Lessons

Lesson Info

Shoot: Two Light Setup

They're trying to decide whether we want to show because there's so many ways of doing this one light, adding an extra light to kind of make it a bit more interesting. This is pretty much what I do because it gives that mood equality if you wanted to make it a bit more commercial, we're going to add the second so used to working on sets on like was this like, it should all be hung up, and I have said too large we at that life for a bit more of a commercial look that we've done before or should we like the backdrop on dh waken like the backdrop I was letting you know we could do by? But I think that's try by great well equal that to that lights that will have this doctor what we on right now. Five point five. Okay, so what we want to do what I started, adding that the light trying at the same caught the amount of light and they kind of use the same exposure and their media run here. So if you wanna pull that in, yeah, it'll take me a couple minutes to questions while we waited. We do wo...

nderful question from mr russ and he's right here. What is the difference between a commercial look with regard to lighting and fashion? I'm a commercial like I think it's about the styling as well as the lighting so you can see on these images in particular the way the hair ese it's kind of like you wouldn't get this on a commercial shoot because it's not something that keep kind of people resonate with its like commercial would be like a commercial can go someone's a little more real looking perhaps swimwear like sports where some kind of simple dresses the lighting is usually more like white background really clean the samos beauty really clean and strong, so the light is often straight in front of the model or you have a beauty too strange for the model silicate and it's in the shadows where is on these? We like the shadow? We kind of want to add that painted we feel so that's what we do with the lighting and the styling a swell plastics we've got a question from someone in our audience go ahead. Yeah, I just like to know about the color settings because when I look at the pictures and now look at the setting here the backdrop is kind of beige and turns off blue the color setting jimmy the white balance yet the white balance when I'm shooting this tribe is usually on auto for me if I'm outside that's when I change it if I'm using hitching my life changes as well for, um strobe I use order because it handles it pretty well for this particular set in and you can tell with these kind of backgrounds it tricks your eye a little bit like when I'm talking to the particular person sarah, that makes these backdrops this looks gray and green tow us, but when you light it in this particular way, it has underlying tones that I kind of brought out with the light. So if I had a hate you my on there for continuous light with a stronger quality, you would see a different color in itself as well. Beautiful. I think you have a question appear hi, laura. You keep talking about mood boards and sent him to your team and or to your clients, tell him kind of what you want. Could you could kind of explain what on the mood boards or what that includes? Yeah, I usually people look into that a little too much with the me books because really is just some reference images that it just on, say, a photo shop document like a force eyes that you just throw a load of images, whether it's the light in reference you could do a mood board that's for your stylist that shows all the outfits that you're inspired by or it could be a mood board of, say, light loads of hair style's a little bit about the clothing other photographers work that you inspired by the color, so it kind of gives your team that starting point to work from, but you can pull it from everything you can make it yourself out of magazines, but I like to do online and just pour from all these websites they gave links to and just make like a little document from that. You got one more over here. I'm just wondering about the shape of the soft bucks, like an octo box versus a rectangular saw, the octu will oversee the shape of it. We'll give a lot more phil where's the soft box, we kind of have more of it if you put it in front of it, it's not too much of a difference, but if you think of it, the shape this way, what kind of the light would do that? Where it's like a straight it won't. So if you feather in, I think this is usually the best way to go because you want that little diffusion light coming three once you model, I'm wondering if we could just talk through and take a look at what feeling? Because glory are doing and talk through it messing around mostly wear, setting up another life just like the backdrop, and I've got lori glamorous lori is helping me on dh we are just going to put this on a c stand in such a beautiful way needs the light human try play this's just jerry rigging cold, so hopefully doesn't pull down, but what we're doing is we're setting up a light on an umbrella very, very simple on the back job. I don't know if you could see, but I kept moving to see where the light was hitting. We're using this thief flat just to block the light from hitting rachel yes again, like if you were doing a white background shoot, this ideal scenario to light your background, you would block the light from hitting your model. He would want some distance, so we're going to pull her away in a little while, pull this forward just a little bit and usually you can light it with one umbrella too, and that if the life felix the light is facing into the umbrella there, right? Yeah, what it's doing is if you want to show them that it's facing into the umbrella so it's not that direct, like flashlight it's kind of diffused by the umbrella itself bounce off the white back. So it's giving that phil to the background here I'm showing them over here yeah, very simple it's bouncing into the