Need tips for potraits at home

[sonofthesand]

Hi guys,
I have taken this shot in my room which has a dull yellow wall and the wall is rockstone type.
I used 2 flashes.
One flash with diffuser box, placed on the floor, behind the subject, pointing up about 60 degrees towards the wall, about 1/8 power, triggered by infra-red
2nd flash on camera, with diffuser, about 1/16 power, pointed towards subject.
Camera setting: f/1.8, 1/200 s, ISO 100
Camera: Olympus XZ-1
What can I do to improve this shot without any other additional equipments?

Removed

 

[Light Machinery]

1. Try using soft window light. Natural light gives nice tones & colors.

2. Get the subject to pose naturally.

3. Shoot kids when they are doing their own thing.

Here is a link of some of mine.

https://flic.kr/p/vz5Fjz

https://flic.kr/p/znPZGW

 

[Berkins]

The lighting is rather flat IMHO
Ok for passport photos but for something more interesting, perhaps you can try positioning the key light elsewhere?

 

[catchlights]

Just for this picture; Forget about putting a light for the background. That is secondary.
Get the main light off the camera. This is the key thing.

And for shooting portraits. Before you learn about using lighting set up. You should pay attention on how to pose your subject first.

Follow then, learn about what is good lighting, how to find good light from the available light, once you know how to find a good light, you will know how to re-create good light with your flash.

For now, is like you start running, but have not learn how to stand and walk. You may still able to learn how to run in this way after some time. But you miss out the most effective way of learning.

 

[swifty]

Everything catchlight said and in addition:

Your aperture setting seems odd. No need for it to be so wide open since you're using flash to light your subject and not ambient light. Stop down to your lens sweet spot. Unless you're playing with mixed lighting, your exposure settings should render a completely black image if the flash don't fire. The point of studio flash photography is lighting it with the flash.

Your main light is on the lens axis. You get a deer in headlights kinda look. It's popular with some genres of fashion but usually done with a ring light. As catchlight suggests if you take the main light off camera, pointing it at various angles create shadows on your subject that you can play with and creates a more 3-D look. You can even stay on-axis with the lens but come from a much higher angle. Experiment to see what various light placement does.

Since you're talking about existing equipment I won't go into various light modifiers. But even with your existing flash you can modify the light eg. By aiming it at a large white foam board or similar and bounce it onto your subject as your main light.

Forget the second light for now. If you're comfortable with the main light, think about fill light next. It doesn't have to be a second light. A reflector will do. Or a big white board or whatever you can find.

Get your subject away from the wall. Create some separation between subject and background. Of course you can have your subject right on the wall but I find you get all sorts of reflected light that things become difficult to control.

 

[sonofthesand]

Thank you all for your tips.

The photo was taken at night so no natural light.
The 2nd light is suppose to washout the background.
Was trying to do something like a high key photo shot.
And the photo was shot in my room so I don't have enough space to move the subject away from the background.

This is another shot I took.
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[catchlights]

Yes, you don't have the space needed, to get pure white b/g, the exposure of rhe background is +2 stops of your main light, and you need 2x camera to subject distant for the distant of subject to background. For not letting the background light affect your main subject.

Even now you know this principle, you need try many times to get it right.

 

[catchlights]

And to get even lit background you wanted, you need at least two flash to aim at the background evenly.