Achieve The Film Look Shooting Digital
January 21st, 2010So since the advent of digital photograhy many fashion photographers have asked me why their photos don’t look like film. Some of the complaints are that everything is too sharp, too much contrast etc. Well there are many reasons why these things happen, however the main consideration is that they are using too tight of an aperture. For example they are shooting at f/11 or f/16 or even f/22.
When shooting with a 35mm DSLR, shoot as if you were shooting medium format. When shooting medium format you lose alot of depth of field. Consequently your model or subject is very sharp and the background is out of focus and you get very beautiful bokeh. The best way to achieve this is to use a long lens. For this photo I used my Canon 200mm 2.8 on sticks and shot it at ISO 200 f/4.5 1/200th. I also used my Canon 580 EX II on ETTL. Now here is where my little secret comes into play. I bumped up the flash power to +3 stops and zoomed the flash head to 105mm. I was a good 25 yards away from the model.
I got a great smile out of my model by joking with her, complimenting her and not just sitting there clicking the shutter like a robot. I connected with my model because I took my time and composed and thought about the shot in my mind before I even thought of clicking the shutter. Very simple make up and no shoes, great smile and a very beautiful girl in nature make this a very marketable stock photo.
In this next photo I told my model to walk along the log and try to balance in bare feet. I also directed her to look at the camera and smile, laugh and just be silly. The important thing to remember here is that she can’t just do all this like she NORMALLY would. Normally one would smile too big and you would lose the eyes, and / or she would laugh so hard that she would get a double chin. So directing your model and constantly reminding her to keep her chin up and look at the camera and don’t squint the eyes is of utmost importance. The result is another very marketable photo that the model can also use for her portfolio.
In this photo again I used my Canon 200m 2.8 on sticks about 25 yards away. Notice the beautiful bokeh again. I shot this at ISO 200 f/4.5 shutter speed was 1/325th. I also used my Canon 580 EX II on ETTL, bumped the power up +3 stops and zoomed the flash head to 105mm. What I did different for this shot is set my flash to high speed sync mode. In high speed sync mode this allows you to set your shutter speed to whatever speed you want. I set it to 1/325th so I could keep my ambient light down. Remember, you control your flash exposure with your aperture. Any questions or comments are welcome !
January 21st, 2010 at 3:44 am
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January 21st, 2010 at 8:09 am
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January 23rd, 2010 at 10:12 pm
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January 25th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Hey Jason,
Just one question, was your flash on or off camera while using high speed sync?
Best,
Jeff
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admin Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Hi Jeff,
My flash was mounted to my hot shoe. I turned the camera around so the head of the flash was facing my model. I could buy a flash bracket but it’s just more junk I gotta carry and mount to an already heavy camera.
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January 25th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Hi Jason, I’m a french Art Director, quite a young one, and i must say i have a particular interest in photography which is quite constantly involved with my job you might say.
So as i want to be a professionnal photographer in freelance (as if i haven’t enough work as an AD), i’d like to ask a few questions :
- What do you think of filters ? I mean Skylight, Polarizing or ND Filters ? I heard about it but never used it and don’t really know if they are of some utility.
- For a studio with no daylight involved, if you had to have Flash lights (i don’t really recall the exact term in english), let’s say the one with no generator (too expensive) like the Elinchrom RX, what will be your recommandation : 600W or 1200W, your combination.
And before you ask not only for portrait but also for bigger composition involving 2-3 people, more like a room.
I’m quite sorry for the mistakes i must have made (i’m kind of fluent but not much more).
Since i did guess that the email address given on your website was for professional purpose only, i post my questions here, i don’t really know if it’s the right place.
I really thank you in advance for your answers.
BTW i just happened to stop on your blog, seaching for tips on professional fashion photography, and i must say that it’s quite stunning the amount of information you can get by looking through your archives, so keep the good work, it’s really interesting.
Thanx, Nicolas
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admin Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Hi Nicolas !
You post some very good questions.
- Filters – The first thing to remember about filters is that anytime you put anymore glass in front of the lens you lower the quality and the intended purpose of the beautiful glass you purchased. With that said there are exceptions. You don’t need a skylight filter. Those are typically used by beginners who are afraid to scratch the lens and to protect the lens. If you’re careful with your lens you should not have a problem with anything. The lens hood does a good job of protecting the lens.