umbrella and then when I turned around it's going on the background so I'm just going to make sure rachel's in the right place you're not getting any of this life yeah, so she shouldn't be on the way to do that it just makes it all if you stand where she is that you can't see the light and also just take a test that's what I'm gonna do is take a quick test shot it's not going to be perfect I know you can see those times that it brought out in that backdrop and I know over there you were saying about the color off the backdrop what happens is when you light it, you'll see the color changes again. So that's what's great about these tones when people paint backdrops, they have underlying tones that's why I said you can use him time and time again. I have a couple that you won't notice being used on different shoots as well everything forward a little bit we could move rachel forward yeah, yeah would you just help me with just that's? Good. We're gonna try find the same relative position, right? Yeah, he always want to give you self distance when you're lighting background because there can be some spill onto the model and when you wanting that soft light kind of gives you more control over that too, really slowing down now good all right, space to play around back here give it a test and I'm on the same camera settings because I just want to judge how that's changed okay, just turn to the side here funny, beautiful. Just hold your arm again issue team before I'm trying to cheat my even spread across the but I actually really like this more than there simple life I think that it's brought out those nice tones in the backdrop so as soon as you add one more light looking like you're in the studio and people go did you shoot that natural light? Yeah, definitely. All right, so for this one let's do straight on and again we've got the same sentence of your five point five five point five with equaled out so that's a good place to start when you're using two lights and then work from that as well. So I'm going to keep it at that. Just a reminder of my settings here won t five on my shitter one hundred eyes, so and I've got eight on my aperture, so I think this one's straight on kind of chin up if we got a reflective anywhere he running um white, please beautiful yeah, so what we're doing with this is where again finding like the way that this light fills here and this just fills in some time the shadows and pretended it also helps out a catch light, and you noticed when people are using self light, but they missed that catch like you're missing a lot of emotion. I mean, like, when you show that image, people are not going to connect a bit, whereas when this catch light, people connect to the image. So what I'd like to do is always add this, especially on portrait, you concede that white little circle in the eye talk a little bit about using model england. Yeah, just yeah, I will in about five minutes. A lot of people asking in the chat room earlier about kind of what would be a basic equipment set up, don't you? Like lara said, you know, this different packs available flower uses brown color thiss beautiful life, but you can do this with speed light and it will still work like a little flash. Yeah, nothing's changed with the way I like the only thing that's changed with my stylist that I've been able to fool better equipment but it's not changed the way I know my images look it's important to remember when you see photographer's expensive equipment they have eventually got there. But they had to start with something and I started with bones kid I had an interfered continuous light set and I worked with natural light from a window and so often I love to shooting with natural light but obviously when you work with clients in this scenario they're going to want you to replicate that so whatever equipment you have is always you make it work, right? Yeah, the benefit you get from more expensive equipment really is you have faster refreshed times so you can take pictures really quickly the color balance will be consistent and you could just kind of trusted me and myself and you get come over a little bit yet and if you face slightly towards this way yeah, great and just open your eyes a little more seven yeah, you won't be guys got it all right, so we're not getting enough light on the closer if you just turn a little bit more towards the stranger, bring us in a bit yeah, bring that can you try like comes out shoulders back, head to the side slightly great and you'll notice I do a lot of this type of clothes in and it's because I have to talk to a little bit about triangles when she did her potent segment, but the eye kind of is attracted to like symmetry and the way that people opposed like gracefully so I try and get like, posing with arms so there's like a triangle this way or you know, like this so there's a triangle in the arms of the bottom so I think when you shooting something that's quite symmetrical and this is actually a top we used in one of the chutes early when I was going for the portfolio the symmetry is really nice to have it very straight like symmetrical down I always try and get symmetrical shots, especially for covers like potential covers because editors they're really attracted to that foreman well, is there any questions I'm going or wait do have a question for you new audience will get a mike how many models would you would you add another model to this with this same lighting set up for what you need to start adding more like like a really good question I would start with the same kind of set in the woods when you'd probably need to do is what I'm gonna gi right now actually make this a little more direct because if you light a model with this to the five, the other one is going to be missing that light as well. So that's when you would probably need to consider having this a bit more direct but still slightly feathered so the light would