One light portraits and Mamiya 7II

T

Todd.Hanz

Guest
following Joe's lead for this project I decided to use my Mamiya 7II and 80/4, while close ups aren't really possible with this kit I really like the results. being able to shoot flash at any shutter is really nice too.

One strobe shot thru a white umbrella close to the subject.
Mamiya 7II
80/4
Ilford Pan F+

see a few more here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=6655
 

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Looks good Todd. I tried a similar thing once with a model, but was shooting with a Pentax 645nII or Mamiya 645e (I forget which), and used just a single 100 watt tungsten bulb to the right of her head (her right), and a white reflector to her left. Worked out well.

Film would have been HP5 or Tmax 400.
 

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shutterflower said:
Looks good Todd. I tried a similar thing once with a model, but was shooting with a Pentax 645nII or Mamiya 645e (I forget which), and used just a single 100 watt tungsten bulb to the right of her head (her right), and a white reflector to her left. Worked out well.

Film would have been HP5 or Tmax 400.
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that is a pretty descent example of recreating Rembrandt Lighting without the use of a window :)

I like all these portraits
 
very nice shots guys, very nice.

i'm using one hot light and need to find a way to soften it and keep some control over it too.

joe
 
George, that's a lovely portrait. You don't get tonality like that with digital. :)

Joe, when I worked on movie sets we used photofloods alot and there a lots of ways to control them. I have a few hardware store reflectors rigged up with stiff, bendable wire that you can clip gels and diffusion onto. I also rigged up a couple of 'field' dimmers with parts from Home Depot. A standard metal wall box with a female plug out one side and a male out the other works fine.

I'll see if I can snap a pic and show you...
 
Single light shots are the best imho.
It makes for great "character" photos.

Todd, really like Tay #3 (with the skateboard) - that one's a winner.
George, that's a beautiful image. Just enough light imho.

Dave
 
back alley said:
very nice shots guys, very nice.

i'm using one hot light and need to find a way to soften it and keep some control over it too.

joe
Click to expand...

Just go to a fabric store ... or a craft store

buy some light white or lite colored see through fabric (often used to go over large windows for the same effect)... it acts not only as a diffuser but also as a softbox

something like this http://www.housefabric.com/categorysubview.asp?CategoryID=103&CategorySubID=229

Just put it in front of the light (obviously in a way that won't catch the fabric on fire)
 
thanks guys!

George...wanna' trade models???? ;)

These were thrown together at the last minute without much regard for light angle and such, a reflector or fill/hair light would finsh them off nicely. It's worth playing with for sure.

Todd

oh yeah, all my med. format is scanned on an acient epson 2450 flatbed.
 
Joe, apparently all my aluminum reflectors have been recycled but I found a homemade "batten strip" in my closet. It's a 2x4 rigged with standard lamp sockets in series with a female plug at one end and a male at the other so you can string them together. The homemade dimmer is in the foreground. A collapsable frame made from stiff wire is attached with thru holes in the wood and you can clip diffusion or gels to it. (I have a 1/2 CTO clipped on here with clothespins. ) The single bulb reflector is much more handy for portraits, of course, but this should give you the idea. We generally used these to light interiors to match "practicals" (table lamps, etc.)

Here's a link to an article in American Cinematographer that mentions the use of batten strips.

http://www.theasc.com/magazine/jan06/memoirs/page3.html

Augmenting the firelight was a “covered wagon,” one of Buckley’s creations. Short batten strips measuring 1'-4' held rows of cleat sockets, which accommodated regular lightbulbs. Avery wire created a 4" gap over the bulbs, which were topped by Full Grid cloth and Full Straw gels. This soft light was cabled to two flicker boxes. “It worked pretty well,” says Buckley. “I had about 30 of each. Really, that was the light of this movie.” Beebe adds, “It takes up very little space. We often shot wide in tight interiors, so we’d have these 1-foot flicker effects tucked behind whatever piece of furniture was available.” When there wasn’t enough furniture, serving trays and even the actors were used to hide lights.
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Playin around in my living room the other night. Technically 2 lights (1)strobe into umbrella and table lamp backlight. Self-pic - bored and alone on a cold winter night.

Mamiya 6/75mm
TriX@200/HC-110
 

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great portrait DCourter, focusing a self portrait is a pain.

Todd
 
kevin m said:
Joe, apparently all my aluminum reflectors have been recycled but I found a homemade "batten strip" in my closet. It's a 2x4 rigged with standard lamp sockets in series with a female plug at one end and a male at the other so you can string them together. The homemade dimmer is in the foreground. A collapsable frame made from stiff wire is attached with thru holes in the wood and you can clip diffusion or gels to it. (I have a 1/2 CTO clipped on here with clothespins. ) The single bulb reflector is much more handy for portraits, of course, but this should give you the idea. We generally used these to light interiors to match "practicals" (table lamps, etc.)

Here's a link to an article in American Cinematographer that mentions the use of batten strips.

http://www.theasc.com/magazine/jan06/memoirs/page3.html
Click to expand...

this is a sweet contraption. I once tried using a flourescent bank of 4 long bulbs. They were "daylight" ful spectrum. Turn out to be too expensive, but it was looking like it would work well - can buy the parts at Lowes. Just need a good shopstand and a bank with mounting parts.
 
Thanks Todd. I used an extra lightstand as a stand-in for focus and framing, then positioned myself, dropped the stand out of frame and tripped the shutter w/my foot and one of those remote air-bulb thingies.

Dan
 
George, we tried to rig up a home-made fluorescent batten strip, but couldn't get it to work with a dimmer. Did you manage to solve that? :confused:
 
kevin m said:
George, we tried to rig up a home-made fluorescent batten strip, but couldn't get it to work with a dimmer. Did you manage to solve that? :confused:
Click to expand...

no dimmer. various layers of diffusers. Poor man's style.
 
thanks for the light tips guys.

i may try to track down some stiff yet flexible wire to make a small frame.
the tungsten bulbs i'm using now are plenty bright for the size room i'm using so i don't really need a bar of them now.
i'm thinking of the tinfoil on some cardboard trick for a cheap reflector that i can lean against a wall or chair kinda thing.

joe
 
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