Portable portrait setup - feedback please...

Themartymac · Apr 14, 2017

Hi Everyone,

I've been a hobby photographer for many years, but never got into studio work at all. I am a Fire Chief who manages a number of volunteer fire departments for a large region. I've recently picked up some cheap ebay gear to complement my existing camera bag, and would like to take formal shots of my volunteers at special events. I just did my first trial at a banquet last week, and the results are encouraging, but I would like some feedback before I try again. I'm not looking to ever do this for money, just a perk for my crews and a nice formal shot I can use for media and our website stuff.

My core gear list includes:

Canon 60D (2x lenses for this: Canon EFS 17-85 4-5.6 IS or Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5)

Canon 580EX & Canon 420EX with a Canon STE2 Transmitter

Neewer Speedlight Umbrella Kit & Backdrop (silver or white umbrellas)

This week I shot in a tight space with a low 8-9' ceiling, and had to keep my subjects and backdrop close. There was also a lot of variable ambient light from large windows on the right side and behind me. I set the 580 with white umbrella overhead slightly right at about 7-8', and the 420 with clear umbrella to the left square to chest at 6'. I used the Canon 17-85 lens at roughly 70-80mm. Here are some results shots:

I'm pretty encouraged for a first try at this, but a few questions:

1. General obvious/glaring recommendations on my hardware setup?

2. To hide the wrinkles on the backdrop, will simply moving it back further provide enough bokeh, or should I iron and roll the muslin backdrops?

3. White shirt techniques with cheap gear? Would cardboard held below the flash help at all? (This fellow has a very dark tan too, so even worse)

4. I shot Ettl auto this time, but will play with manual settings as I get more experience. They were slightly bright and some were a little washed out, but cleaned up well enough in PS. How best to meter for manual config without a dedicated handheld meter?

Any other feedback you feel would help?

Thanks in advance,

Marty

Jacques Cornell · Apr 14, 2017

Themartymac said:
Hi Everyone,

I've been a hobby photographer for many years, but never got into studio work at all. I am a Fire Chief who manages a number of volunteer fire departments for a large region. I've recently picked up some cheap ebay gear to complement my existing camera bag, and would like to take formal shots of my volunteers at special events. I just did my first trial at a banquet last week, and the results are encouraging, but I would like some feedback before I try again. I'm not looking to ever do this for money, just a perk for my crews and a nice formal shot I can use for media and our website stuff.

My core gear list includes:

Canon 60D (2x lenses for this: Canon EFS 17-85 4-5.6 IS or Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5)

Canon 580EX & Canon 420EX with a Canon STE2 Transmitter

Neewer Speedlight Umbrella Kit & Backdrop (silver or white umbrellas)

This week I shot in a tight space with a low 8-9' ceiling, and had to keep my subjects and backdrop close. There was also a lot of variable ambient light from large windows on the right side and behind me. I set the 580 with white umbrella overhead slightly right at about 7-8', and the 420 with clear umbrella to the left square to chest at 6'. I used the Canon 17-85 lens at roughly 70-80mm. Here are some results shots:

I'm pretty encouraged for a first try at this, but a few questions:

1. General obvious/glaring recommendations on my hardware setup?

2. To hide the wrinkles on the backdrop, will simply moving it back further provide enough bokeh, or should I iron and roll the muslin backdrops?

I use a travel-size clothes steamer to steam wrinkles out of my backdrops after I set them up on location. Doesn't remove them entirely, but helps.

Themartymac said:
3. White shirt techniques with cheap gear? Would cardboard held below the flash help at all? (This fellow has a very dark tan too, so even worse)

A softbox or octa with a grid, or a parabolic umbrella (e.g. Paul C. Buff PLM) will give you more control over where the light goes.

Themartymac said:
4. I shot Ettl auto this time, but will play with manual settings as I get more experience. They were slightly bright and some were a little washed out, but cleaned up well enough in PS. How best to meter for manual config without a dedicated handheld meter?

Any other feedback you feel would help?

Thanks in advance,

Marty

--
If you think digital is hard, try slide film.

Landscape & Wedding Photographer - Jacques Cornell

Jacques Cornell Photography - landscape, travel, portrait and art reproduction

jacquescornell.photography

Happening Photos - Event Photography in New York City

Event Photography in New York City and Around the World - conferences, sales meetings, fundraisers and more.

happening.photos

Sailor Blue · Apr 14, 2017

Your gear is limited but the problem is more in how you used it than in the gear.

