PORTRAIT LIGHTING.......next

Ideally, the light source shd be no more than thrice the size of the object........The object shd be at a distance of around three to four times the size of the light source......Since an average adult's face is about eight inches in height, the size of the light source shd be around 24 inches in diameter for circular light sources, or the longer side of the retangular soft box.....This sort of arrangement works well for b&w and in certain instances for colour, when fairly graphic quality is needed.

However generally for colour photography, one needs softer lighting, since sensor has much less exposure latitude......TO achieve this softness, a larger light source is required, placed around the same distance (as mentioned above), softening the shadows ....since the area required to be covered by lighting is large , it is obvious that the distances of the light sources need to be greater than that for portraits......As the source of the light source has to be that much larger one cud use a strip light, which is a soft box about 25cm wide and 100cm long.....It is used in the vertical position so that it more or less evenly lights the figure from top to bottom......The light and shade effect around the figure is thus retained.....TO fill-in from opposite side, a thermocol sheet of 5x3ft is placed......

Since the reflector cannot be too close to the model/person being photographed, use a second light source covered with milky-white or tracing paper as closed to the camera axis, so that it can lighten the shadows. THE object of the portrait photography is to make the sitter look as charming as possible.....To achieve the softer effect, the kind of lighting we are using shd not create hard shadows.....However to glamorise the pic, it is recommended the use of a soft focus filter.

Besides the above, more is dependent upon the photographer to experiment and achieve the best possible effect with various subjects/sitters by the scrupulous use of lights available with him, as mentioned above.

Digital Photography Forum : photozo :: View topic - yawning in captivity

Digital Photography Forum : photozo :: View topic - yawning in captivity

u have gone thru about the placements of lighting for portraits and its satisfaction to the clients....we have already discussed ''available light source'' somewhere else......we are in the STUDIO AND CLIENTS vary according to age, height, mood, physique, etc. ....and it is the duty of a pro/studio owner, to satisfy his customers......let us see how lighting works in different distances.

THE importance OF THE SIZE OF THE LIGHT SOURCE and the distance from the subject cannot be emphasised more strongly. .....the larger the light source and greater its distance from the subject, the softer quality of light obtained is less contrasty, because the rate of the light fall-off at a greater distance is much less than at shorter distances due to one of the major laws of the optics.....THE INVERSE SQUARE LAW......which states that the intensity of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. hence, light falling on a subject from a light source two feet away will be four times as bright as when it is placed four feet away.

MOST photographers including some pros., however, do not understand this. they believe that larger the light source for instance, a larger soft box, and closure it is to the subject, softer will be the quality of light......it is not really so....what really happens is the sheer size of the light source at such close proximity simply smothers the subject from all directions, thus making the face flat and featureless. .......sometimes this effect works as an advantage for certain situations in fashion and beauty photography. and perhaps a good makeup artist accentuates the features which are likely to get lost with this kind of lighting.........to continue......gshroti@in.com.....

PHOTOGRAPHY--PORTRAIT LIGHTING

THIS is a little bit difficult of all lightings. here u have to manage, whereas in other subjects, u have the 'ready' lighting. ur subject/client/model are more important and u have to take out the 'real' out of their personality. so u need a master's eye. this may be the difference between an average photographer and a professional photographer. here u are in full control of the 'situation', whether u shoot head, head & shoulder, bust, upto waist, knee or full length. therefore, before the client arrives, u have to keep everything 'ready' i.e. cameras, backdrops, lights and props, if possible, with an assistant, who may help in setting lights, changing backdrops, while u study the mood of the person(s), may be single, couple, child, old man/woman, or a model for portfolio. in this case, u have to allot a different time to shoot the model without any disturbance, because his/her portfolio is the first step in the world to follow.
YOU shd make the client to be at ease, all smiles, all emotions 'required'. this will help u getting to know from child to adults, and making notes in ur mind, which side of the face will be more photogenic. next ur lighting setup will be on this base. place ur main or key light in such a way that the angular half of the face is lighted, while the other half is partly in shadow. such type of lighting and shading will give a fuller and slimmer look. while shooting this ur full attention is on the person/s, rather than fiddling more with lighting equipments. read the shadow portion with photo meter to understand the ratio in comparison to the lighted portion e.g. 1/2, 1/4,and arrange lighting distance according to that, using fill-in by thermocol board. this part u can leave to ur assistant, only give hints and be ready to press the shutter release, as u composed this also in camera LCD. however, u have a second light and a light for hairs. use them if necessary. but i wud recommend to keep the hair light also ready so there is no mix up of the subject with the BG. or u can use light, in a circular tone on the BG so the subject look more independent (pose-waist-level and above)......(continue...how to use this and other lighting for ur advantage.....(gshroti@in.com)...

