Newbie to shooting studio. tips appreciated

[catchlights]

btw, what softer look you are talking about?

soft in focus? shooting in digital, you can go soft focus from sharp focus easily, but not the other round.

soft in lighting? aperture setting have very little efforts on this.

 

[jnet6]

you probably need to use at least ND 8x or higher power lens filter or if you want to shoot wide open aperture, or buy large sheets of ND gel on the studio strobe to cut down some lights.

Or position the strobe double the distance of original one.
(increase the distance of strobe to subject)

 

[catchlights]

Or position the strobe double the distance of original one.
(increase the distance of strobe to subject)

yes, but provided the studio is big enough.

 

[catchlights]

Btw, forget to add, the quality of lights will be different too.

 

[daredevil123]

Or position the strobe double the distance of original one.
(increase the distance of strobe to subject)

distance will also affect the quality of the light. the further away, the harsher it gets.

 

[Zeisser]

distance will also affect the quality of the light. the further away, the harsher it gets.

Shouldn't it be the further away the light from subject it gets softer unless one uses a spotlight
directly. Light bounced from reflector/umbrella will be disbursed in a wider arc of illumination.

 

[paulboh87]

just invest on some gel, dont cut the gel to fit to shape.
wrap the entire lightsource with gel. it will become soft like lampshade light

 

[catchlights]

Shouldn't it be the further away the light from subject it gets softer unless one uses a spotlight
directly. Light bounced from reflector/umbrella will be disbursed in a wider arc of illumination.

When the light is further from the subject, it become a much smaller light source then when it is closer to the subject previously.

 

[catchlights]

Example; the sun is so much larger the earth, but it is so far away, so you get a very harsh shadow on sunny day.
But you will get a very soft shadows on the cloudy day, even though the cloud is some much smaller than the sun, but it is so close to the earth than the sun.

 

[Shizuma]

Shouldn't it be the further away the light from subject it gets softer unless one uses a spotlight
directly. Light bounced from reflector/umbrella will be disbursed in a wider arc of illumination.

quality (softness ) of light is dependent on subject to light size ratio.

the intensity of light is dependent on subject to light distance

 

[Shizuma]

should I shoot Raw or JPg-cooked

 

[Cooling]

Thanks master daredevil!! It's a total different ball game when using studio lighting. Quite technical to perfect a shot! Think need to have the opportunity too. Anyway will read more and try more. 😊

 

[Cooling]

Thanks master catchlights but how dark & what colour? Does it need trial and error?

 

[Knowledge Bowl]

If you are invited to a studio shoot, this means that most of the things like models and theme are very much out of your control unless they ask you for suggestions.

A few guidelines, other than the ones mentioned above

(1) Don't hog your time slot for shooting, especially if you are shooting in a group. If you are given 3 minutes per angle, try to keep within that three minutes

(2) Most DSLRs can produce good results, not to be worried, even if the camera is an entry level camera. Good to know what you are shooting so you can prepare your lenses, or go rent one

(3) Pls don't change the lighting direction set by your friend during your turn of shooting, as others also need to shoot

(4) You may like to ask your friend if they are using wireless transmitter or cables, and whether you camera can use the cable

(5) Be courteous to the model

(6) Enjoy yourself


Cheers

Steven Yee

 

[Shizuma]

If you are invited to a studio shoot, this means that most of the things like models and theme are very much out of your control unless they ask you for suggestions.

A few guidelines, other than the ones mentioned above

(1) Don't hog your time slot for shooting, especially if you are shooting in a group. If you are given 3 minutes per angle, try to keep within that three minutes

(2) Most DSLRs can produce good results, not to be worried, even if the camera is an entry level camera. Good to know what you are shooting so you can prepare your lenses, or go rent one

(3) Pls don't change the lighting direction set by your friend during your turn of shooting, as others also need to shoot

(4) You may like to ask your friend if they are using wireless transmitter or cables, and whether you camera can use the cable

(5) Be courteous to the model

(6) Enjoy yourself


Cheers

Steven Yee

I've been generously given around half hour to run solo even lighting direction

thanks in advance for more tips

 

[catchlights]

Thanks master catchlights but how dark & what colour? Does it need trial and error?

depends on how much lights you want to cut down. Isn't it ND filter suppose to be neutral? What colors are you referring to?

Generally is not recommended to use ND lens filter in studio unless you don't have any issue of darken view finder, problem in focusing, etc.

 

[daredevil123]

Shouldn't it be the further away the light from subject it gets softer unless one uses a spotlight
directly. Light bounced from reflector/umbrella will be disbursed in a wider arc of illumination.

If I understand soft as diffused...

the closer the light source, the more soft (diffusion) it will be, but the stronger (intensity) it will be.

The further the light source, the harsher (diffusion) it will be, but the weaker (intensity) it will be.

 

[Zeisser]

Ah so guess have learnt the relativity of light then

 

[Shizuma]

If I understand soft as diffused...

the closer the light source, the more soft (diffusion) it will be, but the stronger (intensity) it will be.

The further the light source, the harsher (diffusion) it will be, but the weaker (intensity) it will be.

it's the apparent size of the light vs the size of the subject.

eg
a naked flash gun is big enough to illuminate a miniature figurine but harsh on full size human. because of their apparent size ratio...

studio lights don't have issue of not soft enough unless illuminating a group. I would need some help on illuminating a group. I've been told that I'll be setting up lighting to shoot 8 pax in studio which has 4 studio strobes

 

[daredevil123]

it's the apparent size of the light vs the size of the subject.

eg
a naked flash gun is big enough to illuminate a miniature figurine but harsh on full size human. because of their apparent size ratio...

studio lights don't have issue of not soft enough unless illuminating a group. I would need some help on illuminating a group. I've been told that I'll be setting up lighting to shoot 8 pax in studio which has 4 studio strobes

Yup.

To light up a group properly, place your light far away from your subjects. If you want it softer, then use a very big modifier.