Say Hello to Robyn & Michael

[Colin Southern]

Looks like my new studio is now "officially" open for business, with a combined commercial / personal shoot today.

Took the following with a single strobe / octabox for the key light - 1.2 x 2.4m polystyrene sheet for fill - and dual strobs / barn doors lighting the backdrop. 1/125th @ F8 @ ISO 50 - Canon 1Ds3 with EF70-200 F2.8L IS USM.

[Donald]

Looks like my new studio is now "officially" open for business

Congratulations.
When do we get to see some pictures/layout plans?

[Alis]

Colin! You went to ISO 50???

Nice shot! But for some reason, its not at your standard. Not sure why. It is not glamorous enough may be

[CNelson]

Nice shot and exciting to see you add a new direction to your photography.

Chuck

[Sahil]

Well, Michael's missing shoulder is looking little odd. Rest, I am sure there must be some logic to it too

[Bannacht]

Hello Robyn and Michael!

[rick55]

Colin! You went to ISO 50???

Nice shot! But for some reason, it does not look at your standard. Not sure why. It is not glamorous enough may be

Maybe because the adults aren't as comfortable in front of the camera as the young people. The photo looks great, but the people don't look as relaxed as we've been getting used to seeing in Colin's recent series.

Cheeres,
Rick

[Alis]

Maybe because the adults aren't as comfortable in front of the camera as the young people. The photo looks great, but the people don't look as relaxed as we've been getting used to seeing in Colin's recent series.

Cheeres,
Rick

I think it is more than that: the light does not look homogeneous, there are areas of reflection on the skin of both of them. There is some shadow over the arm of the female subject from her shirt, and the front upper part of her arm is sort of too bright. At least at this resolution I don't see that much detail on the hair of the male subject, and on both of them the right side of the neck on the picture and also the face of the male subject has too much shadow.

Out of experience, I am guessing this is how he wants it but eitherway it does not look like other works we have seen from him

[Colin Southern]

Congratulations.
When do we get to see some pictures/layout plans?

Hi Donald,

I should probably do something soon. Black curtains are going up today (which is an important part of the light control), but apart from that, it's pretty operational. I was thinking of shooting a video to give folks a better perspective ... what do you think?

[Colin Southern]

Colin! You went to ISO 50???

ISO 50 is fine It costs me 1 stop of DR, but under controlled / reflective lighting that's of zero consequence. It's needed because the lights can't be powered down any lower - but at ISO 50 I can shoot 1 stop wider and get the DOF 1 stop tighter. I do also have a 2 stop ND filter I can also press into service, but it does slow down the AF a bit, so I prefer not to use it.

Nice shot! But for some reason, its not at your standard. Not sure why. It is not glamorous enough may be

Hard to say - looks fine to me

[Colin Southern]

Well, Michael's missing shoulder is looking little odd. Rest, I am sure there must be some logic to it too

It's possibly just the tight crop to emphasise the faces - quite a popular technique these days. Do you like this one any better?

[Alis]

I was thinking of shooting a video to give folks a better perspective ... what do you think?

Me like to see that video

[Dave Humphries]

I was thinking of shooting a video to give folks a better perspective ... what do you think?

We've seen the pictures of you and read your words; so now's the time to reveal if the voice sounds like you ...

... or tweety-pie

[Colin Southern]

Maybe because the adults aren't as comfortable in front of the camera as the young people. The photo looks great, but the people don't look as relaxed as we've been getting used to seeing in Colin's recent series.

Cheeres,
Rick

Hi Rick,

Nah - they were fine in front of the camera (I've known them for about 25 years), although this shot was semi-posed whereas a lot of my stuff is "freeze-frame" - how about these - any better?

[Dave Humphries]

Do you like this one any better?

Hi Colin,

Is it an optical illusion with blue background, or do both shots look a little cool on the flesh tones?

Cheers,

[rick55]

Hi Rick,

Nah - they were fine in front of the camera (I've known them for about 25 years), although this shot was semi-posed whereas a lot of my stuff is "freeze-frame" - how about these - any better?

The first, especially, looks more relaxed. Maybe it's just the way they smile, and it's not noticeable to you, because that's the way they looks: which means they should look that way in a portrait.

Cheers,
Rick

[Colin Southern]

I think it is more than that: the light does not look homogeneous, there are areas of reflection on the skin of both of them.

Sorry - forgot to mention - these are pretty much straight out of the camera. I've done a wee bit of skin work on one, but in essence they're all just "concept" shots for the customer to choose from (I don't want to waste several hours retouching images that won't be used).

There is some shadow over the arm of the female subject from her shirt

Pretty hard to do anything with that without overpowering the fill lighting (board) altogether. I used my biggest softbox (A HUGE octabox) - so get shadows like that softer I'd have to move the light closer, but then the light DOF drops off and I'd end up with Robyn being too bright compared to Michael.

the front upper part of her arm is sort of too bright.

I might tone it down a bit. Part of it will be wrapped around the edge of the frame if they go with this crop on a canvas.

At least at this resolution I don't see that much detail on the hair of the male subject

Looks fine to me - at the end of the day, (unlike me, darn it) - he still has very dark hair. I could raise the levels, but that would make the hair more of a dark gray, and also take the emphasis away from the face.

and on both of them the right side of the neck on the picture and also the face of the male subject has too much shadow.

Hmmm - in all seriousness, combinded with your "lack of hair detail" comment, I'm wondering if you have your black clipping point set too high on your monitor? The fill should be about 1.5 stops down - and I'd guesstimate that's pretty much exactly where this is - so I'm wondering if you're seeing something you shouldn't (might pay to check your screen against a gray scale to ensure you can differentiate all the blacks?)

Here's the control card shot from the session - can you differentiate all the grays around the centre?



Out of experience, I am guessing this is how he wants it but eitherway it does not look like other works we have seen from him [/QUOTE]

[Colin Southern]

We've seen the pictures of you and read your words; so now's the time to reveal if the voice sounds like you ...

... or tweety-pie

TO DO list for Wednesday 21st April 2010 ...

1. Purchase helium balloons ...

[Colin Southern]

Hi Colin,

Is it an optical illusion with blue background, or do both shots look a little cool on the flesh tones?

Cheers,

They shouldn't do -- check them against the control card I just posted for Ali. The lights usually measure around 4900 to 5000 kelvin, with a tint of -6 - so these are "by the numbers". Sometimes I do add a bit more warmth, but on this occasion - because of the blue background - any increase of warmth has a corresponding decrease in the saturation of the background.

[Alis]

Here's the control card shot from the session - can you differentiate all the grays around the centre?

Thanks, Colin. It is possible as I am looking at these on my work monitor. However, I can see all the shades of grey on the card she is holding.

In all of them, the flash seems to be uneven on the subjects, too much on the left of the picture, and less on the right side of the picture. Is that supposed to be so?