fill in on both or you could actually put another doctor are another light like this kind of equal in that light and changes someone's accordingly to it? Well, thanks because we're doing it quite a symmetrical shut now we obviously want the symmetry with the lighting as well and even though it still feathered it's a little bit more on her so the lights spills onto her a little bit and you'll see how it changes well don't know that the necklace slightly because we're doing this symmetrical think you want it just see in the middle I want to make a style and look good you're great in the background is going to show it down for you through your mouth a little bit you know like a strong woman yeah yep chin down a little that's where chin down eyes are gonna be left that could have the model because you can kind of see it yeah okay and then again crossed on the floor pointed fingers just loosen them a little and if you turn to me to slightly yet and then straight again completely he do on cross even just meet the hands in the middle of pool eons of like that chin up slightly great and you'll notice like good models will move but you notice I have to tweak it constantly fill my chin down that way that way there's just good to keep that conversation going so you're not like she's not standing there like what do you want me to do? I can't see how you look like you like feedback, right? Yep. I mean, could you try one hand forwards when had that kept us point that hand on the front? Yeah. It's in a little too far, felix. Yeah, you're really? Yeah, just even hold the scott little and then try with arms down, but just kind of crossed in front and polio ons and so it's like and you'll see automatically when I take this shot. How different she comes across just face this light again. It's all about you from the front of well, a little. Yep. So it's like slightly off. Kind of harsh on the model. And yeah, people asking. So this has to bulbs in it. One is the flash, and one is a continuous bob it's called the model lamp. Contrary to popular opinion, it also works on non models on dh that's a bad joke on dh. It just helps with the focus, and it gives lower an approximation off what the light is going to look like on dh you can see like it, it goes off. It turns up off when the flash goes and then take time to come back on so you'll see a dark period, right? She I move around a lot I never take one in the same place and that's because sometimes you just capture that moment that can't be planned and that's what a lot of my covers and all of those it's come from that moment where you're like oh let's, try this and it actually didn't work and try something that you didn't plan and it turns out really beautiful a question a couple of people are talking about the expressions that you are going for in fashion photography so what? How are you directing her in terms of expression? I think she already feels it off the clothes like you would say that when someone put something like that on you, you would feel like no, they don't want me to be happy and smiley they want me to be kind of so she's obviously knows the mood of the shoot this is what a good model usually kind of comes from again like every shoot is different every theme is different so there's no one way suits or posing or expressions when you have a more three your portrait I don't like smiling I like it to be all about the eyes glare the emotion so I was asking you to put her head down and looked down I was asking you to hold her hands like this kind of like shy and like withdrawn like this so it's kind of taken on board what I feel from this, of what the model fields from it as well, and also basing off the scene and what hair and makeup style and bring a few more and can we actually, for the sake of people seeing, could we make this direct, the director her and I'll change the settings. So what I've been doing a lot, and some of my latest shoots directly. Having the active face, the model and pull her off the background in actually fills in was more of a commercial light. It doesn't have that diffuse window where the same shadow as you would seen, paintings say, but it has that commercially fields in all the light, but sometimes it's relevant. If you shoot in a cover for a magazine, they want to see all the detail. If you shoot in a look book, they're gonna want to see the detail as well. So I'm often like the october is usually about here, and I'm like this with a still back trying to get in, but actually gives a really nice quality of life, perhaps a little commercials, they said for like some sudden fashion editorials but depending on the theme we can show that actually bring it around a little bit ways to destroy the floor here it's my job right I'm coming right up here don't look there goes and then you can shoot from down yeah fine yeah but way just probably got a pitch that and reflect we've put it a little higher which is obviously very flattering on the skin the face with the glowing makeup here and it's really nice to get that like, you know, the cheek bones and the angles of that in the white in the face too but we've put it a little bit more direct I just want to show you the results of that into this not trying to catch the light that bouncing down what you see instantly is that quality of light becomes more angelic, more filled in quite nice for like especially as straight as a symmetrical and this is also great if you want to do beauty because you've got this nice it's like clamshell isn't equal that light and you've got that bounce so like diminishes any shadows here just look straight forward yet shoulders kind of like that not t back just kind of loosen yet free free your mouth and then try chin down and then some chin ups chin up for me yeah you got it beautiful face too this way a little slim to that way he can obviously see the difference from what we did earlier and how different the