Outdor Portraits - Eliminating Lighting Variations On Main Subject

[Chris M.]

I shoot outdoor/environmental portraits. Down here in Sunny Florida it's REALLY tough to get those overcast days for perfect, even lighting. Here's a scenario. I place my subject in diffused shade for a great series of shots. No matter how hard I try, I often get results with subtle lighting differences across their face or body. Sometimes it's a little too harsh to justify enlargements, although my clients don't really notice and they order anyway (thank goodness).

When I look at the outdoor work of some of the successful portrait photographers out there, I noticed that they have an outstanding, even lighting effect, with creamy skin tones and a very balanced overall photograph. I can only assume they are using multiple lighting reflectors/translucent panels in their setups or doing some image processing work in PS.

What about post processing in Photoshop? What do you do to even out the lighting? Is there a specific process?

I want to move to the next level in my professional photography skill set, and lighting seems to be my biggest challenge. I need to improve to break into the seniors photography markets.

Thanks for the help!

[Linda G]

Chris,

Many of the studios our lab does business with have standard outdoor studio placements and they cannot wait for good weather. They have tent like structures raised high over the area to diffuse the light, keep them dry in rain and snow and generally seem to bring the indoors out (instead of the other way around!

They also may use studio lighting, reflectors or simple fill flash, depending on what they want/need. Most of them also are using the S2!!

[ianmcc]

nothing in Photoshop can replace proper lighting.

Getting some to hold a diffuse panel overhead is one of the simplest and easiest ways to even out the light.

Placing them in extreme shadow, natually occurring or created and then replacing the lighting on the subject with a soft even light is another solution.

here is a rather rough example of that, a softbox filling in someone who is back lit in sunshine. Then underexposing the ambinet to give you a richer blue sky.

http://www.ian.mb.ca/photos/sara.jpg

[cthornhill]

You have two general choices outdoors - additive or subtractive. You can add light to balance the ambient source, or subtract light to create the tonal effect you seek. Of course you can also do both, but generaly one or the other style dominates your approach.

Zucker is very good at both and has some great tutorials at his zugga.com site. One of the keys is to find naturally occuring areas of suitable light that require only a little modification.

Yes you can do a lot with a large scrim overhead to provide controlled 'open shade' on demand, but remember that someone has to set up and manage the scrim. This is not a little thing if you are using a typical 4' x 6' or 8' x 8' scrim. If there is even a slight amount of wind it gets wourse. That is why finding naturally occuring areas of diffsued light is pretty important for people working by themselves.

You will also have to decide how much fill you really want. This will hold true with a reflector or a flash. If you want the picture to look like it is really natural, and you don't want the subject to squint there are limits to the level of fill you will be able to use.

I work in Florida too, and the strong sun is a real challenge some times. I find that when I do use fill flash, I really prefer it to be pretty diffused so I try to use a larger source (softbox or umbrella), I at least use a diffuser on the flash most of the time. This is not allways possible, but it can help a lot. The best thing I have seen is to control the time you shoot, and to get to know several locations where you find generally favorable lighting. Lots of people I meet will only do outdoor sessions at specific times. Some of the folks who work the beach trade here (and have very successful studios) only work outdoors for two or three hours in the day at dawn or dusk.

General tip - try a large white reflector as a starting point. You can start with foamcore or a single sheet on a frame. This is not too harsh or hard to work with, and you will be amazed at how well it can do. As for pre-made reflectors and scrims, check out the california sunbounce, scrimjim from wescott, and bogen/manfrotto P22 and its other models, or the photoflex and calumet knock offs of this tool.

Photoflex has some web examples at their web school, and the shots on the california sunbounce site are also nice examples.

Good Luck,

Cecil

[Chris M.]

I've used the silver 42 inch circular reflector, and it was just too bright and specular. We had some success by bowing the reflector out to spread out the light a little more. My wife works with me as an assistant, and we're going to order a 42 inch white/gold reflector as well as a 72 inch rectangular white reflector kit with a stand (she'll hold it if necessary).

I'll see if I can post results fom using these reflectors at some point.

[Don65Stang]

Cecil,

I couldn't get the zucker site to pull up. Could you post the link?

What is the best way to use fill flash for outdoors where it is fairly bright?

I generally shoot manually at 125 and close down the aperature as necessary and / or low ISO depending on the DOF I'm after. What flash settings do you use when shooting with a fill flash?

[Linda G]

http://www.zuga.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=43

That's the whole lighting forum, it's in there somewhere! Happy hunting!

I believe it's like this forum, you can read without joining, but cannot post.

[Don65Stang]

Thanks, Linda.

[cthornhill]

Thanks Linda - I did not see Don's post until this evening. There is lots of stuff at Zuga, but you do have to search for it. Monte has done some nice columns in Shutterbug over the years too.

Chris - I agree the silver reflector is often too much. My wife also assists on many shoots and working the reflector is allways a challenge. It is often hard for her to see just what I do from the camera position, and you run into the 'no my other left' (well I do, I have trouble that way...). I find I often use the white or white gold cover for my outdoor stuff.

You can also clip material over the silver reflector to soften it. This is done often on film shoots.

I think you will like the rectangular reflector. I prefer them in some ways, but I still carry a round most of the time since it is easier to pack up.

I think digital makes the whole thing a bit interesting, since lots of the subtractive tricks involve letting areas of the scene blow out, and of course digital leaves little room for adjustment in highlights even in RAW.

I fight with this all the time, and I really feel lots of the struggle is to learn to read the light and know what spots on the location will work. I think learning where not to try to shoot (and when) can be almost as important as learning where and when to shoot. I often find I have to stop myself from doing someting I know does not work well since it is so easy to feel you can overcome the issues with technique. Instead I am trying to make myself see alternatives that won't require as much gear, or post processing. It is a lot like exposure (IMO) - there is just no substitute for getting it right - everything is easier if you start with the right light/exposure/focus - then you can concentrate on the subject not the technical stuff. Most people I know who shoot a lot outside have locations they return too since they know how to make them work.

Good Luck,

Cecil

[cthornhill]

If you dig on zuga you can find some nice example lessons in the 'free lessons' area like http://www.zuga.net/article_57.shtml

This shows some typical Monte tricks (shooting from dark to light and using diffusers or reflectors for background and light at the same time).

I hope this helps.

Cecil

[stevebri]

Working with mixed lighting is not easy. It's not easy because in bright sunny places the light is very strong and you need a lot of power to 'kick' light back to make it eaven.

Many photographers get the uneaven look simply because their flash is too weak. If you shoot with your S2 you can only synch at 125th sec... I'll do the tech stuff in a moment but first here is an example.

This was shot using a 500w/s (guide no. 82meters @ ISO100) studio strobe powered off a car battery. It was powered down a little because the day was quite cloudy.

To really show this light you have to UNDEREXPOSE the background i.e. your natural light. So if natural light on your meter (or spot from a mid tone using your S2) is say 125th at f8, then set it at f11 (under 1 stop) or f16 (under 2 stops) depending on how moody you want it to look.

Then set your flash to f8 on the models face.

Part two to follow....

[crabby]

Nice work Steve, as always. What kind of portable strobes are you using?

[stevebri]

Thanks Mike,

I now use a Hensel Porty which is 1200w/s and instead of the Hensel head I have a converted Profoto head.

I shot this with Bowens Traveller using a Sitched Mode Power supply (basically a small box that coverts 12v or 24v DC to be used in the light.)
Through a shoot thu brolly.

I will be selling all my Bowens Travellers in the UK when I visit in March...

Steve