On this article and the accompanying video, I’ll present you tips on how to create 4 distinctive portrait seems to be utilizing one gentle and v-flats.
Once I first grew to become fascinated by portrait pictures, one of many greatest hurdles for me was the virtually infinite quantity of kit choices. I used to be bewildered by the considered selecting lights, modifiers, stands, backgrounds, and even triggers. I made fairly a number of purchases, which I finally regretted, as a result of I believed a sure piece of substances would assist me obtain the look I noticed in different photographer’s work. It took me some time to study that creating dramatic and distinctive portraits does not require and ton of costly gear, and that’s the inspiration for this piece.
All the photographs on this article have been taken with a Nanlite FS-300, Angler 36″ deep parabolic softbox with grid, and two v-flats from V-Flat World. I shot the photographs with a Fujifilm X-T5.
Setup 1: Mild Positioned Digital camera Left
In Setup 1A, the sunshine is positioned to the left of the topic at roughly a 45-degree angle and set barely above his eye line. I used a black v-flat digital camera proper and the gentle field is fitted with a grid. By utilizing a black v-flat reverse my topic, his proper aspect is forged in pretty deep shadow. The grid additionally provides to the drama, as a result of it retains the sunshine from spilling across the topic and the background. This setup ends in deep blacks within the shadow areas, which, though dramatic, will not be ultimate relying in your objectives for the shoot.
This brings me to Setup 1B, which is strictly the identical as 1A, besides I’ve flipped the digital camera proper v-flat round in order that the white aspect is now going through the topic. Discover the large distinction this makes on the shadow aspect of the picture. The heavy shadows are eradicated, and a lot of the element can nonetheless be seen each behind the topic, in addition to round his legs and toes. Every thing turns into extra delicate by merely flipping the v-flat round as a result of as an alternative of absorbing the sunshine, the white v-flat bounces it again and fills within the topic’s digital camera proper aspect. I choose this over the primary setup typically, as a result of I don’t like when element is misplaced in pure black and like the delicate transition from lights to darks. There’s, nevertheless, a time and place for each of those, and it’s as much as the photographer to guage what’s finest for the actual scenario.
Setup 2: Mild Positioned Immediately Above
In Setup 2A, the sunshine is positioned straight above the topic and angled down at him. When the sunshine is correct above the topic’s face, the shadows will now fall below the chin, which helps to intensify the jaw line. This will provide you with outcomes much like utilizing a magnificence dish, however as a result of this modifier is bigger than a magnificence dish, the shadows will probably be much less harsh and the general impact extra delicate. Just like Setup 1, this setup will work nice for every part from full-length portraits to closeups. Usually, I deliberately place my topic proper in entrance of the backdrop as a result of I like how the shadows on the backdrop work together with the remainder of the picture, as within the picture under. You may simply, nevertheless, transfer the topic away from the background in the event you needed to isolate them with out utilizing the background as a distinguished a part of your picture. One drawback you’ll run into with this explicit lighting is that the sunshine from above will create “raccoon eyes,” that are deep shadows within the eye caves. There are a number of methods to keep away from this. First, you possibly can merely have your topic tilt their head up in direction of the sunshine, as I did right here. However what if you would like the topic wanting on the digital camera and likewise need to have gentle within the eyes? The reply is straightforward, and it’s what I name Setup 2B. Once more, I have not moved the sunshine, however as an alternative merely added a white v-flat white under in an effort to bounce the sunshine again into his face and eyes. As with earlier than, the white v-flat makes an incredible distinction within the total picture. One advantage of the V-Flat World product is that it may be folded right into a desk in your topic to lean on and can be utilized for some nice half-length portraits. One other wonderful cause to make use of this setup is as a result of it really works very well for headshots. Check out how gentle the transitions are from gentle to shadow, and the way flattering it’s for the topic. And all I needed to do was zoom in.
Setup 3: Mild Positioned Behind Topic
In Setup 3, I took the sunshine, positioned it straight behind my topic, and eliminated the grid. As a result of this setup will create a silhouette, I positioned him to take a profile picture. Though I needed a silhouette, I didn’t need him in full black, so as soon as once more, my v-flat got here to the rescue. I positioned a white v-flat in entrance of him, in an effort to bounce gentle again into his face. By doing this, I used to be in a position so as to add sufficient gentle on the entrance of the face in an effort to give me the power to edit it to style with out dropping all of the element within the shadows. I paid shut consideration to ensure I created a small triangle of sunshine on his cheek, form of like the form you get with Rembrandt lighting, as a result of I felt this gave my topic extra curiosity. Discovering the fitting publicity right here will probably be a problem as a result of in the event you “correctly” expose the entrance of the face, the remainder of the picture will probably be blown out. In the event you expose for the background, the face will probably be in full shadow. The reply right here is to experiment in an effort to discover a look that you simply like and that speaks to you artistically. I edited this explicit picture in Affinity Picture to carry out extra element and provides it an additional punch as properly.
Setup 4: Laborious Mild Up Shut
In Setup 4, I created a tougher and grittier look by eradicating the gentle field from the sunshine and as an alternative used only a naked reflector. The sunshine is positioned very near the topic, excessive above his head and angled down sharply. At first, my mannequin was carrying a black jacket, and I felt that the outcomes have been too darkish because the jacket absorbed a lot of the sunshine. I had him change out of the black jacket and right into a light-colored shirt, as a result of this can even make an enormous distinction within the ensuing pictures. Simply because the black v-flat absorbs gentle, black clothes will soak up it too, so at all times pay shut consideration to what your topic is carrying and the way the clothes can have an effect on the publicity. I additionally had him maintain a bit of white poster board below his face, simply out of the body, and added a white v-flat digital camera proper. The white poster board bounced gentle again into his face, and though the ultimate picture remains to be fairly dramatic with plenty of shadow, bouncing some gentle into the shadow areas helps retain the dynamic vary of the picture and makes it a lot simpler to edit with out crushing the shadows utterly.
Remaining Ideas
One mistake I made early on in my journey as a studio photographer was buying a modifier I’d find yourself utilizing solely as soon as. It is too simple to build up gear as we’re experimenting and looking for that elusive “excellent gentle.” As a substitute of shopping for a ton of lights and modifiers, get your self one good gentle and one modifier, and experiment with that till you possibly can see how the sunshine is falling on and round your topic. I’d extremely suggest getting a steady gentle just like the Nanlite I used for these pictures, since you see the ends in real-time, making it a wonderful instrument for studying how gentle falls on the human face. There are limits to steady lights, however they’ve come a good distance in the previous few years and lots of nonetheless photographers at the moment are utilizing them for portraits and headshots.
Seeing gentle is a talent that one can develop, similar to listening to and understanding music. Once I first began enjoying electrical bass as an adolescent, I’d hearken to music, however I couldn’t hear the bass line. It took a while and lively listening earlier than I used to be simply in a position to acknowledge the bass line in several genres of music. It then it grew to become the distinguished voice that I’d hear and nonetheless do to today. Understanding and seeing how gentle works is similar to this. Once I first began, I did not see most of the subtleties that I now see when creating pictures, and it took quite a lot of time practising in my studio in addition to finding out the work of photographers I love in an effort to start to acknowledge and internalize gentle. It’s a talent I’m nonetheless engaged on, in fact, and one we will develop all day lengthy just by observing the sunshine round us in any given scenario.