light is in the quality of light but it's so crazy how many people think that one light is just amateur when actually you could do so many things? You just gotta know how to shape the light, how to place the light no having the background might as a second option just fulfill you could do so many things with one and a simple two lights set up that just make it beautiful and it's all about what you've got in front of the camera and how you work with that and again your team on set as well. Laura quick question actually, while you're talking about the team, quick question for donald if you want to come out in front, we've got little west side who says hi I'm wondering how perfectly clothing needs to fit or if you cheat a bit with pins like, for example, get everything one size too big and then if the model is slimmer you pin it. Is this an option to click clothing and have a bit more variety? Or do you try to go exactly the right size for everyone? That's a really great question actually what I do for models I check out on their website to see what size there are usually models are anywhere between zero and a four so what I usually do is get a four if I'm working with a personal client or a celebrity, I usually go maybe one up our itjust depends. It really depends actually turned around. Actually, this skirt is she's a size four. This is just a teeny bit too big for her. So what I just did is clips, clips actually saved my life. Yeah, I would actually I think it's best to go. I'm not not maybe one size, it depends on the dress I usually go to desai's it just all depends on the person's body type for models. Usually, you know, they say that there are four I get afore it just depends on item because sometimes some items will say, oh yeah, this is actually a four when is actually like a six so it just depends there different brand to make clothes bigger different brands make being smaller. So the best thing is, I would probably say is don't buy too tight if you think that it's best for you too goes one size up, go one size up and clips and that's why there's photoshopped I'm all that's about their yeah sure thing, okay, so just to show you, because I know it's hard to kind of see the evolution of what we've been doing, different lights I want to just take a shot with him without the backlight you can quickly see how that works as well so I'll take one with green eyes straight chin down just slightly yeah I just want to that side as well okay and then you say that difference of those two shots if you want to go home or editorial have a seat got that dark the texture which would be really nice in like a darker fashion magazine but if you want that kind of lip commercial look having the umbrellas like that coming into that ground a really nice ways and even on normal colored c'mon it's not just text you back drops a swell and you could also if you wanted like white light coming in from the back and it was like a white seamless you'd have still coming in a little bit so it kind of gives that like glow behind a swell so there's so many ways that they're like this is pretty much the the light set ups you do just really soft opted box stays so many photographers we know that just love this kind of light always tweaking it like there's no set rule yeah just take a few more without that back line somebody's having like really yeah this is what happens we make suggestions and then I was like oh should we show them in large like really like that now would you pull this down so it's a little more flat one to her what we're doing it's pulling it down even further again the quality of light is not going to be as many shadows here now but it's going to be nice and moody still because we've got that dark contrast it background to this is where I get backache well you get what back back photographer seeking a kind of sea now that says I'm more of a glow to it the intel from the one before most gothic now yes all my stuff it so it's crazy how different the light can change a theme and make it one thing and then the other put it that way yes you can just kind of just dropped that showed it down you got it and she know I just want to see your profile as well straight yet you breathe out for your mouth to mouth slightly open eyes drop that down again little and drop the hands down and it's straight on to me try one where you're looking down to your shoulder a swell assist yet then a completely straight down a little bit more it's also showing the clothes really nicely in this yeah that's another good point of this light because of the way it's light and it really fills in the detail but when you're working with lace and delicate jewelry as well would you call this a more commercial look I'm straight on yeah it's a mix I think we've got the dark background on we've got the really lit front it could kind of working between commercial and night depends on your subject because if you put a really commercial looking model in some really simple clothing in front of this with a simple backdrop, it would completely a completely different feel. So it depends what you're going for it good to know what light works for what scenario? So for me, this is my goatee. Like every time, isn't it get pretty much going, felix, do you know my go to light that's good it's gonna set up then usually very low setting on the light pretty much simple settings on the camera, the ones I usually used for all of these scenarios and then a diffuse october and we're good to go. We don't want question if you if you don't mind yeah hi letter. Hi guys. Thanks for hearing your magic with us. I just have a question how to go find such a great team. I've been doing photography for many, many years. I always been doing everything myself right running like crazy put in things they fall, they put them back on dh I've been searching for an assistant and what will you advise? How do you go out to find such a