available light photo session in the studio – Elle
During the same photo session with Elle where the aim was for Hollywood Glamor lighting style with video lights, I also wanted to change it up completely with an entirely different look and lighting – an available light photo series in the studio. With so much light flooding into the studio, it was just a matter of positioning Elle into the light. To get away from a blank wall, the background was a backdrop.
And yes, the studio needs more furniture. We’ll revisit this territory with future shoots. But even with such a minimalist setting, the photographs came out surprisingly well.
camera settings for all images: 1/250 @ f3.5 @ 400 ISO
photo gear (and equivalents) used in this photo session
Nikon D4
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II / Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II
related articles
- exposure metering & observing the available light (model: Aleona)
- observing and using the available light (model: Anelisa)
- NJ photography studio rental
- Elle’s Model Mayhem portfolio
Hi Neil
Great shots and I love the even light on the model.
Just a quick question..of a more general nature… do you ever customise your white balance in-camera in order to reduce the time spent on adjusting the white balance post-shoot? Eg, when you’re shooting in a Greek church where the lighting may be an intense yellow.
Regards and Thanks
Roy
In this case WB was Daylight, and I didn’t adjust it much from there in post.
Re WB for wedding ceremonies in Greek churches … RAW. I don’t do custom white balances then.
Lovely, lovely, lovely!!!
Ditto Darrell’s comments.
now that is lighting anyone can afford!! very pretty
GREAT RESULTS!!!!! I like them a lot, even if i am a dedicated fan of B&W i must say that i like those in color more.
Question: The shadows, how did u fill them? The available light was somehow diffused?
COMPLIMENTS!!!!!
The studio has large windows, and white walls … so there is a lot of soft light flooding in.
That is just too gorgeous Neil! Where did you get that backdrop from, its beautiful! Love, Mandi
I got the backdrop from Rock The Drops.
One thing I will do differently next time, is have her closer so the backdrop is more pronounced, so I don’t lose the 3D effect of the backdrop.
Nice, but her face looks like its made out of plastic….either over retouched or she has so much makeup on she has no pores in her skin. It’s a fine line, but in my opinion, it’s a little bit over the top.( not by much)
Ed
The retouching is about the same as I usually do – ie, about the same as described in this article about my retouching process. And her make-up wasn’t excessive by any means.
Flipping layers on and off on the PSD file, the retouching is there, but imho, not overdone. Aside from a few minor skin blemishes that I edited out, she really has good skin.
That said, you’re making a judgement call on skin pores on an image that has been resized for web use.
I think the retouching is fine. I usually compare a face to the rest of the body and in this case Elle seems to have awesome skin all over. She really is beautiful. Top photo is the pick of the bunch for me. Cracking natural light photos Neil, and such a simple set up. Don’t cut back on Anelisa por favor, Elle is hot competition but Anelisa is sublime. Spoiled so you are.
Beautiful….
Hi Neil,
On a photo like this would you meter for her white top, exposing for the brightest relevant tone?
Metering like that would definitely make sense.
Simply gorgeous Neil! Question: Where can I score the cool backdrop or something similar?
Rod
The backdrop is from Rock The Drops.
I’m in love! No words necessary.
I really love the pose too – how do you direct your models to pose Neil? do you have a pose in mind beforehand, or do you just have a feel for it from experience, or is the model comming up with the pose?
Thanks for sharing.
Ayaz
It’s a combination – I rely on the model’s inherent sense of how to pose and position herself. But a model, or any subject for that matter, don’t know what you’re seeing through your viewfinder. They don’t know how you’re composing and how tight you’re shooting. They might not even know what you’re trying to achieve. So you have to pose a model to some extent at least.
Some further reading on the topic:
– posing normal, everyday people for portraits
– tips on posing people / working with a model
– sequence of photos – posing a model – Oktavia