Beauty lighting on a budget
May 15th, 2008So I just shot some new beauty photos. Most photographers use a beauty dish, however they can be expensive, especially for a photographer who is just starting out. What is the solution ? This photo was shot with just one small umbrella, a small silver reflector at breast level, and a strobe hitting the background with it’s regular 7 inch reflector attached for separation. I placed the umbrella camera right about 2-3 feet above model’s eye level. Of course you need to tell the model to be aware that this is her ONLY light source so do not turn your face away from it. Any good model of course would know this. This was shot at 125th @ F/8 , 100 ISO. The make up and hair artists were standing by right next to the model ready to jump in and make tiny little adjustments to hair and make up. When shooting beauty like this, it is VERY important to pay attention to EVERY detail, thus my team was stepping in every couple of minutes or so adjusting something.
Tags: beauty lighting, beauty photos, cosmetics, hair, jason christopher los angeles, light source, photographer, photographers, reflectors, smooth, umbrella
May 15th, 2008 at 11:34 am
These entries are very helpful to me. As a model I figured it wouldn’t be TOO hard to pick up photography, but I am running into more challenges than I thought and your tips on how you took your photos are amazing and VERY helpful! I will definitely continue to read!
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June 12th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Yes, I agree with the above comment…very useful tips! Another gorgeous model and picture!
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July 6th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
This is a fantastic example. Thank you for sharing your gift with others.
Very beautiful photograph. Everything looks perfect. Not a hair out of place.
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July 7th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Barry thank you so much !
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August 25th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Once again ladies and gentlemen another Spectacular image from Jason Christopher…. (as if there could be anything else)
I have a few questions regarding this shot.
Regular 7 inch reflector attached for separation: Is that to help with separation of the model from the background?
How far was the model from the background and does that play into the shot any?
Umbrella Placement: Do you measure from the center of the umbrella or from the bottom edge?
125th @ F/8 , 100 ISO: Did you choose F8 because it is the sweet spot for your lens or was it for DOF?
Why did you decide to use 125th?
Thanks,
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September 10th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Ok so the reflector is to add separation from the model and the background. That just gives the shot some dimension, depth. The model was about 8 feet from the background. Yes that plays into the shot because the farther the model is from the background the easier it is to create that separation. If she was too close to the background, 4 feet, then there would be too much spill from the background light onto the model and then you would have to add a flag etc.
When you measure the umbrella you measure one end to the other. But you don’t even have to measure. When you buy the umbrella the tag will tell you the diameter.
I chose f.8 because that is a good all around f stop to use so that everything is in focus. In beauty photography you don’t want to use too tight of an aperture because then every little fault on the skin or hair will be too sharp and show up more. So the wider the f stop the softer the skin will look as well. I use 125th shutter speed because that is just the normal shutter speed for in studio. Shutter speed with strobes in studio does not affect your ambient light. The ONLY thing shutter speed affects is motion. So if you want to create a blur effect of let’s say a dancer, then you would use a very slow shutter speed around 30th or less. When you are using strobes outdoors then yes the shutter speed affects your ambient light.
If you need anything else please just ask !
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November 24th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Jason so does that mean all your strobes are set to f8, or just your front one and your back is set to a lower number?
Another question, when u want more power to come out of the strobe, u set the strobe to higher number or lower number?
Yes i am a newbie, but i learn fast..
thanks,
poyan
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November 25th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Nooooo only my key light is set to f8. The lights on the background were 2 stops higher, f16 to make the background nice clean white.
If you want more power out of your strobes you set a higher number
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November 25th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
So I’m guessing placing your subject far away from the background, is a good thing when your back light is set high, so it doesn’t affect the pic, am i right?
thanks,
poyan
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November 30th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Well that depends. Yes if you don’t want that backlight to affect your subject then you place the subject 8 feet from the background. But there is another look that I sometimes like and that is called “blowback” Blowback is when the light hitting the background is so bright that it literally blows back into the lens and also wraps around your model to create a very low contrast image and an etherial look.
To achieve this then you would place your model closer to the background. I will look for an example and post it.
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May 20th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Hi Jason,
This is how I’m operating… on a budget.
I love the title of this blog
May I ask why you decided to use a silver reflector opposed to a white one?
Danilo
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Jason Christopher Reply:
May 26th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Hey buddy,
Thank you. I used a silver reflector because I wanted a more shiny catch light in the bottom part of her pupil. It’s really just my own preference.
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