greater system? I think an assistant used to be somebody that doesn't have the same journeys you and doing it for the experience but perhaps has like you're portrait photographer and they're doing fashion or your fashion they deported that's where me and felix works so well because we're not fighting for the same thing so I don't feel weird about giving him my things that you don't feel weird about sharing techniques with me and I should like looking out for each other is like somebody that wants to look out for you once to help to kind of make the shoot better yeah and if we were both shooting fashion would be fighting over donald all right let's get back into this and then what I want to do show a really feather light so what would two is what we're going to do now is I'm gonna shoot right near the diffusion which gives a blow to the camera but there's just gonna be like diffusion like the diffuse light on her so you'll see in a second how this works could be really nice like editorial like cole's gonna be quite close to her and then were you losing a lot of light on her so I'm just going to turn it up like two tenths of a stop and see what it is to be really close to my camera thinks if you move it back and laura's looking at the model life to see how it will yeah looking always okay now so if you fill in the background now because if you can tell from this image over see now we've lost a lot of light on the background and that's still the same power is the front light I just wanted to see how that turns out okay, the back light is a little strong now so I'm gonna take that down half a stop yeah yeah because you're still inspired by that talk yeah all right and it just needs to be a little closer to me, felix so and she needs to be right at the end of the life. Okay, just you look so it's really feathered now I don't know if you can see it kind of coming across her like this it's not flashing it's not going right did just temperamental sometimes see what it's doing is this is like really diff fuse in where she is and it's kind of similar to what we did earlier but they're having this almost in front of the camera. It kind of adds like a neutrally I was like a neutral glow, I guess over all of the image and you're getting in still some light from left side because of the v flat the white affleck soda for each kind of bouncing light straight back way should see yeah right near the faces that's quite nice see that foreign after but if you see that black on the faith that kind of defines that aaron it's nice again for symmetry because if you have dark here dark here she's away from the lights offices she's going to get some shadow she's just getting that phil from here so if we move it about just a little bit I think we're equal out what it's like on the other side and then yes and then you can also control it with just a little bit of reflective you know, we could have it just just to see mt get bit if here in this well yes, if you stand shoulder cross rom's again, you can see how that shadow kind of helps to stand out from the background just a little that's a really nice chin to shoulder. Yeah, just that look beautiful closer still you can still see the clothes as well. It was one of the things you have to look for straight, straight it's very more yet delicate, but can you look this way and then on down I'm just gonna crack into him so I want that strong shoulder but without the arms in it, look into that way just to see your necklace little yet see and then you face that way and again I'm just moving around as much is like can to try and get the right angle on this because it's always those moments you miss isn't it when you like don't move around you everything looks the same crapping in again a little more try some landscape and I always try and shoot landscape in an editorial it takes up two pages plus it's then you know a nice little break up in a story if you see in my enter eight ten shot in an editorial so I'm just going to be aware with whether gooder in the magazine might be and that's the very centre so oversee frame her with negative space on either side straight to me a little but in some reflection that felix for me thank you I mean quite tight could you put a hand up great just fill in that little bit on the cheek too so it's not completely black and then slightly down with your chin but still with the hand up rachel's moving between every shot you in the eyes good even if it's not right like a model should always meet between shots and not feeling confident about it because you're just gonna get something different and then you're going to know what you want as well it's always good to encourage your model to me as much as possible thank you for me it's really symmetrical I'm just getting my slide escape with that girl okay, I'm coming in a little bit more close to the life yet and sometimes I just see that moment when she made that I'm like hold when you shoot like this it really focuses on the necklace and could I pull a fifty out? Yeah, because what? I noticed this when I was doing the close ups so wanted to fit more space. So even though it's not technically right to do fifty mil for portrait, I'm gonna break the rules a little try because that's, what fashion is all about let's? See what we get here down. Just concentrate on the shoulders and you can see it's a little more distorted than the last one. That kind of like that because it's like a death aerial portrait when you're getting so much more, the backdrop creates a different perspective. Actually, that's quite nice. This one at someone pretty an order. It was really nice when you kind of that way and your arms are very strong, really distorts very differently. She looked like a different person, okay? And then on telling me face lightly that would would you ever go to like a thirty five millimeters? No, I think definitely thirty five mil we citywide for this particular