In the studio
In the studio
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken as part of a studio session. I have twin head studio lights and a plain white backdrop, so used these to set the white background and light the scene in my lounge. The chair is a cheap plastic one I have owned for a while, but comes in handy as a prop. I asked the model to look out to the corner of the room for this shot, with her arm placed upon the backrest.Time
Being in the studio, the time of day wasn't important.Lighting
Being in the studio, the lighting was fully controlled. The lighting heads were set up to either side of the model, one with an umbrella to bounce light back, the other a soft box to evenly illuminate the model and background. Another couple of smaller lighting units would probably be advantageous, but the bare minimum suffices for a single model.Equipment
The camera used for this image was a Canon 40D with a Sigma 28-70mm zoom lens, ideal for portraiture and studio settings where you need to quickly change the framing. The backdrop is hung from a long pole and extending tripods similar to the tripods used for the lighting heads.Inspiration
It was a chance for me to play with my gear and try out various studio lighting setups to see what does and does not work. I learnt a lot from a couple of hours with the model and she got a lot of useful images to boot.Editing
Shooting in RAW means that you generally have to do some post processing. It usually consists of a touch of sharpening, contrast adjustments and a saturation tweak. Usually nothing dramatic, unless that is part of the effect that you want to go for. Occasionally the white background can look slightly grey, so needs to be lightened by using a mask and adjusting the highlights. A third light would reduce this issue dramatically.In my camera bag
I have another lens, but being the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens, it isn't all that useful for studio work. I do use it outside for external portrait shots, the extra reach is quite handy at times. I also have a fixed 105mm macro lens which can be quite handy even for studio work.Feedback
Getting the lighting right can take a few adjustments both with the position of the studio lights and their brightness settings.Setting the camera to expose the image correctly takes a couple of test shots. Review them using the histogram to check exposure and that nothing is burned out (overexposed) or too dark. Space is the biggest problem in a lounge setting. The lights and backdrop takes up some of your working area, restricting where the model can stand or sit. In addition this then impacts upon or restricts the camera position and the photographer. You have to watch out for the model going out of the frame in relation to the backdrop. Better to get it right first time as editing afterwards is much more time consuming.