Newcomer Liz learnt how to use a single studio flash really fast. Okay, so in this first relaxed picture of Jane, one of Yeovil Camera Club's prettier members, there is a small hair light at two o'clock high but then we dispensed with that and tried to be as creative as possible with just the one light.Positioned less than arm's length to camera left and using a shoot-through brolly this light has certainly seen some faces in the last 30 years, but it's still capable of producing the goods.
Yes, I do own a set of Elinchome D-Lite 200's with soft boxes but I rarely use them for any of these YeophotoGroup posts as the idea is to press home the point that you do not need to spend lots of money to have fun with your photography.
For this second shot of Jane I think we should have moved the light a little nearer the camera, although the brolly edge might then have intruded into the specs as an unwelcome reflection.Note how Liz has just managed to keep the whole of Jane's eyes visible behind the rims of her specs. Always try to get the whole eye / eyes as these are the make or breakpoints of beautiful portrait work.
The latest addition of a Black and White filter in Adobe CS3 is fantastic, all it needs is a slight lift in the red and yellow channels followed by a faint touch of black paint in the white mask box to bring just a hint of colour into Jane's lips, eyes and hair. For a first timer regarding portrait work Liz did exceptionally well with these three shots.
When it came to lighting a couple we decided to add a reflector.A white shower curtain from Aldi supermarket cost me £7, add on 12 feet of 15mm copper pipe and a couple of joints and I have a six feet by three feet shiny white reflector for a total sum of under £17 - a post on how to make this will be coming up soon.
About ten shots into the couple sequence Liz caught this lovely pose of Jane and the YCC chairman Sandy perfectly. Some might say those fingers on the right are intrusive but with a simple soft edged vignette I think Liz has a competition winner here.
Well done Liz, hope to see you here again at the YeoPhotoGroup studio
Keith (strobist) Robins.
