Charby Secrets Garden

[u2nofear]

What's CMI?

I think the hard light didn't work here, the images are neither high/mid/low key exactly for the lighting presented and the model's positioning. Part of the problem of shooting studio as a group would be not being able to change the light settings/position yourself (esp if you're new at this or you don't own the lights).

#2 was a good effort, work from there

CMI = Can not Make It

So the direct flash or bounce flash light can compensate the harsh light ?..The reason choose the low key without flash, cause background totally black i don't like bounce flash to see the background :cry:...

 

[aselley]

#1

Firstly its great to see a model actually smile, too often they have a pained look of indifference so it's nice to see her showing teeth...it's even better that they are white and straight.

But since she is smiling lets get some highlights in her eyes, use a reflector and really light up her smile. And bring her left eye out of the shadow of her hair...unless you were trying to go for the sultry look of one eye obscured in which case let the hair fall further over the eye.
PP the stray hairs on the bridge of her nose away...there are only four but they do stand out, while at "heal" away the loose hairs on her right cheek.

I was going to suggest PP the white and blue reflection points in the lower right away but the more I look at the photo the more I realise the balance is all wrong. The photo has her smiling face ringed in darkness, which helps highlight her smile but then at the bottom we have OOF boobs and lace...there is nothing to lead the viewer from one lit area to the next, instead they look like two seperate areas and not a consistent and thought out shot.

You could either try to mask the lower half in PP so it is also very shadowed and hinted at, or actually crop the photo square to bring the focus back to her smile and remove the seperation in the image.

Just some thoughts, and based on current exchange rates probably only worth 1.5c

 

[nemesis32]

hmm... seems like lighting conditions arent that good. Most of teh shots i see are not well shot. Would like to see how others performed.

 

[JayKay]

hmm... seems like lighting conditions arent that good. Most of teh shots i see are not well shot. Would like to see how others performed.

The lighting was more than adequate. This was TS's 1st studio shoot and he had to cope with a very fast pace because the models were churned out onto the runway and then to the studio segment in very quick succession. In 2 hours I shot 1048 pics, not counting those deleted on the spot. Whilst my photos are not well-shot either, I will post one photo each without post-processing from different areas to show what I mean, with due apologies to the TS. All were at iso400 except for #2.

At Beginning of Catwalk (stage floodlighting)

At near end of Cat walk (Stage floodlighting) iso800 was sufficient to freeze swirling ornaments

Holding area (500W hot light)

"Outside" area (Studio hot light)

To TS: I hope you don't mind this intrusion of my photos on your thread for which I sincerely apologise. I will remove them in a couple of days.

 

[Deadpoet]

The lighting was more than adequate. This was TS's 1st studio shoot and he had to cope with a very fast pace because the models were churned out onto the runway and then to the studio segment in very quick succession. In 2 hours I shot 1048 pics, not counting those deleted on the spot. Whilst my photos are not well-shot either, I will post one photo each without post-processing from different areas to show what I mean, with due apologies to the TS. All were at iso400 except for #2.

I gues to each their own, and I can it see does not take much at all to satisfy you, that is if you find the lighting more than adequate.

Others have already pointed out how bad the lighting was, but if it's good enough for you, it's good enough for you.

 

[JayKay]

I gues to each their own, and I can it see does not take much at all to satisfy you, that is if you find the lighting more than adequate.

Others have already pointed out how bad the lighting was, but if it's good enough for you, it's good enough for you.

I do find the lighting more than sufficient for me. Thank you for agreeing to disagree.

 

[u2nofear]

there is some improvement of lighting for my pic, if the lighting come with the softbox will be better ?

 

[alexj]

i suppose the runway segment was pre-lit? -> so no tweaking or shifting or adding of lights (other than if possible, your own ext. flash)? 1 model rundown to a group of photographers?

as for studio segment, do you have control over positioning of lighting and accessories, if so over what time frame? or shared shooting also amongst a group of photographers?


the answers give a sense as to how much time is at all available to adjust, tweak, diffuse, cut, fill, etc, the lighting to suit your composition. Lighting is about control and placement. Putting a softbox doesn't suddenly make a WOW image.
It is more effort and finese to make a hard light work for the shot and even more so when you're not shooting the shot alone; a shift in position of the model or photographer is enough to make or break the shot (lighting wise).
Black bkground, a model with black hair and black lingerie, you better have more than 1 light or choose a damn good placement to get a shot that works.

 

[JayKay]

there is some improvement of lighting for my pic, if the lighting come with the softbox will be better ?

It is the same lighting. A softbox does change the quality of light. It is meant to diffuse the light i.e. it will not be as harsh. It is all a matter of pose and positioning that controls how the light falls on the subject. I have substituted a full body length shot for pic #2 where you can see how I tried to shield the harsh light and have more even lighting on most of the body but there are still blown areas in the shoulder and waist areas near the light. You control the ratio between the studio light and the ambient with shutter speed i.e. the slower the shutter the more ambient light shows. The pic was at 1/8 sec which is a little dicey to hand hold.
Btw, re your previous question on bounce flash, it will not work because the black surfaces will absorb the flash light. Also, there is a difference of colour temperature and you end up with mixed lighting. That's why I turned off my flash after a test shot.

i suppose the runway segment was pre-lit? -> so no tweaking or shifting or adding of lights (other than if possible, your own ext. flash)? 1 model rundown to a group of photographers?

Yes. A stage lighting team was brought in and they did a good job of lighting the catwalk.

as for studio segment, do you have control over positioning of lighting and accessories, if so over what time frame? or shared shooting also amongst a group of photographers?