The most generally useful portrait lighting setup is the one refereed to in this link as short lighting.

Portrait Lighting - Project 3 - Portrait Lighting Set-Ups

Short lighting slims the appearance of the subject, and none of us want to look fatter.

In the example see how the loop of nose shadow falls along the line between the cheek and the nose. That type of lighting is also called loop lighting.

Typically you start with the main light about 45° to the side and 45°. You may want to set the light so that you get perfect loop lighting with a subject about halfway between the tallest and shortest. If you do that it should be fine for all but someone who is really tall or really short, in which case you can quickly raise or lower it a few inches.

Adding a fill light next to but on the opposite side of the camera to the main light will help reduce the darkness of the shadows in the eye sockets.

Once you get the main and fill lights set to the right positions you can get your subjects to stand in the same place and angle to the camera by using paper footprints stuck to the floor. You can have them turn their head to the right angle to the camera by holding your hand out to the side, having them look at your hand, then follow your hand back to the camera with only their eyes.

Start with the main light in a white umbrella in the reflection mode. Place the 580 EX (II?) flash at the far end of the umbrella stem and set to the widest zoom setting. Position the umbrella so the opening of the umbrella is about 1.5 times the diameter of the open umbrella away from the subject.

If you tie a string to the umbrella bracket and a then tie a knot this distance from the umbrella opening it is easy to always position the umbrella the same distance from the subject so the exposure will always be the same.

Use the 430 EX (II?) for the fill light and again position it at the far end of the umbrella stem. Position the umbrella about 1.5 times the diameter of the open umbrella away from the subject. A knotted string should also be added to the fill light.

If the fill light umbrella is in front of the camera keep it far enough to the side that it isn't in the image. If it doesn't have a black backing clip a piece of black fabric to the back of the umbrella with clothespins so light from it can't reach the lens and cause lens flare.

Set the camera to Manual, 1/160sec shutter speed (safety factor to make sure the flashes sync), and f/5.6 or f/8.

Set the 580 EX main light to 1/4 of full power and the 430 EX fill light to 1/8 of full power. The power of the 430 EX is about 1 stop less than the 580 EX so these settings should make the fill light about 2 stops less bright than the main light.

With the camera's Highlight Alert turned on start with an ISO of 800 and reduce the ISO in 1/3 stop increments until the white shirt stops blinking. That is the correct JPG exposure.

It is the combination of highlights and shadows that give a flat photography a 3D appearance. Having the main and fill lights at the same intensities will give you flat lit boring looking 2D images. This is why you keep the fill light less bright than the main light.

If you think the shadows in the eye sockets are still too dark you can increase the power of the 430 EX fill light by 1/3 stops up to a maximum of 1/4 of full power. I wouldn't recommend increasing the power of the fill light any further. Recheck the exposure if you do this.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

vander · Apr 15, 2017

I think you're off to a good start. There are some inconsistent white balance issues you'd want to address. You can see the difference in background colour between the two images. To support that claim the bottom photo appears a little too red.

I'm not sure if you use a tripod or not, and this may have been intentional, but you should likely adjust your height when shooting. Chances are the female was shorter than the male but they both appear to be shot from the same camera height which resulted in a good height for the female but shooting up the nostrils on the male.

If you can pull them away from the background a little more than would help with your wrinkles provided you don't iron them as per suggested by the person above me.

You also may want to experiment with colour background. If you could, pull them off, slow the shutter speed down and you may get a darker background which might help pop the subject. However this would introduce its own issue of likely needing a rim light so the dark shirt of the female doesn't get lost.

You're off to a good start.

Hosko · Apr 15, 2017

For shots like this manual mode is ideal. The photo with the white shirt would meter differently to the much darker shirt in TTL. Your lighting setup isn't changing so dial it in yourself and get consistent results

Sailor Blue · Apr 15, 2017

vander said:
I think you're off to a good start. There are some inconsistent white balance issues you'd want to address. You can see the difference in background colour between the two images. To support that claim the bottom photo appears a little too red.

Good catch on WB.

