say, you could do worse. The 33” white is more neutral than the Godox 42’s and very similar in performance and the silvers are very good also. I have not used the gold ones yet, but it’s nice to have a warm option. Video or stills.

26” ArtDNA Soft box (1). This is a vexing beast. I had no luck using it with constant light as it was too intense up close and needed to be for softness. For flash on the other hand, it produced very nice light in comparison to the Neewer 4’ soft. It is also bulky to transport, clever, but fragile to set-up and small for the effort. It has a grid borrowed from the Neewer below, so directionality is good. The right hand image below is with the 26”, the left with the Neewer 4’. My preference is for the bigger modifier look, but …………. . This is only a stills option at the moment.

Neewer 24” square soft box (1). This one is similar in a lot of ways to the 26” above, so I use it ready to go in the studio as the non gridded version, although thinking about it, I should probably put the grid back on this one (done) as the hard sides may work better for control. These two mods are nice, but small. They work well in my small studio, but their annoying form factor and small size mean that will likely be that for them. Stills only as it does not fit any video lights.

Neewer 8x40” strip box (1). This wins the award for “least likely to go on the road”, being a right pig to assemble, but in the studio it will get much use. The shape is so easily controlled and promotes creativity, but I doubt it will ever be broken down in its working life. A grid would be good, but it can’t take one, so lesson learned. Not part of the master plan, more a creative problem solver.

Neewer 32” and 43” soft box umbrellas (1 each). These are both good units, but don’t add much to the equation. They are both umbrella types, so they can be transported easily and the 43” in particular adds another dimension to the brolly dynamic. I will likely add one or the other into a travel kit in case a windy outdoor application is needed, which being closed, they will be safer with. Too small for video lights

12x5’ white diffuser cloth (1). A huge sheet of white diffuser cloth, big enough to be triple folded, it is a real option for the “wall of light” effect and book lighting. It can even be pushed into service as a white backdrop with light coming from behind.

Reflectors (various-4-5). Not light mods as much as post lighting problem solvers, reflectors in many sizes are the first fill/light quench option and the second choice for diffusion. I recently shot some video with my Neewer 480 RGB through a 60cm one and it worked well.

40cm LED soft box (1). New today, this may make an LED panel (480, 660, 2x NL140) an option.

Ok, lots.

Right now, knowing what I know, what would be my one choice?

My heart says 42” as reflected. Hard to control but so nice and gentle and control is possible using a black blanket over their back.

My head says 4’ octa’s as work-horse mods. Are they the “ones that can do anything” mods I hope they are?

My gut says 42” as shoot through. The “B”option to the first one, but harder to control.

The reality is, exploring all the options and variants just one mod can offer can be the work of years.

We will see.

Mentors

You may have noticed I mentioned Caravaggio and Rory Lewis in my last post. One of these is an old influence, the other very recent.

Mentors and inspiration are important for any creative endeavour, but you have to be aware of the difference between a true mentor and an infatuation.

I stumbled over Rory Lewis as you do googling something like “one light portraits” or similar, but what ever, his style and inspirations really resonated. Gavin Hoey, Jeff Rojas and others are the usual culprits, but Lewis stirred something new in me.

His lighting is simple, as is the gear used (although cameras are usually top end full rame or medium format with matched lenses-why not, when you only have one job) as staying portable and working fast is a priority and he does not drive. I must admit, pinning down his gear has been a little difficult, with comments like (under “a essential my gear” post), “I prefer a deep silver brolly”, but I have looked at a lot of his behind the scenes posts and never seen him using one, almost always using a shoot through or occasionally a soft box? In another case he says he uses Canon gear, in others medium format.

Lastolite feature heavily, but other than that he really does not harp on gear, or lighting, saying he feels lighting is 20% of the job and direction the rest.

I am amazed at the quality of his work considering he often only used a shoot through brolly, maybe an octa or reflector, but little else.

One of his most interesting statements is that with the exception of specific past photographic masters, he never looks at other contemporary photographers work, developing his own style using only great artists of the past like Guthrie, Caravaggio etc, all exponents of clear portrait messaging and often stronger lighting.

Caravaggio has always intrigued me, being the most contemporary and photographic of the old masters.

It is no coincidence that my first studio session with Meg and Daisy, was against a black background. If the mark of a good portrait is to see the inner person (or dog), then I hope I will be able to do that.

I will try to find my own style, something that means something to me, but more importantly, to the subjects of my sessions.

So, Any Colour As Long As It's White

Well white it is. White top to bottom, side to side, all except the black floor.

So much for plan “A”, but happy enough to go with it. It’s only paint.

After painting my one intended white wall, my wife suggested I keep going with it.

The reality is, the tiny 8x10’ studio room looks bigger, brighter and cleaner this way and being small, I can control the brilliance with only a little effort (I hope).

For the longer right side wall I have a 12’ wide black backdrop.

For the left, I can use any of several 5-in-1’s ranging from 60 to 200cm wide or hand blankets etc as needed.

Pure ceiling white wall to wall. The yellowish tinge to the left wall is overcast day through greenery? The large backdrop is a 5x7 Neewer black/white cloth one that risked not being used (the outer seam is not super high quality so I have avoided folding and unfolding it too much), but in the studio, it will be ideal.

From this.

A single diffuser, flash, reflector and backdrop. No light splash.

Another very cool thing is there is room for a book case just for photo books.

First Try Of The New Studio

A little set of tests, starring my my long suffering wife and intrigued, but not entirely comfortable youngest, Daisy.

Keen to reassure myself that an all white studio would not be a mistake, I went black and Caravaggio-like. The backdrop is a 200x250 Neewer black/white soft cloth collapsible backdrop, one of the many things that may get a go now I have a studio.

All shots were taken with the Pen F and 45mm at f2 to 4, ISO 200.

Nothing in the league of Rory Lewis, but a start.

A single YN560 IV at about 1/8 into a feathered 26” double baffle soft box with grid, with a small silver fill reflector off to the side only just managing a little rim light. Meg is sitting just a foot from the black foldout background.

The 4’ Neewer, with no fill.

Again, the Neewer 4’. Very soft, very muted and a touch warm.

Lessons learned;

The Pen F struggles to ficus without its assist lamp in poor light,

Reviewing inmages on the rear screen in poor light continually tricks me into underexposing, which all of the above were to some extent.

Everything I have at hand now has a use, either as a studio, video or general stills item. I had a lot of bits accumulated over the last two or more years that ran the risk of not seeing use. Now my oversized backdrop, in fact all of my backdrops, my many reflectors and several mods including a strip box, 24” double baffle soft box (those that did not already get added to the video equation), are now going to be utilised fully.