Q&A
Q&A: Softbox vs. Beauty Dish
An investment is only wasted if you don’t use it. With that said, I am assuming you are referring to a 50″ x 50″ softbox? That is a pretty big light, which is a nice thing to use if you want to replicate window light. Your approach to photography and lighting is very much a personal thing, (more…)
Q&A: Camera Support
I definitely try to use some sort of camera support when shooting beauty especially when using the 180mm macro which is a pretty hefty lens. We have a Cambo studio stand at the studio which is really meant for medium and large format rigs but I do love using it. I also have a Bogen tripod that I use when on location.
Q&A: One Light Beauty Setup
I used a Speedotron 22″Beauty Dish and a C-stand.
Q&A: Speedotron Zoom Spot
I don’t think anything in photography is ever inexpensive. There’s a running joke that you have to be rich before you can become a photographer. Anyway, if you are mechanically inclined, you can take an existing theatrical spotlight, gut it out and convert it to a strobe. I have seen it done with an Alien Bee and an Elinchrom moonlight. It won’t perform the exact same as a factory built unit, but it will get you close. You have to understand that the flash tube has to sit upright in the housing in order to properly interact with the focusing lenses. By simply installing a flash head to the rear of the housing, you are not completely taking advantage of the way the lenses are built.
Q&A: V-Flats
The large black and white panels are called flats, or V-flats. They are basically just 4′x8′ sheets of foam core which you can get from art supply stores, theatrical supply outlets and some professional photography stores. You can also find them online if you google foam core. Flags are usually in reference to smaller panels up to 4′x4′ floppies and usually mount to grip heads.
Q&A: Lenses
Yes, I have started using my Mamiya M645 lenses on a Canon body. It’s not better, or worse, it’s just different. It has its drawbacks, being only manual focus, but the color, contrast, and clarity are different from modern glass, and the fact that you are using a larger format lens on a smaller film/sensor plane. People really need to stop thinking of photography equipment in terms of “what is the best” or one is better than the other. To me, that’s like saying a Home Depot hammer is way better than a hammer from Lowe’s, when what you really needed was a wrench. They’re all just tools, and we just need to find which one suits the job.
Q&A: One Light Beauty Setup
It means the length of your arm from shoulder to fingertip. It’s just a guideline and you should light according to your personal preference and what looks good to you. In this age of digital photography, it doesn’t cost us anything to experiment but time.
Q&A: Flash Brands
I use several brands from Alien Bees to Speedotrons to Profotos to Broncolor. Basically whatever is on hand and what suits the job best.
Q&A: Dodge & Burn
you’re very welcome. glad the tutorial was helpful to you.
Q&A: Giving Back
you are most welcome. I’m glad I was able to be of some help!
Q&A: Capture One
Thank you so much. Yes, usually I use the C1 generic profile for the canon bodies, but I do remember liking a 3rd party ICC created for the 1st gen 5D for use in C1. (more…)
Q&A: Lenses
You can’t duplicate a true macro lens with a normal lens. With a prime lens, you are stuck with one minimum focusing distance and you will not be able to emulate a macro shot with an 85 because it is a telephoto. with wide to telephoto zooms, like the 24-105, you can focus quite close, but only at the widest focal length, meaning at 24mm. At that point, you are dealing with distortion from the wide angle.
Q&A: Retouching
I actually have the first part of a tutorial mini-series up on the FStoppers PPT Youtube Channel that shows how to do this.
Q&A: Mirrors
Good question. That mirror was actually already in the studio when I moved in. I have no idea whose it was, but it’s actually pretty neat. It was definitely bought from somewhere, that I know. (more…)
Q&A: Lenses
I own three lenses. a 50 1.4, an 85 1.8, and a 180 3.5 macro.
Q&A: File Formats and Colorspaces
I edit my images in AdobeRGB as a 16bit TIFF in Photoshop, converting it to an 8bit sRGB JPEG for delivery to the client.
Q&A: File Formats and Colorspaces
Thank you so much and I’m glad they have been helpful.
To answer your question, I submit final work as sRGB JPEGs.
Q&A: Lighting Modifiers
The basic comparison in those instances would be the size of the modifier, as a mola setti is much smaller than a 7′ anything. Each modifier from their respective brand is quite unique despite falling under the same category because they are all made from different materials and all have different shapes. when people try to compare modifiers they don’t really take into account the basic principles of lighting, which is all about the relationship between size of the light source and the subject, and distance of the light source to the subject. it’s pretty unrealistic for me to choose just one because each modifier has its purpose, possibilities, and limitations. This is the same question as, “what is the best lens for shooting beauty and/or fashion?” The truth is there is no right or wrong answer, nor is there even an answer for those kinds of questions. This is why it is so important for every photographer to explore and experiment and decide what works or doesn’t work for them.
Q&A: Lighting
the key was a beauty dish, the smaller catchlight was from an 11″ silver reflector layered with 3 stops of ND gel and tracing paper for diffusion at camera position. the purpose of this light is an overall frontal fill to bring crispness to the skin and fill in pore shadows.
Q&A: Lighting Aly Michalka
thank you, i will actually be doing a “how it was lit” write up on the PREP TO POST site, but to quickly answer your question I used an Altman theatrical/ellipsoidal spotlight converted to Speedotron, so it is actually a strobe head. This was a product offered by Speedotron, but is no longer in production.
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