Saving the World One Pixel at a Time

In a recent blog post “Shopping for a Monolight” I provided a check list for what to look for when purchasing of a monolight but what about alternatives such as a power pack and head systems? Something you won’t find in that previous post is any discussion of lighting ratio and that’s important when using multiple flash heads, where asymmetric controls can be set for different outputs. Lighting ratio is the difference in  brightness from the main or key light to that produced by the fill light. For some, a ratio of 3:1 is considered “standard” but photographers can be flexible in applying this rule. I am.

Broncolor Senso/Litos 2-Light System

AC/DC? Most power packs are AC powered but just as DC powered monolights are gaining favor with location photographers, DC power packs are popular too. If you’re thinking about the requirement for DC power, ask yourself the big question: How far away is the nearest AC outlet? If it’s longer than your longest extension cord, it’s time to think DC.

Size: Just as in everything else in lighting, the size of power packs continue to shrink and heads are getting downright tiny. The big deals is that heads in this kind of system are always going to be smaller since the power supply is somewhere else, so that’s less weight on boom arms , where that’s a consideration.

Exposure: 1/100 sec at f/16 and ISO 100

Power output: Many power packs allow you to adjust settings to suit the lighting setup you want. Output can be symmetrical with power pack outlets and evenly divided so  power from one head is the same as the other or unevenly with power packs that offer an asymmetric design. Lighting ratios can also be controlled using a light modifier or by varying the distance from the subject to the lamp head. It’s here we run into one downside of a power pack/head system. In a two light system, if a power pack fails, you can’t shoot. If you have two monolights and one’s power supply fails, you still have one light to finish the shoot. It won’t be perfect but fulfills the old newspaper adage of “f/8 and be there.”

Portability: In addition to the size and weight of the power pack, the option of a DC power pack allows you to take your flash system out into a cornfield to create studio lighting in the “middle of nowhere.” This is also where you will run into the second downside of power pack/heads: cables. You’ll need to run a cable from the power pack to each head to make it all work. With monolights you have to run a power cable so this may be a wash for most of us. The main thing to remember is tape them down or place them safely under cable runs. Knocking over a light stand and flash head almost always results in a disaster and it’s gonna be expensive too.

When making a lighting equipment purchase, the most important question to ask yourself after considering all of the above possibilities is what kind of photography do you do and where do you do it. The next most important question is budget; you should get equipment that you can afford and that will pay for itself in a reasonable time frame from your photography cash flow. The worst thing to do is purchase an expensive system by going into debt without having sufficient income to justify the purchase. Don’t be embarrassed to purchase the least expensive lighting you can afford (believe me your clients don’t care) and upgrade in the future as your photography income permits. Just remember that important advice that a wide photographer once gave me—Light is light.

Joe Farace is the author of “Studio Lighting Anywhere.”

You don’t always need or want tack sharp photographs. Blur and selective blur, when applied to an otherwise ordinary photograph can create a mood or look that fits an impression of the image more than the reality of it but sometimes the distinction between creative blur and soft focus get confused, so let’s take a look at their differences.

When all or part of a photograph lacks sharpness, it’s blurry. Blur can be caused by camera or subject motion and can be accidentally or deliberately created by an object moving while the camera’s shutter is open or simply by the photographer moving the camera. The classical in-camera zoom blur effect is created by setting the shutter speed as slow as possible (small apertures help) and zooming the lens during exposure. Digital blurring is accomplished through software averaging of pixel values to soften edge detail and the effect can be produced digitally using Photoshop’s different blur commands, such as Radial Blur.

A lens that’s not corrected for spherical aberrations produces soft focus and creates a diffused look by bending light away from the subject so parts of the photograph are defocused while the rest remains in focus. Highlights are dispersed onto adjacent areas and the image still looks focused but some of its components are just enough out-of-focus so they’re softened. In addition, sharp line and edges are slightly fuzzy and small details seem to disappear. Capturing soft focus effects is possible by using a dedicated soft focus lenses, such as Canon’s EF 135 f/2.8 SF, a camera lens filters or by using digital darkroom techniques.

Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 4 suite of filters contains a Classical Soft Focus filter that mimics various kinds of soft focus camera filters used in traditional film photography and can add diffusion to an image while preserving detail much like the Zeiss Softar camera filter. Just like a Softar, Classical Soft Focus creates a soft focus image but not a blurry one and sometimes the only way that you can tell it was used is compare it against the sharper original which is why wedding clients will love this effect that doesn’t look like an effect. The control panel’s Soft Focus Method pop-up menu lets you select the type of effect from a subtle soft focus effect to more pronounced diffusion. The Diffused Detail slider controls the amount of random detail to maintain the appearance of some sharpness and prevent banding.

Tip: Since the Classical Soft Focus filter is applied to a new layer I always use the Eraser tool to erase the top (soft focus) later around the subject’s eyes and lips to keep them crisp. It’s an extra step that I do but you don’t have to if you prefer an overall soft look.