I should have added, "set the camera's WB to Flash", to my list of Manual settings.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

photolando · Apr 16, 2017

Themartymac said:
Hi Everyone,

I've been a hobby photographer for many years, but never got into studio work at all. I am a Fire Chief who manages a number of volunteer fire departments for a large region. I've recently picked up some cheap ebay gear to complement my existing camera bag, and would like to take formal shots of my volunteers at special events. I just did my first trial at a banquet last week, and the results are encouraging, but I would like some feedback before I try again. I'm not looking to ever do this for money, just a perk for my crews and a nice formal shot I can use for media and our website stuff.

My core gear list includes:

Canon 60D (2x lenses for this: Canon EFS 17-85 4-5.6 IS or Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5)

Canon 580EX & Canon 420EX with a Canon STE2 Transmitter

Neewer Speedlight Umbrella Kit & Backdrop (silver or white umbrellas)

This week I shot in a tight space with a low 8-9' ceiling, and had to keep my subjects and backdrop close. There was also a lot of variable ambient light from large windows on the right side and behind me. I set the 580 with white umbrella overhead slightly right at about 7-8', and the 420 with clear umbrella to the left square to chest at 6'. I used the Canon 17-85 lens at roughly 70-80mm. Here are some results shots:

I'm pretty encouraged for a first try at this, but a few questions:

1. General obvious/glaring recommendations on my hardware setup?

2. To hide the wrinkles on the backdrop, will simply moving it back further provide enough bokeh, or should I iron and roll the muslin backdrops?

3. White shirt techniques with cheap gear? Would cardboard held below the flash help at all? (This fellow has a very dark tan too, so even worse)

4. I shot Ettl auto this time, but will play with manual settings as I get more experience. They were slightly bright and some were a little washed out, but cleaned up well enough in PS. How best to meter for manual config without a dedicated handheld meter?

Any other feedback you feel would help?

Thanks in advance,

Marty

I've been shooting on location portraits and headshots for over 20 years so I think I can add a few pointers.

For the purposes you did this for, these are pretty good. About what the average shooter would do. However, if you are going to do it a lot, get away from muslins and they either canvas or seamless paper. Maybe even the way behind them. Muslins are wrinkle monsters. I have never liked them myself. I have a blue old masters 7 foot wide canvas I have used for these past 23 years. Still looks very classy in any shot. Portrait or headshot.

I like a hair/separation/kicker light. I personally would use a large reflector for oil and use the other light for a hair/separation/kicker light. Gives the subject a little more 3 dimensional quality. I place my separation light in the opposite corner of my main and up a bit pointing down at the back of the subjects head. I use a strip box for this as well. I don't like my hair light right over head.

Get away for TTL. You will NEVER be consistent with it. Learn how to obtain a correct exposure and use that same setting for every subject. As long as you don't bring the subject or light any closer or further away from one person to the next, they will ALL be exposed the same and cut down on "fixing" it later. A simple exposure target like the tritone ones so many sell are great for this. I do use a meter to set my lights but I use a tritoned card from X-rite to get my custom color balance and to obtain a working exposure.

X_Rite_M50103_ColorChecker_Gray_Scale_Card_1233051302000_465294.jpg

I have my subject hold it just under their nose, tilted down just a tad with the white strip on top. I give it as much exposure as I can until I just start to see the over exposure blinkies in the white strip. Then a shut down a 1/3. Yes, for all those who say "but with raw you can get more". Whatever. I shoot mostly jpeg (have to most times) and the preview IS a jpeg and my shots are pretty much dead on every time. Works for me. And I work a lot. My color is right. My exposure is right. All I ever have to do, for the most part, is crop and any retouching for lines, bags, stray hairs, etc. IF I have time (single headshot), I will shoot raw. But some times I'm shooting up to 50-80 headshots a day (corporate events). Sometimes more.

--
Mike

BAK · Apr 16, 2017

1. camera too low or people too high. We do not want to look up their nostrils.

2/ a bit of powder on faces does a lot to reduce glare

3/ the 420EX does not do much in manual, but the transmitter may permit some adjustments

4/ No body cares about a plain background. Put them with a firetruck if you want the local paper to publish a shot.

BAK

Sailor Blue · Apr 16, 2017

photolando said:
<snip>
I like a hair/separation/kicker light. I personally would use a large reflector for oil and use the other light for a hair/separation/kicker light. snip>

Sailor Blue · Apr 17, 2017

BAK said:
1. camera too low or people too high. We do not want to look up their nostrils.

2/ a bit of powder on faces does a lot to reduce glare

Another good point, and it is for men as well as for women.

