Natural light portrait on a shoestring advice please

[Gregoyle]

Check Ebay for cheap reflectors. You can find a good one for less than you think, and it's nice to have a fold-out one that is portable. I'm talking $15 or so, less than a couple of rolls of good film.

Natural light + reflector = easy and beautiful.

 

[2tigers]

Absolutely lovely portraits sir!

Just use a window from one side, you could get a lastolite reflector to fill shadows, if you're cheap a large sheet of polystyrene packaging works well and will give smoother lighting than metal foil.

This is just a single window light.

Sometimes you don't want a reflector and a black sheet helps in those low key situations, works as a cheap background too...

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Opened out newspapers work well as matt white reflectors. And dirt cheap...

Regards, David

 

[Roger Hicks]

Hi,

Opened out newspapers work well as matt white reflectors. And dirt cheap...

Regards, David

Dear David,

But not very rigid. It also depends on whether your preferred newspaper uses much colour...

An excellent tip; but with reservations...

Cheers,

R.

 

[rwintle]

If you're doing headshots outdoors, don't forget that old chestnut of having her hold a reflector in her lap to fill shadows on her face. Any of the above suggestions would do (my preference is white foamcore - cheap, rigid, but doesn't fold up small obviously).

More useful if the light is strong, obviously - maybe not so important under a nice soft overcast as people suggested above.

 

[Bob Wilson]

Don't over-think it. Sit her down by a window, add a reflector if you want to, look into her eyes and find her soul.

 

[rwintle]

Don't over-think it. Sit her down by a window, add a reflector if you want to, look into her eyes and find her soul.

^
love this advice 🙂

 

[David Hughes]

Dear David,

But not very rigid. It also depends on whether your preferred newspaper uses much colour...

An excellent tip; but with reservations...

Cheers,

R.

Hi,

True but he has no money...

Regards, David

 

[Denton]

#1 Rule

#1 Rule

Watch the light from above. In diffused light, it can often be too strong.

 

[huddy]

David hobby did a great set here with natural light: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2013/10/on-assignment-margo-seibert.html

 

[brusby]

If you really want to learn, I'd suggest not using anything for a while other than your camera, your subject and your eyes. Plenty of stunning portraits have been shot in available light with nothing more.

Learn to evaluate the existing light illuminating her face. Watch were the shadows fall, how her eyes look - are they well lit and alive, or deep in shadow and lifeless, and whether the background compliments her pose or is a distracting, confusing mess.

There's plenty of good advice in this thread, but I'd recommend keeping it simple and mastering a bit of the basics first.

Also, shoot a lot, and try to make every pose and lighting setup different. Backlight, sidelight, butterfly, low angle, high angle, profile, tight head crop, 3/4 figure, leaning forward, back . . . you get the idea. Avoid the temptation to take bunch of shots of very subtle variations. Get the big picture first to see what obviously works, what doesn't, and what just need refining.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing the results.


ps here's one or two I shot with the same hasselblad and 80mm setup you have and nothing else. They are just scans from old contact sheets, not finished prints

-

 

[brusby]

Oops, sorry, I just read your heading "natural light portraits on a shoestring" and missed the part about needing head shots for her modeling portfolio. Oh well, please disregard all the stuff that doesn't apply. Hopefully some of this might benefit someone else.

 

[Scrambler]

Maybe missed the date of the first post, too, brusby. Hopefully he got the job done by now or he's in big trouble.

But 1/2 the fun of RFF is the extra info that pops up on threads that should by rights have died a natural death. And yours is good advice for the next person who turns this thread up on a search.

 

[randolph45]

reflectors

reflectors

Years ago I bought two 3x3 roll up movie screens with stand up wire supports for cheep . .They work great for fill.

 

[lrochfort]

If you really want to learn, I'd suggest not using anything for a while other than your camera, your subject and your eyes. Plenty of stunning portraits have been shot in available light with nothing more. Learn to evaluate the existing light illuminating her face. Watch were the shadows fall, how her eyes look - are they well lit and alive, or deep in shadow and lifeless, and whether the background compliments her pose or is a distracting, confusing mess. There's plenty of good advice in this thread, but I'd recommend keeping it simple and mastering a bit of the basics first. Also, shoot a lot, and try to make every pose and lighting setup different. Backlight, sidelight, butterfly, low angle, high angle, profile, tight head crop, 3/4 figure, leaning forward, back . . . you get the idea. Avoid the temptation to take bunch of shots of very subtle variations. Get the big picture first to see what obviously works, what doesn't, and what just need refining. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing the results. ps here's one or two I shot with the same hasselblad and 80mm setup you have and nothing else. They are just scans from old contact sheets, not finished prints -

Thanks for all the good advice, burnish. I was a little constrained on a tight headshot, but i did in fact try different orientations to the light and leaning in or out etc.