W/NW Portraits (not Street Portraits)

brusby said:
Yes, I almost never use artificial fill -- either lights or reflectors -- if I can avoid it. That way I don't have to lug around a bunch of extra stuff, and more importantly, I much prefer the look this way. Fill often just looks too artificial. But, even the most modern cameras and sensors have such a limited dynamic range compared to our eye-brain connection that they don't "see" things like humans do. For that reason it's typically necessary to dodge shadows and/or burn highlights a bit in order to make a photo look close to how we perceive things in real life.

A lot of photographers like straight out of the camera or SOOC results. But I find them almost always unsatisfying. Not denigrating it if anyone reading this likes that approach, it's just not for me.

In a practical sense, I expose so the highlights will not be blown out, but that usually results in shadow areas appearing darker in an unedited photo than how they appeared to me at the time of exposure. So, holding back or dodging shadows is usually necessary to bring things back into proper balance, at least how I perceived them. The trick is doing the editing so it appears as natural as possible and is not too obviously manipulated.
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i find tgat using simple reflector makes life in post editing much easier when going for the natural look. Just avoiding unnatural colours on the reflector makes a huge difference (as in, not using golden reflector in a cool bluish light, or vice versa). Also simple white surface is usually enough in harsh light conditions.

I do use fill lights and all kinds of things too but yes they're not natural looking most of the time.
 
Myrrys.eu said:
i find tgat using simple reflector makes life in post editing much easier when going for the natural look. Just avoiding unnatural colours on the reflector makes a huge difference (as in, not using golden reflector in a cool bluish light, or vice versa). Also simple white surface is usually enough in harsh light conditions.

I do use fill lights and all kinds of things too but yes they're not natural looking most of the time.
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Colored, well-lit surfaces nearby can do ugly things to your image unless you pay attention.
 
My friend bought some new continuous source lights and invited me to try them out with him in his home studio. Our mutual friend and amateur model Kaylee did the modeling honors. Nice being able to see in real time what the lights are doing, something we could only approximate with strobes.
S1010434_v1 by Brusby, on Flickr
 
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brusby said:
My friend bought some new continuous source lights and invited me to try them out with him in his home studio. Our mutual friend and amateur model Kaylee did the modeling honors. Nice being able to see in real time what the lights are doing, something we could only approximate with strobes.
S1010434_v1 by Brusby, on Flickr
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Three lights?
 
From what I can see, you have one in the back, one on both sides, and two on the face. Tell me!
 
I was hoping for a bit more specificity about what you refer to as the "face" lights but you are basically correct. Nice job!

Key light - butterfly position
two accent lights - one on either side in the rear facing forward
background light - just enough to create a bit of separation of the subject from the background
Fill light - into very large umbrella in front to ensure a little detail in the dark shirt (because the key light is mostly on the face) and to provide the slightest fill to shadows so they're not completely black
 
brusby said:
I was hoping for a bit more specificity about what you refer to as the "face" lights but you are basically correct. Nice job!

Key light - butterfly position
two accent lights - one on either side in the rear facing forward
background light - just enough to create a bit of separation of the subject from the background
Fill light - into very large umbrella in front to ensure a little detail in the dark shirt (because the key light is mostly on the face) and to provide the slightest fill to shadows so they're not completely black
Click to expand...
OK, it makes total sense.
A setup like this allows anybody to walk in with anybody and take the same shot.
This is not the organic ambient illumination that is your signature.
I prefer the old you.
 
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