Today in the photos, you will see Lera, who is represented by Apple Models during her contract in Thailand. I did some tests with her on Tuesday afternoon, but I won’t focus on them today. I think I mentioned recently that I am slowly starting to think about changing my studio lamps, so I did some research to see what has changed. Conclusion: in some systems, a little has changed, while in others, almost …nothing has changed. This is definitely not an industry where you have to show something new every year to not fall behind the competition. I have been using my current lamps for 6 years and they are still great (except for one that is reluctant to flash after the recent falls). However, my blog posts would benefit from new equipment, and I would benefit from full remote control in all lamps (changing power of the lamp, of pilot light etc). I always said that this is one of the best improvements, and I still believe it.
On that photo shoot sometimes I used a stronger reflector, sometimes a weaker one, but regardless of that, all the photos were taken with a 135mm lens at F/8 aperture and ISO 80. The only exception are two strong close-ups of the face, but I will mention them later.
I have been changing the parameters of my speedlights remotely for years, as well as the main studio lamp. Unfortunately, my other studio lamps are not equipped with remote control. I chose them because they were very small, light, and had a large power adjustment – that was a priority for me few years ago At that time, all remotely controlled lamps were larger because only slightly more advanced models had remote control, as it was a novelty. Now, remote control no longer surprises anyone.
I still don’t know if my next lamps will be from the same company as my current ones (Jinbei) or another, but what this manufacturer has done with its latest radio transmitter is quite interesting. They created only one controller that works with all systems and allows you to change settings with your phone/tablet.
On the other hand, Broncolor (which is a completely different level of lamps, but that’s not the point here, it’s about innovations that didn’t exist years ago) has, among other things, the option to compensate for the power of all lamps simultaneously, so after changing the aperture or ISO, the power of all lamps can be adjusted simultaneously, and it’s done in a second. In addition, you can save your lighting setups, assign them to different studios, and activate them instantly. I don’t think it can be better than what they have come up with, and I would really like everyone to eventually solve this in a similar way.
Profoto doesn’t have such a developed application yet, but they will probably catch up eventually, and clearly mobility is very important thing in their studio lamps. They are designed so that even without any additional light modifiers, the light is partially softened, the housings are as compact as possible, and they have built-in angle adjustment. It’s unnecessary for me, but if I were doing wedding outdoor shoots or more reportage-style work, I would love this system even more.
Very often, instead of additional studio lamps, I use speedlights, in which I have remote control of the parameters, so I set up the entire lighting remotely on many shoots. However, in reportage-style shots, I don’t use light modifiers in the reflectors. I use bare lamps that shine straight at the model. However, I’m trying to move away from that and start using only studio equipment (which is what I did on the photos I’m showing today). Not because there’s anything wrong with that mobile equipment – I still love my speedlights and, for example, I still plan to use them for creating catchlights in the eyes and for filling in shadows. However, for the role of rim light, I like to use stripes softboxes with grids, and if I put them on speedlights, I would regularly run out of flash energy at my apertures and would have to compromise. That is, I would have to adjust the distance of the lamp from the model so that there is enough light, not so that it spreads in the way that suits me best at that moment.
Moreover, if you were to follow the descriptions of my photo sessions, you would easily notice that speedlights are always used for rim lights without light modifiers. However, when I use studio lamps for the same purpose, I always use stripes – there is probably not a single exception to this rule.
This photo and the next one were the only ones with a reduced aperture to F/4.5 to achieve a more portrait-like look. In addition, in their case, the lamp was brought closer to the model to get softer shadows.
Strip softbox
What was the reason for stopping the use of bare lamps without modifiers? Due to retouching, or rather the reduced need for it when using softer light. While the model doesn’t move much in beauty shots, it can be different in other photos, and a bare rim light has to hit just right to avoid any problems (and sometimes it’s just impossible to avoid them).
-
- Trzeba uważać, żeby część ucha nie rzuciła cienia w kierunku twarzy, bo będzie go trzeba usuwać w postprodukcji, albo twarz będzie wyglądała dziwnie.
-
- Włosy muszą być bardzo dobrze ułożone, bo każdy, który odstaje od głowy, będzie widoczny 1000 razy bardziej niż normalnie.
-
- Wszystkie włoski na twarzy mogą stać się od razu widoczne, nawet jeśli są tak delikatne, że normalnie ich w ogóle nie widać.
Often, none of these problems occur, and if they do, for example, in beauty shots, retouching won’t be significantly extended because of it – you just spend a lot of time on these types of photos anyway. But I don’t do only beauty shots.
In photos where the model changes poses a lot, there is basically no full control over the final effect when using undiffused light, because once the rim light hits perfectly, but with a different body position it can cause a shadow cast by the hair on the face or hit the cheek directly, bringing out its structure unnaturally, etc. With softened light, these drawbacks can also occur, but in a milder form and much less often. In addition, soft shadows can be completely invisible or not be a problem at all, while the sharp shadows from a bare lamp are always a problem. While it is possible to aim the lamps fairly accurately in beauty shots, in many other cases, it is not very precise. Moreover, photos other than beauty shots are edited much faster, and correcting the drawbacks of a bare lamp can constitute a huge percentage of the entire work.
Maximum efficiency
Recently, I thought it would be great to do a test shoot and not postpone the editing for later, but rather have all the photos selected, edited, and sent on the same day (or at the latest within 24 hours). I usually deliver a dozen or so photos from such sessions, so it wouldn’t be a big deal because the test photos have simple editing. The ones I posted here were edited on the day of the shoot and prepared for publication the next day after waking up. However, if a bare lamp shone on me, emphasizing something too much, I could either do a quick amateurish retouch, sacrificing quality, or do it properly, which would take me much longer. The first option is, of course, not an option at all – it would be better not to edit the photo at all. But that’s not a solution – a figure with sharp light looks much worse than usual, and after all, the point of test photos is not to show the model in a bad light.
I know myself well enough to know that fixing lighting deficiencies doesn’t give me any joy in retouching, and I often postpone it for later. In fact, I even postpone the selection process if the light in the photos doesn’t fully suit me. The selection process also takes longer because I wonder whether to choose a photo where the pose is perfect, but the rim light didn’t hit as it should, or a slightly worse pose, but with the light just as I wanted it…
The photos I take are not focused on quick editing anyway because of my preference for shadows and contrasts, I still use the main modifier with a maximum diameter of 90 cm. Larger ones in my studio have a thick layer of dust, and as for the main softbox, I haven’t had larger ones for years because I always end up reaching for the 90 cm one. In addition, I still choose a distance large enough to evenly illuminate the model, rather than to give very soft light. So maybe it’s a good time to compromise and start using a slightly larger main light for these types of photos? I’ll think about it.
The whole setup was very simple – a 90 cm octa (without a grid) + a 20 cm wide strip softbox with a grid. In addition, another lamp was placed on a chair, aimed at a black background. The light from this lamp was visible also on the model, so I covered it from one side. I changed the power of additional lamps depending on the shots – sometimes I wanted to have a brighter background, other times closer to black. The same was true for the rim light – it was very delicate in some shots.
That’s all for today. You can follow Lera on her Instagram. And me too! This is my account: instagram.com/thomas_voland.