kind of portrait, thirty five really does describe, like the store, I think I think I'm pushing it even with fifty but I like to try new things so different techniques because you never know out like that one sorry yeah, just kind of drop it a little so it's got that shape in it a little bit more and then face too this way trying on quite strong there that was a bit quick arms completely down like that just a just a just a tad if you like it's this gravity donald okay, look clothe some requests from folks wondering if there's a possibility to do a full length shot is this something? Is this a lighting setup that even lends itself at all to doing full length or is that something you need to set up completely full length with them it's a big enough life light source study full link I think what you want to be aware of is the placement you have a full length in your light and it's like this you're not going to get in a flight on the legs and that's a big problem you started really well lit from here and then you start to see dark legs and it all starts to get a bit weird so for this particular thing, if I wanted to do full length I'd have it quite low and called back and I'd have it up possibly a little stronger on the things so I met what am I at now feeling? Five seven so I could go maybe to seven and pulling back adjust my camera settings so you get that light nice shadow behind your it's filled in equally or you could pop in and we have the franco up to seventy five here, which is a smaller one. You could do this with stuff fox even and have it about here you've got to light source is right here, a swell and again, just pulling them right back be a perfect snow, but as we should import to show, I thought it was nice to show you exactly how you can get this window let beautiful soft light for this particular seven, but do you have any tips for eliciting emotion or the move from models who are just not giving you what you want? It always happens with new models, and I think that you've just gotta work with it it's a silly little harder, but I think what you've got to do is make them feel comfortable and sad like make sure they're fed music that they know what they're doing, that their agent possibly told them what they do in ahead of time, especially the shooting outside what to bring I think all of that comfort really kind of helps open up things that makes the mother for comfortable soon as they walk in the door but I think on set I think it's just like you know if you have a great team were really supportive, especially like don order, so I'm sure you get young models that heat to be undress in front of the whole team just like every element every person was being really careful about the way you work them and also to get that mute out of him I think the energy comes from music they like the way people act on set we always have a fun set don't me with music and like positive people on those first that first hour or two will never be the best lake within shots but like as you go on like the shots will get better in that person will feel more comfortable in some of the later images there's some ripples because she's moved over a little in the background is that a distraction in the image or you have tio if this was something commercial would be little more careful, but then again I don't get this background would be used for something like that when you do an editorial it's kind of more of a dark theme, I don't mind it is my church to kind of like it um a lot of people that use these kind of backdrops like the imperfections in them they like the way there and even like this the side was like the edge of it where the holes are and stuff because I think it adds character to it so it's not just a perfect backdrop it has some kind of unconventional like shape to it famous what we're doing here we're not doing perfect we're doing something a little bit outside of that it also settled into this yeah it just changes because it's been hanging for a while so it had been a commotion we had more time I would have gone up fix it and we did bring those to use up if you want to talk about the difference yes you can see on this one here on the left basically we've got some light in the background from the umbrella which is actually bring in some really nice detail into the background fact one obviously changes when lit different types of light in on the right we have um or what I would say a darker kind of image more editorial andi obviously the background is not let in this picture this is just the light being feathered on rachel on actually add some nice grady and I think it kind of shows the clothing in the mute off really well but if this was for say a designer's look book we wouldn't have the hair like this because it's a little bit out there but we possibly have this light scenario on the left because it shows the detail in the jury as well that we have a question from our online audience. Patrick ships dad, who asked when shooting for a magazine editorial, do you frame the shots differently, like shooting wider, putting the model off center to leave room for text? It depends on who the magazine is like. Some clients will give you the dimensions on set because you have a digital tech. He was like the guy with the computer that will know we'll control the images coming through an ad. Atone for the client. The usual client will have, like it's, a banner for a website it's different for a book, it's different for a look book, it's different for a billboard for editorial. A lot of the time, like you just shoot what's in camera because a lot of the formats are similar to what we see in camera, but that that's. Why I always in away give myself room when I shoot. I don't shoot fully cropped into light here or up here because I feel it's important that if you want to do a cover, if you want to like at some text there's always that little area added as well.