Ron,
Thanks for the compliment. My favorite system is called a "fashion" set
up. It consists of three umbrellas very close to the camera. One
umbrella above the camera and one on each side. I know very little about
ratios. Basically what I try to achieve a even balanced light on both
sides of the model and on both the right and left side of the face.
There is always some slight movement of the umbrellas necessary . When
using print film I just take the meter reading off the skin and both
sides of the background. Sometimes when using slide film I will use a
gray card. I'm usually looking to see the exposure on the face at say
... f8. The background at the same level as the face can be a half stop
slower. But this reading should be symmetrical. Also the background
color is also important. Black is always the easiest color to work
with. White can be difficult . Always keep the model at least 2 feet
in front of the background. If the model has lots of hair close to the
face try to get a reading on the shadow area of the hair to be no more
than a third stop off the skin. Slight movements of the umbrellas will
accomplish this. Once you start getting symmetrical readings you are
going to get a pretty even lit face. Focus on the cornea of the eye and
that's it. If you see a photo you really like ... look into the model
eyes to see what kind of set up was used. Look at the angles. A single
square highlight will usually mean a single large soft box at 45 degree
angle in front ot the model. Most studios just use this set up 'cause
it works very easily. If you use a single light set up still try to get
readings as symmetrical as possible.
Hope that helps a little.
Phillip Franklin
================================================================================
Ron wrote,
"Phillip: I've seen you're portraiture work and it is absolutely
stunning!
Having only begun to dabble in it myself with a single T32 and a Sunpack
strobe, both bounced into umbrellas, I'd like to hear more of your
process
in using the flash meter. I do not own one yet but can appreciate the
necessity for using one. My experience in relying on TTL has not
yielded
the results I had expected.
In using the flash meter, I presume you're measuring the light from each
flash unit and averaging the result. In your case, where you're using 3
T32's I'd guess you're averaging all three. Are you adding a 1/3 to 2/3
additional exposure over the average?"
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