The Rules Of Good Portraiture

[aam1234]

What a great tutorial (tipping my virtual hat to you, Benji).

Thank you very much, Sir.

[Benji]

Thanks guys. It's funny, I see a huge difference in the images of the guy who doesn't know the rules (and therefore breaks them) and the guy who knows them and breaks them on purpose. I may have stated this before, but I have discovered if in a given image it is possible to break six rules and you break one (or two) but keep the others, the image will still most likely be successful. But if you break all six it will be a disaster. For instance in the image below, I broke at least four rules and the image is an absolute disaster!

[FocusingOnFlorida]

Actually, I don't see anything wrong with it. :



Ya know I had to do it.

[Benji]

Russ,

You are incorrigible! *

Benji

[aam1234]

I think this thread should be stickied if you ask me.

[dwightmccann]

Thanks, Benji, I got here via POTN link. I haven't even had a chance to try any of these absolutely unbreakable rules and restrictions [sarcasm], but I have already passed a couple on to my son and we are now talking about shooting some glamor together. So, not only are you improving the general level of photography in the world but also bringing families closer together!

[yarnos]

Hi Benji!! i got here via POTN what an excellent tutorial & forum i think you should also include a sequence to this thread.
Part #2:- The rules of Good Lighting in Portraiture it should inlcudethe different lighting setup AND camera settings (iso,speed & aperture)!!! i think this will then become a Sticky Thread for sure it totally steps out on how to picture portaits 100%...

ho!ho!ho!ho!

thank you so much!!!

[Benji]

Yarnos,

Good idea!* I will finally get to use the neat lighting diagram found here on PhotoCamel (I don't remember what forum though!)* The lighting set up you see below is what I use about 95% of the time.* There are a couple of differences between the diagram and my "real life" camera room however.* My hair light is on a track on the ceiling not on a boom and I don't use pole to hold up my seamless paper.* The hair light and background light readings are for a dark background and a subject with dark hair.* If the subject has blonde hair it will be less and If I want a darker background it will be less.* I ALWAYS use ISO 100 in my camera room and in my outdoor studio.

Benji

(Added in edit) Here are the distances FROM THE SUBJECT of the various lights in the diagram for the head and shoulders image. I place the fill light on the same side as the main (as shown above) and about 8 to 10 feet from the subject (behind me.) The center of the light is about seven feet up from the floor which means the bottom of the 62 inch umbrella is about five feet above the floor. It is feathered (as shown above) off to one side. NEVER aim the fill or main directly at the subject, use the "sweet spot" that surrounds the "hot spot" which is found directly in the middle of the light source. The MAIN light is usually about 30 inches from the subject (it may be as close as 24 inches or as far away as 36 inches, it depends on the pose and the subject.) It is also feathered so the hot spot winds up in front of the subject by about 12 inches as shown in the diagram. The bottom of the 24 x 36 inch softbox which is my main light is usually slightly about eye level to the subject and the whole softbox is tipped down at a 45 degree angle. The background light is aimed directly at the background light so it puts a halo of light on the background behind the subjects back and shoulders and is metered to be about the same power as what the main and fill meter together (and what is the aperture of the lens is.) The hair light is above and behind the subject and is usually about 18 inches away from the head and is metered so it is the same power as the main and fill combo. The kicker light is about 3 to 4 feet from the subject and is metered like the hair and background light. I have posted an image showing this set up. I learned this lighting set up from master photographer Frank Cricchio. This should give you repeatable images day in and day out. Someone on another site said this will give you "predictable" results as if that were something bad. Personally I prefer predictable results to reshoots!!!

Benji

[Benji]

Originally Posted by dwightmccann

Thanks, Benji, I got here via POTN link. I haven't even had a chance to try any of these absolutely unbreakable rules and restrictions [sarcasm], but I have already passed a couple on to my son and we are now talking about shooting some glamor together. So, not only are you improving the general level of photography in the world but also bringing families closer together!

Dwight,

Welcome to the Camel! I'm glad to hear that I'm bringing families together also!

I saw something interesting the other day that I have wanted to bring up so I guess there is no better time than the present. My wife and I were grocery shopping and while in the breakfast cereal section I glanced at a box of "children's "cereal (I don't remember the name) and there was a cartoon on the front of the Little Mermaid, drawn incorporating the 1-3-2 posing technique! It even works for females in cartoons!

Benji

[tmrdesign]

Benji,

This is a really great tutorial and very informative since portraits are what I am concentrating on as far as indoor photography. Well written tutorials are hard to find. Yours are quite good.

[KellyL]

Benji:

Stumbled on to this site and am glad I did. Thank you for the tutorial. I want to make beautiful pictures and my heart aches because I am not at the level I want to be. Thanks for the pdf.

[Jess]

Welcome Kelly! You'll love it here. sit back for a terrific ride!

