"School of Portraiture" - Lesson 05 - Introduction to Flash & Some Inspiration!

[Sam Smith]

Good Evening Colin,

Thanks for the reply. I knew it would not be a cheap hobby and I don't mind the expense. The gear will last as long I take care of it and yes the better the gear the better the result. That should go without saying. I am sorry if something was missed on my last post. She reads the threads because she likes seeing the photos and we have discussions on some of them ourselves. I am looking for a flash unit now. I am leaning toward the Canon 580 ex ii with the off camera mount. Which cost over $520.00 in the US. (This is going to cost me a couple Coach purses, I can feel it.)

[Colin Southern]

Good Evening Colin,

Thanks for the reply. I knew it would not be a cheap hobby and I don't mind the expense. The gear will last as long I take care of it and yes the better the gear the better the result. That should go without saying. I am sorry if something was missed on my last post. She reads the threads because she likes seeing the photos and we have discussions on some of them ourselves. I am looking for a flash unit now. I am leaning toward the Canon 580 ex ii with the off camera mount. Which cost over $520.00 in the US. (This is going to cost me a couple Coach purses, I can feel it.)

Hi Sam,

No worries ... as I mentioned in my PM, it's something I wanted to addesss anyway

If you're going to jump in "boots and all" with regards to a flash setup then don't muck around - get the 580EX II and a PocketWizard TT1/TT5 combination (and the other stuff); for this kind of work you'll be shooting into an umbrella which takes quite a lot of energy (even my dual head rig with external power doesn't always recycle fast enough). Happy to help with any links etc that you might need.

[Sam Smith]

Thanks I am sure I will have bunch of questions.

[Sam Smith]

Here is my feable attempt at PP. Very new to CS5 and Lightroom3. My wife says you have hit me with a baseball bat to get though, so batter up and swing away.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Sam,

Looking good ... just a couple of things:

1. The background is dull and boring; for a portrait, it really needs to contribute something positive to the image.

How does this background compare to yours?



2. On my monitor (which is possibly a little out of tune) your lovely wife's skin tones and shirt are looking quite washed out. I'd suggest opening the image in CS5 ACR again, and raising the blacks slightly (just don't make the hair too dark), and then lower the brightness control and watch the detail appear in the face and shirt. Lastly, you might like to tweak the exposure slightly upwards (but not too much).

[Sam Smith]

Thanks Colin for the suggestions. I will apply them tonight and hope to retake them this weekend with a better background.

Sam

[Sam Smith]

Here is again. I am not sure it is the same photo but I did apply the points Colin suggested. Please let me know what you think. I do know the background is boring.

[Colin Southern]

Here is again. I am not sure it is the same photo but I did apply the points Colin suggested. Please let me know what you think. I do know the background is boring.

Hi Sam,

Too heavy handed I'm afraid ... you've lost all hair detail, and it's looking too dark overall (but the skintones aren't washed out anymore).

Why don't you try adjusting it to look like my version?

[Sam Smith]

Hi Sam,

Too heavy handed I'm afraid ... you've lost all hair detail, and it's looking too dark overall (but the skintones aren't washed out anymore).

Why don't you try adjusting it to look like my version?

Here is the problem I am having trying t get this one to look like yours. The arrows are pointing to a area that always shows up when I am adjusting the black slider and the exposure. I cannot get it to go away no matter what I do with it.

[Crovean]

I have done this portrait before lesson 5 but waited till this lesson come up to show my practice shot with my friend's daughter.

Please let me know how I did and I always welcome comments for improvements.



I know the background wasn't the best but it was the only place available at that time.

[Colin Southern]

Here is the problem I am having trying t get this one to look like yours. The arrows are pointing to a area that always shows up when I am adjusting the black slider and the exposure. I cannot get it to go away no matter what I do with it.

Hi Sam,

It looks like it's a shadow. What lighting did you use for the shot? To be honest, I'm flying blind a little bit here in that I don't know how your wife's hair is supposed to look (I can't tell if that's highlights that's been added, or the start of noise I'm introducing by trying to reveal detail that just isn't there).

If you'd like to send me the RAW file, I'd be more than happy to have a closed look at it.

