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Catalyst · 04-11-2008, 02:57 PM

Ok.. I wanted to do a site.. with simple how to on both pro and armature levels...

I have not had time to do it because of other projects.

Here is a great way to do simple clean shoots.. with one light...

Also if people want to come by sometime and try this out let me know.

Ok

Some of basic things you need

1. This should be done in a dark area
2. A strobe ( not a hot light or anything else like that) ( elinchrom / alien bee / normons etc..etc..)
3. a softbox a light panel
4. a reflector
5. a person to hold the reflector or a stand that can hold a reflector

These shoots where just done in the garage..

Normally I use a person to hold the reflector..However you can also use.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...nator_Arm.html ( attach to a tripod - super useful product)

I have one light on ( at camera right).. it is a elinchrom with a small softbox on it.. this will provide the main light source, I'm not going in to a ton of details about how to set all that up.

However.. you're going to want to check or watch for a couple of things.

a.) that the back ground is dark so it go black or gray.. ( you will want at least 10 feet of room behind the model so the the light going past the model will fall off)
b.) you are going to want to shoot around. f8 to f11 and around ISO 100 or 200 - on some Nikons.
c.) you might need to use a flash light to focus on the model.. then turn to manual foucs. Autofocus camera suck in low light.. I just manually focused everything on my set ups.

Also.. you might have to look at the image in large size to see the detail

Ok.. so you have have a camera, light, and model.. ( no reflector yet)

you will get a shot like this.

Ok.. now.. what we really need to look at is depth and seperation. It has taken me a while to learn to really look at images, but once you can it is easier to see what needs to be done.

 

but here let me mark what I am looking at. It doesn't look bad however it doesn't look good either. It just looks cheap, trashy, and unprofessional to people who know how to fix it.Plus it is a 2 min fix to make it look MUCH better.

well now.. the quickest and easiest way to add that seperation is a reflector.

People ask why use a reflector and not another light.Well the nice thing about reflectors is that they change in relation to the main light, so for fill this works perfectly. If I wanted to change my main light from 50% power.. to 80% power.. and I had another light I would have to remeter the lights and change the fill light amount.. With a reflector, I don't have to do anything.. because it just reflects more light. It is simple and fast and works great.

With a reflector.. People often don't place it close enought. It need to be just out of frame.. but not very far away.

Look you can see how close the reflector is

 

Now.. what does the reflector do to the image.

 

 

Here are some sample images. All created with a single light and a reflector. See if you can find where the reflector provides fill.

 

 

So.. that is about as simple and as easy as it gets. One light, one model, one reflector and a ton of great pics. If you have questions or comments ( or I miss spelled something) e-mail me at ricyoung ( at )gmail.com.

04-11-2008, 02:57 PM
Catalyst Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Vegas Posts: 3,243	Useless Photo Tip - Using a reflector.. Ok.. I wanted to do a site.. with simple how to on both pro and armature levels... I have not had time to do it because of other projects. Here is a great way to do simple clean shoots.. with one light... Also if people want to come by sometime and try this out let me know. Ok Some of basic things you need 1. This should be done in a dark area 2. A strobe ( not a hot light or anything else like that) ( elinchrom / alien bee / normons etc..etc..) 3. a softbox a light panel 4. a reflector 5. a person to hold the reflector or a stand that can hold a reflector These shoots where just done in the garage.. Normally I use a person to hold the reflector..However you can also use. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...nator_Arm.html ( attach to a tripod - super useful product) I have one light on ( at camera right).. it is a elinchrom with a small softbox on it.. this will provide the main light source, I'm not going in to a ton of details about how to set all that up. However.. you're going to want to check or watch for a couple of things. a.) that the back ground is dark so it go black or gray.. ( you will want at least 10 feet of room behind the model so the the light going past the model will fall off) b.) you are going to want to shoot around. f8 to f11 and around ISO 100 or 200 - on some Nikons. c.) you might need to use a flash light to focus on the model.. then turn to manual foucs. Autofocus camera suck in low light.. I just manually focused everything on my set ups. Also.. you might have to look at the image in large size to see the detail Ok.. so you have have a camera, light, and model.. ( no reflector yet) you will get a shot like this. Ok.. now.. what we really need to look at is depth and seperation. It has taken me a while to learn to really look at images, but once you can it is easier to see what needs to be done.   but here let me mark what I am looking at. It doesn't look bad however it doesn't look good either. It just looks cheap, trashy, and unprofessional to people who know how to fix it.Plus it is a 2 min fix to make it look MUCH better. well now.. the quickest and easiest way to add that seperation is a reflector. People ask why use a reflector and not another light.Well the nice thing about reflectors is that they change in relation to the main light, so for fill this works perfectly. If I wanted to change my main light from 50% power.. to 80% power.. and I had another light I would have to remeter the lights and change the fill light amount.. With a reflector, I don't have to do anything.. because it just reflects more light. It is simple and fast and works great. With a reflector.. People often don't place it close enought. It need to be just out of frame.. but not very far away. Look you can see how close the reflector is   Now.. what does the reflector do to the image.     Here are some sample images. All created with a single light and a reflector. See if you can find where the reflector provides fill.           So.. that is about as simple and as easy as it gets. One light, one model, one reflector and a ton of great pics. If you have questions or comments ( or I miss spelled something) e-mail me at ricyoung ( at )gmail.com.