Which set-up has the best light??

April Phillips · 04-19-2009, 08:56 PM

I'm doing some sample portraits of my kids to establish a style of painting that I can offer to clients. I shot the photos in three different scenarios, 2 outdoors and one indoors. Please evaluate these in terms of lighting and color as I will reshoot for better expressions.

My one big hesitation about offering outdoor shots is that we live in Seattle, and to try to coordinate a shoot when the sun was out would almost be impossible during the winter months. Would it work to shoot indoors and paint outdoor greenery for the background??

Photo #1 --shot indoors near a window
Photo #2 --shot outdoors with evening sun
Photo #3 --shot outdoors with strong morning sun. Why did this shot turn out so flat in the shadows and blown out in the highlights?? Did I have the camera set wrong?

Any experience on this is deeply appreciated.

April Phillips · 04-20-2009, 01:02 AM

I think I may have answered my own question. The indoor lighting seems softer and the best at creating form. The color of the light seems to change by the minute no matter if we are inside or not. To shoot these next samples I attached a sheer white sheet to the window to diffuse the light, taken 15 minutes apart.

So here are some shots of my 7 y/o twins, Mikey in blue and Tommy in yellow. I'm thinking I like the expression on #2 of Tommy even though it leans toward serious. I think I will try reshooting Mikey. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks.

PS Can I believably add greenery in the bkg and make it look like it was taken outside??

Mike McCarty · 04-20-2009, 01:38 AM

April,

I'm a little short of time right now but I would offer the following post as a bit of a primer on the out-of-doors light:

http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=6874

Also, there are a few others in this same section:

"Lighting and Photographing for Portraiture."

I will say this - you can drive yourself crazy with this out of doors photography. There is some good advice on the subject in the above post and section.

April Phillips · 04-21-2009, 12:50 AM

Thanks Mike for the info. I looked up the links that you gave me and learned a lot. Somehow I had felt I was missing out on something by only shooting indoors. Now I think I will just forgo the outdoor shots for now.

Allan Rahbek · 04-21-2009, 06:24 PM

April,
I believe that the indoor light is better because it's softer.

It's important to spot meassure at the light side of the face to be sure that it is not washed out.

If the shadow side of the face turns out to be too dark you will have to bounce some light into that area by the help of a large white sheed of cardboard or a white canvas, not a lamp or flashlight.
Check the photo once you have taken the shot to see how much light you need. If you can get a person to hold the reflecting cardboard, then you can direct the person while you check for the best light. Once you have gotten the best light, then you can consentrate on the models expression.

When you choose background try to get the lightest lights and the darkest darks in the figure, and keep the background less contrasty.

Alexandra Tyng · 04-22-2009, 06:00 PM

April, you set up your experiment and got so much information in the process. Thanks for posting your photos. They are great examples of different lighting conditions and should be helpful to other artists.

Mike McCarty · 04-22-2009, 06:32 PM

April,

Here's a few thoughts ...

I like to move the drape/background as far back as I can get it from the subject. This keeps it from being too literal. I know you can paint it how ever you want, but I think you can engineer good shapes back there that can be rather inspirational. You can pin your material such that it can offer folds which end up being nice shapes (not literally material) of light an dark.

Also, if you are using a zoom lens, keep yourself out on the 80mm+ end if you can. Move your tripod up and back instead of altering the zoom. Be conscious that you are not down in the lower end of the range.

I also like to have people sit in a chair or bar stool instead of just standing in front of the camera. This gives the opportunity for more compositional variation. The knee can come up, the elbo can go to the knee, the hand to the face. Also, twisting the shoulders and the head can offer variation.

I'm not crazy about the shirts. I prefer a shirt with a standard collar and I really like a bow tie on a young boy. An interesting thing to add to the image and not very difficult to paint. I think it leaps the image forward a great deal and makes it more timeless.

Pay close attention to the light influences on the shadow side of the face. It's best to close off any light sources such as doors, windows etc. You need the dark as much as you need the light. It's a constant balancing between the two. I prefer a little more variance between the two than you show. If you spot meter the lit side of the face, as Allan suggests, it should take care of the exposure of the face and the rest will be acceptable.

Good luck

April Phillips · 04-23-2009, 08:53 PM

Thanks Allen and Mike,

This is exactly the practical advice I was looking for. I find the photography part of the process the most agonizing part of the whole process. Probably because of the time limit with the model. I would do myself a favor by practicing on anyone who will sit for me, (which is no one in this house.)

Mike, I wanted to clarify about the zoom lens. I have a 75-300mm lens. Are you saying I should be in the lower numbers?

Thanks so much for your time in helping me figure out these issues.

Mike McCarty · 04-23-2009, 09:36 PM

April,

Quote:

Also, if you are using a zoom lens, keep yourself out on the 80mm+ end if you can. Move your tripod up and back instead of altering the zoom. Be conscious that you are not down in the lower end of the range.

I was assuming you might have one of the "kit" lenses in the 35-100mm range. It looks like you are using an SLR type camera, and that's a good thing.

You are interpreting my remarks correctly. When you are doing photography indoors it's sometimes difficult to find a room which allows for such a long lens. You can't back up far enough without bumping into a wall. Staying in the 80mm+- range will avoid certain types of camera distortion.

I operate mostly with two zoom lenses. One like the shorter variety mentioned above and another extending to 300 such as you describe. The longer lenses I use in the out of doors because there are fewer space constraints.

If you find that your budget allows you might look for a used zoom of a shorter variety. This will give you more flexibility indoors.

Also, be mindful of the height of your camera as it relates to the height of your subjects eyes. It appears that you have set up slightly above the little fellows. This gives you more of the top of the head that you should want. Try to stay level or just slightly below eye level. It's a common mistake made when shooting the kidos. A tripod is almost a must as well. This will reduce the camera shake (blurring subject) in the low light situations which always seem to come up indoors.

April Phillips · 04-26-2009, 01:46 PM

Thanks again Mike for your suggestions. Very Helpful!

The lens that came with the camera is 18-55mm and the zoom is 75-300mm. So I have a bit of a gap, but the 80mm setting works pretty well with the space I have, so I think I'm good for now.

Couple more basic questions if you don't mind. Pardon me if you've answered these questions a hundred times.

Should I set the camera on the aperture priority setting and at what aperture? I have a Canon Rebel and the lowest it will go is 4.0.

What is the best ISO?

I've been using a tripod, but I don't have the remote to release the shutter. I guess that would be a good investment.