BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Traditional Film Photography

Portraits without much equipment

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July 26, 2006

Other than bounce flash, on camera flashes are rather limited for portrait work.

The most inexpensive lighting I can think of is natural light..Use your on cam as a fill only.
A large white card does a great job as fill lighting as well.

Your "one side of the face highlighted" is basically a high contrast shot.
The on cam flash won't help you here unless you get a slave and trigger it with your built in flash. The problem you will have is that your built in flash will act as a fill unless you mute it, but not so much that your slave won't trigger.

There are many ways to accomplish this shot and many techniques.
W/o any studio lighting, you might try this.

Strong window light or outdoors. Try early morning when the sun is low.
You will want at least a 3:1 or better yet a 4:1 ratio.
A large black card or piece of cloth on the dark side of your subject will help "Eat" stray light from filling your subject.
Spot meter the lit part of your subjects face and use that exp reading.

The real trick here is not lighting your subject, but keeping stray light from filling the dark half of your photo.

You can also try this shot at night using a low elevation street light..Just be aware of color balance problems..a filter will be in order if you desire a natural skin tone..and filters are still cheaper than studio lights.
At night, there is little concern for stray ambient light.

All the best,

Pete

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July 26, 2006

1. Go buy three or four cheep pin-up lamps at the hardware store. You know the kind; they have a clamp to attach and a round silver reflector. Cost per unit is maybe $8.00.
2. Buy for each, the new spiral compact florescence lamps. Get the most powerful you can find. Make all the same wattage. If black & white is your game, don’t worry about getting anything special as bulb output color. For color work get the full spectrum kind. So equipped you will have bright usable light sources that don’t output too much heat and the don’t consume a lot of electricity.
3. Now you need some metal or wood poles to mount the lamps. How about two or three coat racks. They are cheep and work just fine.
4. Get a few orange electric extension cords and power strips so you can plug everything in.
5. Buy a few yards of fiberglass fireproof drapery material (white) to cover the lamp reflectors. Experiment with makeshift cover (diffuser) designs. Maybe you can find a white umbrellas or two. You can figure out how to mount these diffusers to soften the light.

Just remember that all those expensive and wonderful lamp types were once an idea and a makeshift prototype.

You will need a good light meter. Get one that allows both reflected and incident readings.

We might get lots of flack for this suggestion. When eating a watermelon you usually encounter seeds. Just spit the seeds out and keep on chomping.

Alan Marcus
ammarcus@earthlink.net

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July 27, 2006

I'm with Pete. You can do a gazillion different things with natural light if you learn how to control it. Later, if you really get into this and buy some studio lighting, you'll essentially be using them to reproduce the same natural effects you got with daylight.

I'm not opposed to hot lights that Alan mentioned. I started out long ago with the hardware store reflectors and make-shift 2x4 stands for them. They work, but you'll likely find the quality of light they produce is pretty harsh, even diffused, and btw, incandescent light will produce a contrast shift in black and white, or color shifting in color. It's a matter of personal preference I guess.

I suggest you buy a couple of chunks of 4x8 fomecore, black on one side, white on the other. Rig that to some type of stand and experiment doing additive and subtractive lighting, controlling the bounce and reflections onto your subject. You'll find it a versatile, cool way to light and it'll allow you to concentrate on the important stuff like your subject and engaging them in conversation.

BTW, among the most dramatic portraits I've taken have been in restaurants seated across from the subject using natural light from a nearby window and maybe MAYBE a little available fill light from a hanging overhead lamp. Just a thought. Take it light. ;>)
Mark

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July 27, 2006

Rob

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July 27, 2006