Each model comes over right to the holding area right after 4 runs on the catwalk so there isn't time to adjust lights and measure with a light meter. Also there were 4 photographers in each group.

the answers give a sense as to how much time is at all available to adjust, tweak, diffuse, cut, fill, etc, the lighting to suit your composition. Lighting is about control and placement. Putting a softbox doesn't suddenly make a WOW image.
It is more effort and finese to make a hard light work for the shot and even more so when you're not shooting the shot alone; a shift in position of the model or photographer is enough to make or break the shot (lighting wise).

Agreed.

Black bkground, a model with black hair and black lingerie, you better have more than 1 light or choose a damn good placement to get a shot that works.

Adding a snoot for hair or rim light would work but it needs to be adjusted for each pose and change in position. There wouldn't be time for this. Photographers will just have to direct the model and control their exposure settings properly and do all quickly if they are not to become a bottleneck. Actually, the main event is on the runway and my guess is the organiser set up the 2 other areas so the photographers waitng their turn have something to do and not crowd those shooting at the runway. In otherl group shoots in studios, photographers are left yakking or twiddling their thumbs whilst waiting. I think it is a good move.

 

[Zeisser]

Unless it's a individual private shoot I doubt the organizer allows the shifting or re-positioning
of the lighting setup.

Just wondering were you guys queueing to take turns to shoot or just crowding
around for a good angle ? Imagine taking 1000 over shots.... geezus ! This I can't
fanthom.

 

[JayKay]

Unless it's a individual private shoot I doubt the organizer allows the shifting or re-positioning
of the lighting setup.

Just wondering were you guys queueing to take turns to shoot or just crowding
around for a good angle ? Imagine taking 1000 over shots.... geezus ! This I can't
fanthom.

No time to adjust lighting. No queues, no waiting. Just non-stop high revving action. Plus imagine hand-holding a 70-200 for 2 hours all the while. That's the way I shoot fashion shows.
Matter of co-operation, fast composition and focus, short and sharp instructions and fast model response. Luckily, all the models were well prepared and trained. Actually, I take my hat off for them cause it's more energy sapping than doing 4 shows in 5 hours.

 

[Zeisser]

No time to adjust lighting. No queues, no waiting. Just non-stop high revving action. Plus imagine hand-holding a 70-200 for 2 hours all the while. That's the way I shoot fashion shows.
Matter of co-operation, fast composition and focus, short and sharp instructions and fast model response. Luckily, all the models were well prepared and trained. Actually, I take my hat off for them cause it's more energy sapping than doing 4 shows in 5 hours.

Oh I see..hmmmm...interesting.

 

[u2nofear]

ok take 1 , could be my pp problem, and skill composition angle ?:cry:

ok see this take2 (catwalk), with flash...better ?

#1

#2

#3

 

[u2nofear]

Jaykay..thanks help for explaining about the lighting , you can put your photos here for comparison...

 

[JayKay]

Jaykay..thanks help for explaining about the lighting , you can put your photos here for comparison...

No sweat, buddy. Thanks for the permission but it's your show and I will now leave it to the experts here to critique your photos. For mine, I get enough from my full-time critique, my wife.:cheers:

 

[alexj]

@ JayKay.
Thanks, that paints a pretty good picture of what happened.

 

[yilishengxian]

Yes. A stage lighting team was brought in and they did a good job of lighting the catwalk.

These lighting doesn't look good for a catwork.

Each model comes over right to the holding area right after 4 runs on the catwalk so there isn't time to adjust lights and measure with a light meter. Also there were 4 photographers in each group.

There's no chance for u to adjust lights, and no time to measure with a light meter during a real catwork. + there'll be lots of photographers during a fs ...

=/=

Very different ...

 

[JayKay]

These lighting doesn't look good for a catwork.

I was replying to a query on illuminance levels not creativity in lighting. Whilst I did not take measurements with a photometer and checked measurements against IES recommendations, it was imho good enough to photograph models from the end of the catwalk. I was not referring to lighting it like normally done for a fashion show where the audience is viewing from all around. At any rate, it was a long way better than the fashion shows in malls and clubs that had "invited" photographers to go shoot.
Otoh, I have not had a discussion about lighting specifications for decades and always wanted to learn about stage/theatre lighting. So, if the TS does not object, can you tell us what would you consider good catwalk lighting?

There's no chance for u to adjust lights, and no time to measure with a light meter during a real catwork. + there'll be lots of photographers during a fs ... QUOTE] We were discussing adjusting studio lights in the holding area not the catwalk. Please read preceeding posts and follow the line of the discussion before replying to a post.

 

[yilishengxian]

I was replying to a query on illuminance levels not creativity in lighting. Whilst I did not take measurements with a photometer and checked measurements against IES recommendations, it was imho good enough to photograph models from the end of the catwalk. I was not referring to lighting it like normally done for a fashion show where the audience is viewing from all around. At any rate, it was a long way better than the fashion shows in malls and clubs that had "invited" photographers to go shoot.
Otoh, I have not had a discussion about lighting specifications for decades and always wanted to learn about stage/theatre lighting. So, if the TS does not object, can you tell us what would you consider good catwalk lighting?

Oh? Even the FS in malls have enough lumience for photography even without flash (less a minority of them).

We were discussing adjusting studio lights in the holding area not the catwalk. Please read preceeding posts and follow the line of the discussion before replying to a post.

Yes, but if it was possible in those conditions to get a proper exposure, how is it, when in a controlled environment, you couldn't have done so.

 

[JayKay]

Oh? Even the FS in malls have enough lumience for photography even without flash (less a minority of them).Yes, but if it was possible in those conditions to get a proper exposure, how is it, when in a controlled environment, you couldn't have done so.

Exactly, lighting is not the problem here. I did not have problems shooting without flash and used only the lighting provided throughout. However, shows in local malls would not be a defination of good lighting either. None I have watched have the correct spread or even distribution of light.