DSLR Photography Forum

Just playing with my 'lighting setup' ($8 chinese lantern) the other night. Going for some dramatic, masculine lighting

1.


2.


3.


4.



P.S can you tell the difference??
I'm now a fully fledge RAW convert!

#1 is particularly powerful - because of the great lighting and pose. Your exposure is bang on with this one. (I knew you would like RAW)

#2 is also very good. Again lighting and exposure bang on. Maybe could us just a touch off the bottom. Doesn't need much, though - and fine without it.

#3 is also a nice portrait - but seems slightly out of place because the rest of these are so dramatic. Again the lighting is very nice

#4 is my least favorite. There is something about the extended finger that doesn't really work for me.

These are great work!! Some of you best to date.

These are wonderful, Schell! They are all very good, although I like the monochrome pictures better than the color ones (funny enough, I'm not really a monochrome fan).

My favorite is the first one. I would have liked the focal plane slightly closer here, so that his brow and the hair on his arm are sharp instead of the nose tip. What aperture did you use?

Great that you are working with RAW

I like the light in all of them...

About composition...
#1 I would have tried with the other arm as well.. so you have the hand in the same direction of the nose...

#2 I like a lot the pose... but I have a problem with the nose and the background... I think the shoulder is too sharp, perhaps to get it a bit blurrier or changing a bit the perspective...

#3 It looks nice very relaxed and I like the colors a lot...

#4 I can't find your intention in this one...

Great series, Schell...

Congratulation

Beautiful Schell... #1 being my favourite too.

The lighting and poses don't quite work in #3 and #4 for me I'm afraid. As Irma says about #4, its a little difficult to see the intention. I also find that a bit about #3 too, especially with respect to the lighting - its not quite one thing or the other.

But shots #1 and #2 on the other hand are very strong and unambiguous. Everything about them adds to the overall mood of the shots. I really like these a lot, especially #1.

Nice work, Schellamo!
#1 is my favorite as well, although I think it is a wee bit on the dark side.

I like #2 as well, although the lighting isn't quite as nice as in #1.
In general the light seems a bit harsh / cool toned to me, have you tried any diffusion tricks?

The last two don't appeal as much to me, maybe just because I like the monotones better (there's a consensus here:-) )

Congratulations on stepping into RAW, I am still shying away from it. And greeting to the patient subject!

uli

Thanks Toad, I've been trying to challenge myself to find subjects other than TJ, but I'm still finding myself drawn to portraits.
G, thanks very much, No. 2 was f/5

I guess I should explain no 4, he was laughing which is why I liked it and I found the dramatic lighting sort of turned him into a series of shapes. But you are right, it just doesn't work, the finger looks too weird.
Thanks for your comments Irma, I will try to think more carefully about posing next time I shoot.
Kombi, I also have to think more about why I am taking the photos, and be more purposeful in my shooting. I think I tend to get a bit snap happy for fear of missing a moment....deep breaths, deep breaths!
Uli, the light is coming from a paper lantern, I thought it was diffusing the light okay, but I can see what you mean, it is still quite harsh and even though I was using a reflector, i think it hasn't opened the shadows up as much as I would've liked. I really want to get myself a proper soft box to play with, will have to start saving up my pennies

Thanks for all your comments guys, My favorites were no 1 and 2 as well, I took lots of photos and sometimes I find it hard to pick my favorites though.

Hope you don't mind if I add a couple more for your comments

Number 2 is definitely the stongest image for me - everything has been said already. Except perhaps that the dramatic lighting suits the dramatci posing of the first two shots.

The half smiles in the other shots don't work as well because the lighting is so dramatic.

But really nice effects you have created with aq really simple light source.

Cheers,

Chris