Pixie-Izzie Project 52, Week 2

[purplehaze]

Do I make my table stay the way it was or do I rearrange it so that I have more room to move my object forward away from the edge of my backdrop?

Hi Izzie, I'm glad I got you working your lights! It's fun, isn't it? It looks like you did a great job of softening and minimizing your shadows. In answer to your question: if you want to control the color of your background, yes, you will have to move your subject away from it. I can only refer you back to Terry's post, #33 above. Same goes if you just want to throw the background out of focus, depending on your lens and aperture: advance your subject away from the background.

Not to complicate things, but to file away for future reference: A neat trick for making a background gradient is to slope the paper or cloth your subject is sitting on up and away from the subject at the rear. Potters often do this, apparently, when photographing their work. If you are only lighting your subject (not the background), the light on the background will fall off smoothly from the bottom of the frame to the top.

Your bears are sweet, but I think the brown nose bear has a few too many catchlights in his eyes in the B&W; makes him look a little crazed, don't you think? But who am I to say; maybe that is an accurate portrait.

[Shadowman]

I am still in limbo as to how to cure my background colour naturally straight from the camera so I took several more shots and these are my picks...both of them used only one light and an open window...and one I turned to B/W. What do you think?

1. colour shot...



2. Black and White shot...



Some editing done on both but I think I got it -- decreasing the shadows, I mean...what do you think? Yeah...yeah...I'll give Brownie Nose a bath later on...

Is there anything behind your backdrop, could you setup a light behind it? Nice efforts.

[IzzieK]

Thank you Janis for noticing the multiple lights. The two smaller catchlight one is actually my builder's light which now I noticed, should have been moved to the hallway before the shot. It wasn't turned on but the light from the window caught it. I only used one light in that shot because that was the object of the exercise and also how to cure my background and turn white into white. I think I will have some adjustments/arrangement to do to this room now...

[IzzieK]

Is there anything behind your backdrop, could you setup a light behind it? Nice efforts.

John, there is my cabinet behind my backdrop holder. I can set up a light behind it if I remove all those bottle of wines props I had wanted to use as props for my images. I'll have to do a serious clearing up in this room to be able to have more room for me to move around some more with my intended lights to use.... Thank you for enlightening more of my options. I truly appreciate your help.

[Brownbear]

Hi Izzie,

I prefer the colour image because the background is softer as are the highlights in the little white bear. Beautiful capture of the colours, sharp with nice focus. Nice soft shadows, too.

In the b&w version the details in the background stand out sharply and bits of the white bear look too white/exposure (loss of detail) by your post processing? And the catch lights in the black bears eyes are a little odd, a reflection of something else?

I've no experience with this type of photography (here I'm learning from you), so just commenting on what I see, and as a means to bump this thread so perhaps you will receive some feedback from someone with experience with this type of photography.

I am still in limbo as to how to cure my background colour naturally straight from the camera so I took several more shots and these are my picks...both of them used only one light and an open window...and one I turned to B/W. What do you think?

1. colour shot...



2. Black and White shot...



Some editing done on both but I think I got it -- decreasing the shadows, I mean...what do you think? Yeah...yeah...I'll give Brownie Nose a bath later on...

[IzzieK]

Christina, what happened with the catchlights here was that I opened the little window so that was the catchlight which has 4 squares. I have one light directly above the bear which is the right position for the catchlight at 10 o'clock position, move the other light which I was wasn't using on the side until it doesn't show anymore. The little dots in the eyes was my builder's light on its own tripod, which wasn't on but the light from the window reflected on it. I did not noticed it until I process the image. I could have cloned it out but that wasn't the purpose of the shot -- I was learning lights and eliminating everything until the shadow was no longer almost visible or soft. I was able to achieve that and I was happy with my background finally turning to white white by moving the bear farther from the curve of the fabric where I initially sat the bears. I have to trim the fur from the eyes of the little white bear too so its eyes will be visible and I should have moved that builder's light anyway so it did not show...

You know, the big thing that I learned about this studio lighting came from Janis mostly when she said that I should forget my camera first and go around and move the bears until I am satisfied with the shadow's softness. Then open one light and see if I can work with just it. My mistake was opening the window because it was early morning and cloudy outside. I did not imagine I will have those 4 squares from the window light. I did turned on another light and I have more catchlights than needed, so I shut it off and moved it to the side, turned it around so that nothing will show from the window light. Then I saw the 10 o'clock catchlight in the bear's left eye and I was so happy. I thought the catchlight was exactly what I want. It was -- but only on one eye. Silly me...so I turned on my camera, focus everything, close up, away..aperture, shutter speed, highlights taken noted of...etc. all those things that needed to be done to a camera after the set up. Then the shot. another one, and another one. I was happy it did not take that too many shots but I thought I got it all right...yup! still some mistakes. I learned and I enjoyed the exercise that Janis taught me. It taught me patience too apart from looking for flaws in the shadows and using only one light. I forgot the window light was another light. Patience. I learned patience....most of all...

Thank you for following up. I really do appreciate it a lot. CiC is very entertaining for me these last few days at least and the learning experience hasn't stop yet. I went out to do some shoots again today, third day in a row...I am happy.

Looking forward to some more of your eagle shots ... I really love those last ones you took. I am learning from you too...

[Brownbear]

Thank you for sharing. Indeed I've learned a lot from reading your reply, and Janis's too. A million things to think about and lots to learn.