Indoor Portraiture guidance

I need some guidance...


I'm currently set up and focused (no pun) on live action sports but I'm being asked about portraits and I want to get started. My plan was to eventually do senior potraits both outdoors and in. I plan to attend some PS classes in January andI have the following equipment:


Canon EOS 7D & 20D


16-35mm 2.8L


24-70mm 2.8L


70-200mm 2.8L IS


135mm 2L


50mm 1.4


70-300mm 4-5.6 IS


Canon 430 EX II Flash


My next lense is the 85mm 1.2L and I can't wait to get my hands on that one....but I need to sell some pix first.


So....I need to get some diffused light and backgrounds / drops. I have no idea how to start or even what questions to ask. How much do I need to spend....what type of lighting needs etc..


If anyone could give me a list with purpose for each item....it would be greatly appreciated. We can start the discussion with the list.


Cheers,


Jeff www.weclickyoupick.com

It's perfectly possible to get nice diffuse light with some 500 watt hot lights (incandescents) and umbrellas (get ones that let you remove the back and shoot-through) or even cleverly hung bedsheets. Bedsheets might not give you the cache you may need if you're shooting for money, but they work. Just make sure all the light in the scene is of the same temperature, or things get wacky. The trouble you might run into here is losing detail of those with very dark hair, but that's easily worked around.


Basic hot light kits are inexpensive and fast to setup. Mine has served me well.

Hi Jeff!


Okay, I'm by no means professional, (I shot my first rounds of senior portraits this year to be exact). You can check some of my portraits and see if you'd like to take my advice or not haha. Senior portrait collection on flickr.


Sean Setters will undoubtedly tell you to "Get the flash off the camera!" I'm not sure if you have already or not, (it's not listed in your posted gear, so bear with me).


You could go either way with outdoor portraiture: Natural light, or strobist. I find that most natural light shots are enhanced with one or two strobes. (I'm more of a strobist, so I don't have the experience to tell you about natural light equipment). But ff you choose to go NATURAL LIGHT, you will need a slew of reflectors and diffusion panels. You will also be largely dependent on the weather. Check out California SunBounce products for high end reflectors. For these reasons, I find using strobes to be much easier.


Assuming you choose to go with off camera flash, you will need an off camera trigger/receiver set. I own the Cactus V2s set and they've worked decently well for a low end set. I'd suggest getting a better, more reliable set though such as CyberSyncs from the manufacturer of AlienBee studio flashes, or Pocket Wizards.


You'd want to modify and soften the lights from your flashes too, so umbrellas, softboxes, lightstands, etc would be needed also.


For off camera lighting information you absolutely needto check out Lighting 101 from David Hobby over at the Strobist blog. He goes into detail on all the things I outlined above (barring natural light portraiture).


So, to start a list for you, assuming you're going strobist, (and I'll be generic and not mention brands):


- 1-2 strobes. Your 430EXII is great. I'd recommend getting a Vivtar 285HV to compliment it. (You have way more lighting possibilities with two lights than one).


- light modifiers


- lightstands


- trigger/receivers


Once other people (more knowledgeable than myself) chime in, I'm sure they'll help you pick out the specifics. I just wanted to point you in the right direction and give you some resources to check out. Sorry if this came off as elementary!


-Rodger

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Originally Posted by Rodger

Sean Setters will undoubtedly tell you to "Get the flash off the camera!" I'm not sure if you have already or not, (it's not listed in your posted gear, so bear with me).

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I must admit, I chuckled when I read that. I was simply going to refer the OP to my introduction to using off-camera flash.

Thanx so much Rodger!


Elementary is good as that's where I'm at. I've always been a natural light shooter so I really have no idea how to start. I did check out the Strobist blog for lighting 101 and it got me started I think. I just don't want to sink a bunch of money into diffusers for instance just to find out I would have rather had a softbox rather than an umbrella etc..


I may just start by experimenting with my 430EX2 and bed sheets to get a feel. Any specific items that you know to work for general portraiture would be helpful.


Thanx aagain for your awesome response.


Happy Holidays,


Jeff


www.weclickyoupick.com

I'd suggest cheap wireless triggers (like the CTR-301p found on ebay), a light stand, a swivel, and a westcott 43" collapsible umbrella. With those items, you can start making some well-lit, flatteringportraits. I used those very tools (or at least similar ones) to create the following two portraits. The photos were taken only minutes apart; the only thing that changed was the position of the strobe/umbrella. In the guy's portrait, it's positioned behind him (a more masculine lighting). In the girl's portrait, the light is positionedto strike most of her face (broad lighting, traditionally thought of as a more feminine lighting style, but the view on this is slowly changing).


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2776/...96859da62c.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2791/...34c1ec825f.jpg


Keep in mind thatwe're shooting in the shade created by the train. So the ambient light is serving the purpose of the fill light needed to see detail in the shadows.

Sean,


Awesome sir!


Your link along with the Strobist 101 gives me quite the foundation to get started. I've got two white umbrellas, two stands, two clamps with cold shoe(s) and umbrella hole (for lack of a technical term here) and an extra 430EX2 in my B&H wishlist waiting for the Sales and marketing Director (my partner and wife) to give the signature for the purchase.


In the mean time.....I'm taking my annual Holiday family portrait (dating back to JC Penney doing it for an outrageous sum, through my first P&S digital Olympus to my more recent "L Glass" shots) using my single 430EX2 and a high intensity floor lamp through a sheet.


One more question.....if I'm using the strobe off-camera through a sheet..will my "pop-up" on my 7D also provide "fill-flash" or is it not really playing a role? I assume it needs to be up to fire the wireless strobe?


Thanx to all of you that replied so far. I hope someday I can provide some expert help like you have for me. Be sure to check out my galleries at www.weclickyoupick.com and give candid feedback if your so inclined.


Cheers,


Jeff

Sean...one more thing ....when you refer to "wireless triggers" ....would I need this if I'm able to fire Canon strobes with my 7D? The triggers , I assume, are needed if I can't fire wirelessly correct?


Thanx for helping this newbie "strobist" if I may.


Jeff


WCYP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by weclickyoupick.com

One more question.....if I'm using the strobe off-camera through a sheet..will my "pop-up" on my 7D also provide "fill-flash" or is it not really playing a role? I assume it needs to be up to fire the wireless strobe?

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The flash from the pop-up on the 7D might work through a bedsheet (but as I don't have one, I can't be certain). I'd certainly test it out before planning a shoot where I'm depending on it to work. From what I understand, you can set the pop-up to fire on manual power (controlling your fill), ETTL (set to negative flash exposure compensation, controlling fill), or you can set it not to contribute to the exposure at all (although, from what I've read, it will still contribute very slightly to the exposure, but likely not even enough to notice).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by weclickyoupick.com

Sean...one more thing ....when you refer to "wireless triggers" ....would I need this if I'm able to fire Canon strobes with my 7D? The triggers , I assume, are needed if I can't fire wirelessly correct?


Thanx for helping this newbie "strobist" if I may.


Jeff


WCYP
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If you can fire the strobes using the 7D's built in flash, then no, you don't need the wireless triggers. Using the 7D's built in flash, you'll also retain ETTL functionality. That said, I wouldguess that your flash will need to be able to "see" the 7D's pop-up flash in order to work properly. Sometimes line of sight and range limitations can hinder your shootingto the point that you'll want the dedicated wireless triggers. Until you run into that wall, however, you can enjoy using the pop-up flash in commander mode.

Thanks so much. I'll go experiment and throw up some examples when I have some.


Jeff