Joe Farace is the author of “Studio Lighting Anywhere” the second book in a trilogy or glamour and portrait photography.

The ingredients for making great portraits are easy to find: You need a subject, a camera, and some light but like any good chef it’s how they’re prepared that goes into cooking up a delicious portrait. When talking about portraiture with amateur or aspiring pro photographers, they often tell me they want to do a better job but don’t have studios or expensive lighting equipment. Let’s not worry about where to make portraits because we all have access to the great outdoors and a better-than-average chance at creating great indoor portraits if we take the time to look.

One of my favorite techniques for outdoor portraiture is backlighting that can produce beautiful highlights on the subject’s hair. The next time you plan to photograph somebody outdoors, place them in a position that you might normally use with the sun on his or her face and then turn him or her around! Right away the subject is more relaxed because the sun is behind her and she won’t have to squint! Next turn on your flash. Be sure to use it, otherwise the subject will appear to be a silhouette.

In order to get a final image that you can live with, you may have to open the lens a few stops over the metered exposure just as you might with any backlit subject. If you plan to shoot full length portraits instead of close-up, a more powerful speedlight will be more effective than the weaker pop-up flashes found on entry-level digital SLRs.

The above portrait was created using an Olympus E-1 with 14-54mm f/3.5 and an Olympus FL-50 speedlight used as fill and an exposure of 1/160 sec at f/8 at ISO 200.

Many photographers are intrigued at the prospect of creating glamour photographs but may feel that not having the “proper” equipment makes this goal unattainable. Nothing is farther from the truth. My No Frills approach to glamour photography doesn’t require a studio and, as Wilford Brimley might have said, “You don’t even need any fancy studio lighting equipment.” All that’s really necessary to produce professional quality glamour images is a camera with interchangeable lenses, a few simple photographic accessories, such as reflector and speedlight, and models that are willing to pose for you.

Before

Here’s a few simple tips that will help make your first glamour photographs a little bit better. For the before and after examples shown here, the lighting, camera, lens and background are exactly the same. In the after example, with make-up and some retouching, many of the above tips were applied.

1. Avoid flashy jewelry. Make your model’s face, especially her eyes, the focus of the photograph.

2. Have her wear solid colors. Nothing detracts more than clothes covered with busy patterns and prints.

3. Make sure her clothing fits. If a model’s clothes don’t fit, use clips or the old stand-by spring-loaded clothespins (out of camera range) to snug them up. And this happens more often than you might think.

After

4. Change Hairstyles. Ask the model to style their hair differently for each change of clothing to add variety to the session and the photos that she can have in her portfolio.

5. Expression. Some models look great with a smile, others look better without one. Shoot a few test shots each way and make a determination what looks best for her. It will be obvious, right there on your camera’s LCD screen.

6. Make-up. When changing hairstyles or outfits, ask the model to changes her make up style and color too. It doesn’t have to be drastic, maybe a different lipstick color or darker eye shadow. Red lipstick rocks. Ask her to try it.

7. The Right Footwear. For a more a statuesque posture, ask the model to wear her highest heels. No high heels? Ask her to stand on her toes for s few shots.

8. Just Relax. A glamour shoot is a team effort. Model and photographer must work together to achieve the best possible images.

Joe is the author of  “Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography” thats available on Amazon and your favorite book or camera store.

When it comes to photographing people it’s not just about the equipment, it is mostly about the interaction with your subjects. So many times I’ve seen photographers shooting portrait subjects and expecting them to do all the work. That may be true when you’re photographing experienced models but that may not be possible with new models or portrait subjects. Why? There are two basic types of photo subjects:

Lighting set-up in my home studio

Inner directed people are the Energizer bunnies of photo subjects. You tell them to stand “over there,” point the camera at them, and they will change poses as fast as you can click the shutter. You will get lots of good poses, some great ones, and a few that are not so good because the model is not getting any feedback, except from themselves. The other downside is that you will also shoot more photos, which in turn takes more editing time which, in turns, require bigger (or more) memory cards. The upside is that experienced models make you look like a better photographer than you really are but it’s still you’re job to get the lighting right. Unfortunately, this type of subject represents 20% of the models or subjects that the average shooter ever gets to photograph.

Outer directed subjects represent the other 80% of photo subjects or models and they expect you to tell them what to do. Shooting this type of subject takes more time, patience, and maybe smaller memory cards too but if you take the time to communicate what you want the subject to do it will pay off. The best ones will respond better if you show them what the photograph looks like on the LCD screen and big screens really help with this. The bottom line is that it’s up to you to tell the subject how to pose and in order to do that, you need to know what you want.

Keep in mind that there is no one perfect way to pose every subject. They come in all sizes, weights, and abilities to understand your directions, so keep it simple and if the subject is comfortable and the pose looks good, it’s a good one.