Jess

[Benji]

Kelly,

Welcome to PhotoCamel, I'm certain you will love it here.* Rumor has it my tutorials are the greatest. * Shoot and request critique, then learn from the critique and reshoot.

Try this. Set up your fill light behind the camera on the SAME side as your main will be. Your fill light should be a large soft light. Set your meter AND your camera at ISO 100.* Meter your fill light ONLY holding the meter under the chin of your subject and aiming the dome of the meter at the fill light.* Make a mental note of that reading and shut off the MODELING LIGHT ONLY of the fill.* Set your main light up on one side of your subject so it casts a shadow across the cheek on the opposite side.* Meter both the main AND THE FILL by pointing the dome AT THE MAIN LIGHT ONLY and firing both lights.* Increase (or decrease) the power of the main light ONLY until it is about 2 stops MORE than the fill reading alone. SET THAT aperture into the lens of your camera.* Assuming you are in a room lit by normal lights the shutter speed can be anywhere from 1/60 to 1/125 or so. I usually use 1/100 of a second.* The rule about the fill light is that it should "follow the nose."
Benji

P.S. I edited my lighting diagram and added the distances to the subject as you suggested. Thanks! I also added an image showing an actual set up during a shoot.

My main light is a 24 x 32 inch softbox and is about 30 to 36 inches away from the subject FEATHERED so the light is NOT pointed directly at the subjects face (see my lighting diagram above.) As you can see the ONLY lights that are pointed directly at the subject is the hair and kicker lights.

[KellyL]

Benji:

Also, I forgot to mention this, I am just amazed at how much information you are willing to share. Speaks very highly of your character. Kudos to you. I suppose I should be going and giving you some Camel Karma, if I understand how this site works.

[Benji]

Kelly,

While Mark's information is good, let me tell you why I use a fill light. *I use a fill light rather than a reflector because the photo cells on my hair light, and kicker light at times, depending on how I feather my main light, *will sometimes refuse to "see" the main light flash and not fire. * I absolutely do not have that problem when I use my fill light. *I've found it embarrasing to have to fiddle with the lights to get them to fire once I have the subject posed and ready to be photographed. *

I would set everything up and see if they fire when using a reflector before "junking" the fill light. *DON'T let the flash of the main light fool you into thinking that all of the lights have fired. *You MUST LOOK AT each light and see if it is firing. *Our eyes only see one flash in a darkened room and that flash might be only the main light.

Benji

[Mark McCall]

Originally Posted by Benji

I use a fill light rather than a reflector because the photo cells on my hair light, and kicker light at times, depending on how I feather my main light,* will sometimes refuse to "see" the main light flash and not fire.*

A peice of reflective tape around the optical slave solves the problem. We just made that modification to my assistant's monolights as a matter of fact.
It's all about control.

I don't use a fill light because the light because a reflector offers more finite control.
It's simpler, easier and faster to use, but it's certainly not the only way to fill.
A fill light works too, and I used it for many years....but the reflector has many advantages over an extra light.

(no artwork applied to skin).

[Benji]

Mark,

What a great idea! I assume by "reflective tape" you mean that highly reflective silver tape used on duct work? I had a kitchen fan ducted to the outside last fall and he left a partial roll here. I will try that, thanks.

Benji

[Mark McCall]

That's exactly the stuff we use. I think it's called "aluminum tape".
Drill a hole in it about the size of your optical slave sensor, and put in on.

This raises the sensitivity dramatically.

If your shooting F11, I'm surprised that much power isn't setting off the sensors anyway, but different brand lights have different sensitivities. This trick will work, without forcing you to buy more radio slave receivers.

[Jason Hermann]

Benji,

Great Thread/ Tutorial * Thankyou for all your expertise sharing aswell as great photos. *I'm going to be getting into some Portrait Photography in the next few months and I've been doing so much reading its rediculous. * That tutorial is the best thing I've read and the most I've learned yet by far!!! * *

Mark McCall,

Your input was outstanding aswell, Thanks.

Thanks for the PDF aswell

Thanks again,

Jay

[KellyL]

I don't know if you people know what a treat this is for me. I don't know anybody in the photography world, and am intimidated by most. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your time and for commenting here. The pictures posted are absolutely incredible and make me want to go sweep out the garage and give a few shots a whirl.

I haven't worked on my wedding video for one second today. (I started video taping weddings and creating DVD's for brides as a way to purchase photography equipment. My equipment was stolen some 15 years ago when I was first beginning...did a couple of weddings, senior portraits, etc...but after I lost my equipment and with the birth of a second daughter I couldn't afford to replacements. About three years ago, feeling very frustrated that the money was never available for buying photography equipment, I started video taping weddings and have used all the profits to purchase equipment. Now I am playing catch up.)