[Colin Southern]

I have done this portrait before lesson 5 but waited till this lesson come up to show my practice shot with my friend's daughter.



I know the background wasn't the best but it was the only place available at that time.

Hi Chriss,

I think that the technical side of the capture is excellent. If I had to nitpick I'd suggest getting the lighting around to camera right more to get more character in the lighting, but thats the only thing. Levels and skintones look good.

From a composition point of view, I like the pose, except for the tops of the legs that are showing; the same pose on a posing table (or improvised equivalent) might be a bit better (it could be cropped out, but that would cut other body parts off like the hand, arm, and more of the elbow, so I don't think that would work.

Background is pretty un-exciting, as you point out Imagine the same shot with the lady leaning on a fence, with a colourful sunset behind - would make a huge difference (and if shot to the same standard, would definately be of professional quality).

[Ricko]

Lovely portraits Colin!

Well I finally got the Spyder III through the post after some delay! So I'm now working on a calibrated monitor if I've followed the instructions correctly. Also got a grey card, just waiting for the weather as it's been horrid lately.

Notice you had the White Balance on Manual for all the shots Colin, did you set that up in camera with the use of the grey card or in PP?

[Colin Southern]

Hi Richard,

Lovely portraits Colin!

Thanks

Well I finally got the Spyder III through the post after some delay! So I'm now working on a calibrated monitor if I've followed the instructions correctly.

Hopefully more profiled than calibrated It'll be interesting to hear if you see any difference in levels.

Also got a grey card, just waiting for the weather as it's been horrid lately.

Grey weather to match the card eh?

Notice you had the White Balance on Manual for all the shots Colin, did you set that up in camera with the use of the grey card or in PP?

The camera was generally set for -2EC and 0FEC, so a lot more light coming from the flash than from the ambient light ... so I used a starting point of 5500 Kelvin (normal for flash), and then added another 300 Kelvin just to go on the warmer side a little. So after all the discussion on greycards and white balancing, this is one of those situations where it's not really needed as the source light is a known temperature. No reason it can't be done, but I think the skintones on that series were pretty close anyway (how do they look to you on your newly profiled monitor?)

[Ricko]

Hi Richard,



Hopefully more profiled than calibrated It'll be interesting to hear if you see any difference in levels.

Yup, definitely can see a difference! It was too bright before and had a yellow tint. Thats if I've Profiled it correctly.

The camera was generally set for -2EC and 0FEC, so a lot more light coming from the flash than from the ambient light ... so I used a starting point of 5500 Kelvin (normal for flash), and then added another 300 Kelvin just to go on the warmer side a little. So after all the discussion on greycards and white balancing, this is one of those situations where it's not really needed as the source light is a known temperature.

Thanks for explaining the setup

No reason it can't be done, but I think the skintones on that series were pretty close anyway (how do they look to you on your newly profiled monitor?)

They look even finer, if thats possible with your photography. lol


Well, I think I'll be starting a new thread in Image Post-processing and Printing very soon, as I can't seem to find the answers i'm looking for in previous posts!

[Ricko]

This one is my favourite Colin, love the effect you have created with the water and the lighting!!

[Colin Southern]

Well, I think I'll be starting a new thread in Image Post-processing and Printing very soon, as I can't seem to find the answers i'm looking for in previous posts!

We'll be waiting

If you're serious about colour management, grab a copy of Real World Color Management 2nd Ed. By Fraser, Murphy, and Bunting. It's the industry standard reference text.

[Colin Southern]

This one is my favourite Colin, love the effect you have created with the water and the lighting!!

Thanks

I had to stop down to F32 @ ISO 50 to get the shutterspeed down to 1/3 second (hand held @ 140mm!)) ... thank goodness for IS!

[Ricko]

We'll be waiting

If you're serious about colour management, grab a copy of Real World Color Management 2nd Ed. By Fraser, Murphy, and Bunting. It's the industry standard reference text.

Guess it will just have to be another mission to intercept the postman.

[Sam Smith]

Colin,

Here is the link to the raw file . I did buy a book on CS5 today. It is "CS5 for Phtographers" by Martin Evening, Focal Press. I will be reading for awhile.
https://www.sendthisfile.com/BYFOaXahDnsSgR0WcRjurxWQ