PHOTOGRAPHY--STUDIO LIGHTING

STUDIO LIGHTING: Studio flashes were generally used to be utilised for taking passport photographs or sometimes for a family portraits.....these photographs were not of the standard one and had very simple poses, either a tight closeup, a full length portrait or a family group photograph. .......while shooting in the studio needs to fulfill a certain criteria and that is to portray the person in best light.....however with the fashion boom in the country, people have been demanding for more out of these photographs.
Every individual needs passport size photo sometime or manytimes for use in documents....these need full lighting, showing full face in light bringing out full features to their best with a plain background.
Get the person well seated in a comfortable stool/chair. place the main light with umbrella/soft box in front of the subject slightly higher to eye level and a reflector of thermocol in front of him at chest level below ur tripod, or closure to subject with some support to throw back the light on his face, particularly to avoid dark shadows under his chin......a second light can be used to background lighting, if required.
After passport photographs, people's common choice next is a full length photo, family or group photographs. these.... are special occasions for the individual, the couple or the family who will preserve these photographs as permanent memories. ......HERE the photographer has to light up the person, couple or family well enough so as to prevent useless shadows to creep into the frame. ......a minimum of two flash units one on each side of the subject wud suffice. ....and both lights shd be placed at eye level of the tallest person in the group.
Once, he does mastery in such sort of photos and customer satisfied, he can move further for GLAMOUR portfolios, which requires some different kinds of lighting and here experimenting will teach a lot how to play with light on the models (gals or guys).......to continue.......(gshroti@in.com).

SUBJECTS TO PHOTOGRAPH

THIS is a general problem for newcomers and sometimes with amateur photographers to find out the subject to photograph and the mind remained confused, what to photograph. here i am giving some subjects from which the photographers can select according to their location/circumstances/nearness of the subject...........otherwise serious photographers in India and abroad go for shooting spree, once in a year or as per time available to them and send to magazines/calendars/editorials etc. and earn a bit good amount. here are they:
1. arts...2. books....3.culture...4. entertainment(fairs etc)...5. family....6. food....7. friends....8. people....9. life around...10. love...11. music...12.news.....13. personal(belongings etc)....14. cars....15. random....
16. religion....17. sports....18. thoughts(creativity)...19. travel....20. health...
21. technology....22. writing(to get ideas)....23. cities....24. young/old women
25. children...26. business....27. backgrounds....28. youth/old men....29.....
girls....30. sea...31. sky....32. water....33. clouds....34. sand....35. beaches.....
36. houses/buildings....37. monuments.....38. weddings....39. rituals.....40.
festivals....41. portraits(infant to old)....42. animals...43. pets....44.lakes....
45. bridges...46. birds....47. flowers....48. designs....49. abstract....50. party....
51. computers....52. hands/feet....53. icons....54. offices....55. money.....56.
trees...57. nature....58. wildlife....59. coastline....60. railways....61. hospitals....62. schools....63. playgrounds...64. local matches....65. holi,diwali,id,x-mas,guru nanak jayanti(under festivals)....66. gardens.....
67. landscapes....68. bikes...69. mountains....70. environment....71. seasonal theme(summer,rains,winter)....72. night scenes....73. fairgrounds/lightings...74. sunrise...75. sunsets....76. storms....77. lightening
78. different regions....79. interiors...80. architecture.....81. farms.....82.
macros...83. couples.....84.home...85. beauty/beauty pageants....86.rivers....
87.highways....88. flyovers....89. beggers...90. tribals....91. pan/thela shops...
92. village life...93...crops....94. fire....95. kitchenware....96. temples......
97. vegetables.....98. local markets...99. vehicles(diff.types)....100. traffic...
etc. etc.(think urself).......

TIME IS MONEY

TIME is the coin of your life and u can only know how to spend it. otherwise, u will lose and others will spend. but time is an expected money......in other terms. and if u use juduciously, u can be a good earner of money.........suppose if u misuse ur time, u lose the chances of further adding to your income.
FOR example, if u lose 1 hour daily, through which u could earn $50, that clearly means that u are losing $18,250 in a year......................2 hours wasted in a day means losing $36500 in a year. ....................and we do not expect that u would like so big amount to lose in a year.................u can find out ways how to earn and save this much money...........and that is the way to hard work. find out ways with full honesty without harming others. this is your capability which will reveal the creativity in u. ..............and sooner or later, u will be a good earner, without wasting your ego and self-esteem.