Portrait Help Please!! ASAP!

geofftelforduk

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Guys, need a bit of advice for this evening please.

I am taking a few shots of my little niece who is 1 year old. I will be using a make shift studio which is about 3m x 6m in size. I have two studio heads, both with umbrellas that I got a lend of. For background I have the Calumet white paper mounted high on a curtain pole.

I will be wanting to get some individual shots but also a couple with my sis and her hubby! You can see from my kit what I can use.

What would you suggest with regards to light positioning and general camera/light settings to achieve a sort of high key effect??

Thanks for your advice!!

G
 
I have never used separate lighting and never done a portrait such as this but when you mention high key I assume you mean over-exposed? If that is the case then I would probably take the image with as normal exposure as possible and apply the high-key at the processing stage. Any part of the image that is over exposed at the time of taking will be unretrieveable at the post processing stage. Much the same as taking an image in colour and then converting to black and white is the correct way to go.

No doubt one of the portrait professionals will come along and prove me wrong :D
 
Thanks Steve

Yeah I see exactly what you are saying! Thats pretty much what I was going to do, its just getting ever thing right to achieve it may be the problem, having not taken with lights before!

Well, I guess I will just have to go for it and see how it goes!!
 
Also... shoot in RAW. This will give you lots of options at the PP stage to 'overexpose' that way too.

I'd personally capture normallyexposed shots in RAW and tinker after. If you blow-out the shots and use JPEG you can't bring the effect back (like Steve said)

Edit: As for lighting you have many options, but it dpeends on what style you are after. For 'venture' type shots light your background with one light and then light your subject almost straight on with the other. Spill ight from the second light will help whiten the background. You can also go for the other style which is to light from one side (and to the front) with a traditional fill light (spilling to the background), and then adding a key light to bring out structure and shadow) again spilling to the background.

To be honest I'd just play with the lights. Venture stuff though (if that's what you are going for) just blow out all shadows, etc. You are left with main recognisable features, eyes, nose, mouth... hair.... no shadows.
 
How did ya get on Geoff? Hopefully it worked out ok...
 

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