I keep a several packs of oil absorbing tissues I bought at a 7-11 (available at any makeup counter, drugstore, 7-11, etc.). I open a pack give a sheet to any subject that has any shine on their skin so they can blot (NEVER RUB - it makes the face red) the oil off their skin (they get the rest of the pack when finished).

After removing the surface oil I brush on a trace of Clinique Transparency 3 powder using a clean sterile brush. I keep brushing until I can't see any powder on the face. The trace left will kill the reflections but doesn't show up in photos. If you see tiny orange balls of powder there was still oil on the skin so start over.

Between subjects I rinse the brush for a couple of minutes in rubbing alcohol, shake it out, then let it air dry. Caution: Rubbing alcohol is flammable.

BAK said:
3/ the 420EX does not do much in manual, but the transmitter may permit some adjustments

4/ No body cares about a plain background. Put them with a firetruck if you want the local paper to publish a shot.

BAK

photolando · Apr 17, 2017

Sailor Blue said:
photolando said:

<snip>

I like a hair/separation/kicker light. I personally would use a large reflector for oil and use the other light for a hair/separation/kicker light. snip>

Click to expand...

photolando · Apr 17, 2017

Sailor Blue said:
BAK said:

1. camera too low or people too high. We do not want to look up their nostrils.

2/ a bit of powder on faces does a lot to reduce glare

Click to expand...

Another good point, and it is for men as well as for women.

I keep a several packs of oil absorbing tissues I bought at a 7-11 (available at any makeup counter, drugstore, 7-11, etc.). I open a pack give a sheet to any subject that has any shine on their skin so they can blot (NEVER RUB - it makes the face red) the oil off their skin (they get the rest of the pack when finished).

After removing the surface oil I brush on a trace of Clinique Transparency 3 powder using a clean sterile brush. I keep brushing until I can't see any powder on the face. The trace left will kill the reflections but doesn't show up in photos. If you see tiny orange balls of powder there was still oil on the skin so start over.

Between subjects I rinse the brush for a couple of minutes in rubbing alcohol, shake it out, then let it air dry. Caution: Rubbing alcohol is flammable.

Sailor Blue said:

3/ the 420EX does not do much in manual, but the transmitter may permit some adjustments

4/ No body cares about a plain background. Put them with a firetruck if you want the local paper to publish a shot.

BAK

Click to expand...

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

I agree with both. I always have a small fold up stool I use on anyone my height or taller. Bought it at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Folds up flat so it's easy to take with. But it puts me just a tad higher and makes anyone look just a little nicer since they have to raise their head a bit and gets rid of any double chin. Even if they aren't overweight they can still have some.

BTW, I always have my subjects stand when I do my headshots. Takes away any chance of them slouching. Way easier than sitting for so many reason.

Loading…

www.mikecollinsstudio.com

--
Mike

Themartymac · Apr 17, 2017

Fantastic! Thanks for the thorough response. I did try to use the short setup (hadn't seen that terminology, so thanks for the link), but It sounds like I had the lights reversed. I had the 580 as main high overhead, and the 420 as fill to the side and level. So it sounds like I should swap that around?

And thanks for the exposure guidelines. I'll give that a try next time, as shooting auto was definitely too hot but I didn't want to ruin the entire result on my first try gambling on exposures. I was thinking of setting up the gear in one of our empty training rooms and using a CPR mannequin on a stool as a test subject. Judging by your example link, that might work great for practice.

And I did use a tape line at the angle I wanted for them to stand and it worked great, but I like the idea with the hand and then having a bit of angle to the face. That sounds like it really would help avoid the flat washed-out faces even more.

Thanks again for taking the time to help!

Themartymac · Apr 17, 2017

Thanks, the steamer idea sounds pretty reasonable I'll hunt around and see what I can scrape up.

The softbox may be in the near future. I'm sure i will want better lights eventually, but since this is just a fun thing on the cheap, I hope to learn the basics - with the basics so to speak. I have boxes of random stuff acquired when my gadget impulse takes over, and it never sees the light of day anymore. lol

Thanks!

Themartymac · Apr 17, 2017

Thanks. I did use a tripod at first with my remote, but ditched it part way through after realizing how slow and difficult it was to adjust the height between subjects (Landscape photographer habits). In hind sight, I think the vertical battery grip would certainly be more useful anyway when shooting mostly portrait like this.

