Saturday, January 16, 2010

Lighting Indoors Part 2


Yesterday I mentioned (in the sorry excuse for a video I posted) how you can use a couple of speed-lights and a large scrim, shower curtain, or white bed sheet, to create a giant soft-box. The photo of Megan above is an example of this every technique. Here's a diagram.

The speedlights are behind the scrim (it's huge- 7'x 7') which is clamped into place on two light stands. Just about a foot away from Megan is my small foam core fill card. Both flashes are set to full power and angled at 45 degrees pointing down to her on the floor. The effect is an overall soft nearly shadowless look that still provides some shape. Simple yet very effective.  The exposure is 1/160 @ f 3.5. Note that by defusing the light this much you do loose a few stops of light. I was going for a shallow depth of field so, the wide aperture wasn't a problem. I got all of her face in focus (including her great eye lashes) which was my goal. The 50mm lens blurs the background nicely while still allowing her body and legs to be decipherable and not a strange out of focus blob. Thanks Megan and Eva (yesterday's model) for the help!

Note: Still working on the SB-900 walkthrough. I changed my mind late in the day today and decided to do a video, but I want it mildly worth watching so it might take a few days to put it together. Stay tuned.


1 comment:

  1. I was waiting to see a diagram after reading your previous post. I've never commented before but I've just recently discovered your blog and it is very helpful. I rarely take the time to set up a shot- I prefer to go out looking for impromptu scenes to photograph, which, while exciting, doesn't really help my skills in manipulating lighting. Reading your blog is stirring in me a need to play. :D Thanks for writing it. :)

    ReplyDelete