Photo of Week - Week 4

This week's focus - light modifiers. I've got a few different light modifiers and it's been awhile (maybe even never) since I've gotten them out and gone through them in a systematic manner to compare results.

I tried to keep the camera and lightstand the same for all the photos. There is no post-processing in the photos. Well, I did change the white balance (shot in cloudy and changed to flash), except I did not make the adjustment in the last image ... missed that step.

The flash head is approximately 6 feet from the subject in all pictures - this means that with the larger modifiers (softboxes) the surface of the modifier is significantly closer to the subject than the bare flash, for example.

The lights are all at about a 45 degree angle from the subject (image left), flash head just a bit above eye level of the subject (lightstands didn't go any lower).

All are shot at the same flash power setting and with the same camera setting, as follows:
Shutter speed: 1/125s
Aperture: F8.0
ISO: 100

Bare flash, 1/2 power, 6ft from subject, flash zoom 24mm

In the above shot we've got pretty harsh shadows and powerful light blasting the subject. 

Bare flash, 1/2 power, 6ft from subject, flash zoom 85 mm

Image two, pretty much the same as the first one, but the light is focused higher up on the subject. Not much illumination on the chair

Homemade beauty dish (16"), 1/2 power, 6ft from subject, flash zoom 85mm

First modifier - right off we see a drop in illumination. Shadows from the subject aren't as sharp and there is a significant reduction in light reaching the backdrop.

36" shoot-through umbrella, 1/2 power, 6ft from subject, flash zoom 24mm

Shadows have a softer edge with the umbrella here, light on the facing side is not as harsh and more even. Illumination on the backdrop is a bit more even.

36" shoot-through umbrella, 1/2 power, 6ft from subject, flash zoom 85 mm

Same shoot through umbrella, but the flash is more focused down. The shadows coming off the subject are a bit more defined, but still with a smooth edge (contrast with the bare flash shots above).

60cm X 60cm softbox, inner and outer diffuser, 1/2 power, 6ft from subject

A similar quality of light as the umbrella shots up above, particularly the one with the flash at the widest zoom. Backdrop illumination is pretty even down the right side - very little casting from the chair/subject.

70" octabox softbox, inner and outer diffuser, 1/2 power, 6ft from subject

Now we get to the big modifier. Really soft shadows  - just enough to give some definition. Backdrop illumination is a more gradual shift to a bit darker on the side opposite the light.

The lighting setup will depend on how we want to light the subject - harsh light may not work too well for infant portraits, but maybe for an athletic adult. Also - how large/tall is our subject and what do we want to focus on? Is it going to be a full-length family portrait? Do we want to draw attention to a particular part of the subject - hands, eyes?

My next goal will be to try and work using multiple modifiers and see what I can come up with!