I did have a moment where I thought I should try a little constant lamp on the corner of the backdrop to try and get some colour transition, but quickly decided simpler was the better way to learn. Less variables. I will definitely try to increase the separation next time, and if I set up a test studio in an empty dorm at work, I can play around with the lighting arrangements...

Thanks Again!

Themartymac · Apr 17, 2017

Definitely! I was just nervous about ruining the whole batch, so figured I would get something usable in auto, and then I could examine the best ones to see the exposure setup the camera chose most often. It seemed to coincide with everyone's recommendations so far. I have been burned before when the images look OK on the camera LCD, but when I get home, they are disappointing on the PC.

And yeah, the white shirt and his dark tan really messed that one up. That sample was darkened a lot just to make it usable. Next time I'll try manual, and probably bracket the white shirts just to ensure I get something decent.

Thanks,

Themartymac · Apr 17, 2017

Thanks. I just grabbed a cheap light & backdrop kit off ebay to start with, and it came with a white and grey muslin. I'm sure I will migrate to some better stuff down the road, but since this is just a freebie for my volunteers, I can't justify much cash into it. The canvas ones I looked at were quite costly (more than I paid for everything for just one backdrop), and the paper seemed like it would be a pain to transport. I got the 10' wide kit so I could shoot full head to toe as well, and three of four wide for some of them. I need the stuff to fold or roll and fit into my 6' pickup bed. A canvas would be nice for down the road though.

And I like the card idea. I can grab one of those and throw it in the kit. And a third light will probably be in the near future once I get used to the basics. I'm prone to gadget envy, so I have to pace myself, lol

Thanks again!

Themartymac · Apr 17, 2017

Thanks I definitely noticed that night that handheld over the tripod let me adjust the height better between subjects. I think I'll stick with that going forward to make sure I can get the angle right every time. I might need a box to stand on for the really tall ones?

And we do the "firetruck" shots for most media and local promotion, but I want to have a nice semi-professional shot of each member on the wall in each hall, and for the younger ones to send to grandma at Christmas. Helps encourage them to see themselves as professional and part of something important.

Thanks!

BAK · Apr 17, 2017

... wearing her firefighte's hat, on her firefighters' truck, preferably with the station's firefighter dog.

Andie used to belong to a Fire Marshal in Canada, who used to be a Fire Chief. I just asked her about grannies, and that's what she reported.

Put > Joe McNally NYFD < into Google and then click on Images, and see what you can learn about pictures of firefighters.

Anyway, if you don't change your mind, at least the height tip and the powder tip are still good ones.

Andie used to hang around firefighters.

Sailor Blue · Apr 17, 2017

Themartymac said:
Definitely! I was just nervous about ruining the whole batch, so figured I would get something usable in auto, and then I could examine the best ones to see the exposure setup the camera chose most often. It seemed to coincide with everyone's recommendations so far. I have been burned before when the images look OK on the camera LCD, but when I get home, they are disappointing on the PC.

And yeah, the white shirt and his dark tan really messed that one up. That sample was darkened a lot just to make it usable. Next time I'll try manual, and probably bracket the white shirts just to ensure I get something decent.

Thanks,

--
- Marty -

No need to bracket, just shoot everything in Manual mode and find ISO for the perfect exposure using a white shirt the way I outlined. You are then set until you change your lighting setup enough to change the distances of the lights from the subject.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using umbrellas. Softboxes are really just deep umbrellas with a diffuser or two added.

The advantages of a softbox over a white reflection umbrella with a black backing are slightly softer light that is slightly more evenly distributed and a faster fall off of the light to the sides. If properly used it is virtually impossible to tell whether an umbrella or a softbox was used to light a portrait.

For a reflector a simple 4" square foam core board works great. Get one that is white on one side and black on the other if possible. The white side lets you reflect light back onto the subject to lighten shadows. The black side keeps light from reflecting back on the subject to keep the shadows dark for a more dramatic look.

An alternative is a sheet of white Coroplast. You can use contact cement to stick a black piece to the white. Cross the corrugations for greater strength.

This DIY device fits into an umbrella adapter and lets me hold a light wight ridged reflector at any angle. A clamp and cap nut can be gotten for a couple of dollars at home improvement stores or, like mine, from WalMart. The spigot and umbrella adapter came from B&H.

B&H - Impact Short Double-Male Round Spigot with 1/4"-20 SRP-109

B&H - Impact Umbrella Bracket with Adjustable Shoe 9101880

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

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