Portrait Lighting Try-out

[Petros]

I got a Lastolite Speedlite softbox for Christmas, and with a house full of kids there were plenty of volunteers to practice on!

All were shot with the flash on a tripod to the left and slightly above.

Canon 30 D Canon 50mm 1.8 or Canon 70 - 300 IS USM lenses.









C+ C Welcome.

Peter.

[chodeva]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

#3 is a winner. Really love that one. the lighting is really great and no nasty shadows on the faces. even some nice catchlights in the eyes too. I think #2 portrait is a tad bit too light on the face. a little more contrast would have made a difference.I think the DOF in #4 is a little too shallow as the sharpness is around her knees/jeans. what aperture was used in the last one?

[colin C]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Isn't that just soooo much better than flash on camera?

Colin

[Petros]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Thanks Donald, appreciate your comments. No 2 was a matter of choice as it works well with less or more contrast - I opted for a lower contrast apart from the eyes for emphasis.

Peter

ps, the aperture setting for the last one was f2.5 if I remember - I was trying to blur out the background. I think the focus may be slightly in front of her face - problems trying to get her to sit still for more than a second!

[Petros]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Thanks Colin - for such a "simple" piece of kit it makes a huge difference, I just need to experiment with heights and angles. First step to some studio flash gear?

Peter

[Trevoreast]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Lastolite Speedlite softbox

Nice shots Peter, may I ask what model is your lastolite softbox.

Trev

[Petros]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Thanks Trevor, it's the Speedlite Ezybox (http://www.lastolite.com/ezybox-speedlite-softbox.php)

Peter

[Trevoreast]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Thanks for the quick reply Pete, I am after one of those flashgun mounted softboxes.
I can never make up my mind which one to get.

Do you think you need a bracket that maintains the softbox position when the camera was orientated portrait wise. ?
Trev

[Petros]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Not so far, there are two velcro straps, the first one is slightly elasticated so it can be pulled reasonably tight, the second goes over it and is a bit more rigid and does a good job of holding everything in place. It is also very light weight so doesn't tend to put strain on the flash gun.

Peter.

[Trevoreast]

Re: Portrait Lighting Try-out

Cheers for the info Peter
Trev