Figure that this would be in the finishing section.
My question is... what wattage are you using to light your model so that you can photo it?
Lighting for Photos
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kronos6948
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:40 pm
Right now I'm using a combination of different bulbs. The issue with lighting a subject for photography really isn't the brightness of the bulbs, but how many shadows you're casting onto your subject. If you can get several lights on your subject from different angles so that the whole thing is lit, the better the subject is going to look. Also, color temperature is important as well, as it can affect the color of the subject on film. A soft white bulb gives off a slightly yellow color which you'd probably have to adjust in post if your camera doesn't adjust for it (as mine does).
Granted, I'm no expert photographer, and you'll probably get a lot of advice that's better than mine on here, but at least I can give you a start.
Granted, I'm no expert photographer, and you'll probably get a lot of advice that's better than mine on here, but at least I can give you a start.
Lighting is qualified by three aspects.
1. Color - either the actual K temperature of the source, or by filtration
2. Quantity - how much/bright the light source is
3. Quality - how harsh or soft the light is
Today, color can usually be adjusted very easily with your digital camera or image editing software. I usually shoot a "gray card" image that I can use to calibrate the final photo
Quantity - the brighter the light, the shorter your exposure, or deeper your depth of field you can play with. Typically, for models, I use a fairly wide angle lens, get very close, and use a high depth of field (f11-f22)
Quality is the most important item for me. Even if you're using some simple table lamps for lighting, you can improve the quality of the light by adding some tissue paper over the front of the reflector, this will soften the shadows very nicely.
Also, I keep a selection of pocket mirrors and index cards handy to reflect light back into my subjects to add detail to the shadow areas of the models.
Hope this helps.
1. Color - either the actual K temperature of the source, or by filtration
2. Quantity - how much/bright the light source is
3. Quality - how harsh or soft the light is
Today, color can usually be adjusted very easily with your digital camera or image editing software. I usually shoot a "gray card" image that I can use to calibrate the final photo
Quantity - the brighter the light, the shorter your exposure, or deeper your depth of field you can play with. Typically, for models, I use a fairly wide angle lens, get very close, and use a high depth of field (f11-f22)
Quality is the most important item for me. Even if you're using some simple table lamps for lighting, you can improve the quality of the light by adding some tissue paper over the front of the reflector, this will soften the shadows very nicely.
Also, I keep a selection of pocket mirrors and index cards handy to reflect light back into my subjects to add detail to the shadow areas of the models.
Hope this helps.