A polarizing filter is used when you want to lose any glare off let’s say water, or a car, or a window. It’s also used to make the sky more blue in your shot. You get the most effect of the polarizing filter when you and your subject are 90 degrees angled from the sun.
An ND filter, also known as a Neutral Density filter is used to cut down the amount of light coming through the lens. It has no effect on the darkness or lightness of your photo. Do you need it ? Depends on what you’re shooting and what look you want to accomplish. I don’t use any filters at all. IF I do ever use a filter I use a polarizer sometimes but that is rare.
For your studio you want to get monolights. These are lights that have all the electronics built in the flash unit itself. You just plug it into the wall and shoot. They are very portable and easy to use. I would get three units at 1200 watt seconds each. If you can afford four, even better. Get your umbrellas, soft boxes and you’re ready to go !
And thank you for the compliments and I look forward to seeing more of you around here.
I am very happy you came here to post your questions. No apology needed for your English, I understood you just perfect
Cheers !
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January 27th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Ok for those of use using old manual Vivitar 285’s
, In the last photo, are you saying that the ambient light measured 325@f1.8ish and you bumped the flash the 3 stops to 4.5, proper flash exposure and underexposure on the ambient?
Wow i really need an EX flash just to keep up with my thoughts on shooting like this.
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admin Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Hi Torrey !
I didn’t measure my ambient light. That 580 EX 2 is so damn accurate I set it to ETTL and I know I have to either bump up my ISO or bump up my flash power because of how far away I am to my model. I chose to bump the flash power. Yes if you are shooting Canon then you really should use a Canon flash, if you are using Nikon then use a Nikon flash.
Reason for this is the electronics talk to each other in a much more efficient way than the off brand flashes, lenses etc.
Thank you for your question Torrey.
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January 27th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Thanks Jason,
reason I asked, I have the pocket wizard TT5 setup, but haven’t experimented with the HSS yet.
Cheers,
Jeff
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admin Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Oh ya you gotta start experimenting with high speed sync on either Canon or Nikon flashes. It’s awesome !!!
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February 1st, 2010 at 9:03 am
Hi Jason,
Great article! I am doing my first on location fashion shoot with two models this Friday and to be honest I’m a bit stressed about it. The gear I’m going to use is a 580 EXII and 430 EXII.
In your article you say you bumped the flash output to +3, doesn’t that drain the flash batteries in no time flat? Do you carry lots of extra batteries or do you have power packs for your speed lights? Also, how much flash power do you need to overpower the sun without using HSS?
Regards
Heinz
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admin Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Hello Heinz,
Thank you for the compliment. I just realized it’s Friday. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. YES it does drain the batteries big time. I use external quantum batteries and I also carry a load of double AA’s just in case. Also you MUST remember to not shoot too fast when using high speed sync mode because it could get the head of the flash very hot and then of course burn out on you.
As for your second question, that all depends on how close you are to the model, how strong the sun is, if it’s summer or fall or winter the sun is closer to the earth in the summer and farther away from the earth in the Fall and Winter. It also depends on how lit you want your model to look. If you want your model to look really bright over the sun then you have to use much more flash power. Remember this tho. Your aperture controls how bright your flash output is as well as the power setting on your flash. And if you are using a full frame sensor or a smaller sensor that all has influence as well.
These are all reasons that reinforce why I hate digital so much. Too many variables. With a film camera you never had to worry about all this shit.
To give you some general answer though I would say you want a stop and a half brighter than the sun to get that nice bright crisp look.
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Heinz Schmidt Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Hi,
thanks for the reply. The shoot was awesome! I didn’t trust that my 580 and 430 would be enough, so I splurged on a 400Ws Bowens Gemini head and travelpak power pack. I put a octabox on the Bowens head and it really created some beautiful light.
I’ll keep reading your blogs and practicing till I’m confident enough in my lighting skills to only use the speedlights.
Thanks for the advice.Your advice I would struggle to find in any book and really helps to learn it from someone who has actual experience.
Regards
Heinz
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February 1st, 2010 at 10:31 am
Thanks for your quick answer. I’ll see what i can do about these monolights.
Cheers,
Nicolas
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admin Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Hi Nico,
You’re very welcome
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February 4th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Wow Jason … I really like the light in these … very soft and natural. Thanks for explaining the set up!
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admin Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Thank you Jaime !
Go out and try it yourself sometime. It’s fun !
Cheers !
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