My 52 Week Photography Challenge Week 1
Create a Self-Portrait Using Off-Camera Flash
My photography inspiration has been lagging so I've decided to do a 52 week challenge shooting a photo each week and writing a blog post about how it was made. I'm going to keep it simple for now and not assign a particular topic so long as I commit to making a photo and writing the post once a week. My blog could surely use the content and I need the writing practice.
With the start of a new year a fresh profile photo seems a good way to begin the challenge. Various social media and email haven't been updated in a while so today I set up the camera and brushed the dust off my lighting equipment. This was the arrangement.
Equipment and Camera Settings
I mounted the Canon 6d on a tripod with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, attached a remote transmitter for the flash and set the camera timer. To camera right is a LumoPro LP180 flash gun firing through a 36" Westcott Apollo Orb soft box. Lighting from camera left is a Canon 420EX in a Westcott 24" Rapidbox Octa. Both flash guns are controlled by Phottix Laso remote receivers with a Laso transmitter on the camera and firing full power because of the aperture that was necessary for a black background.
Camera settings are ISO 100 and a 1/200 shutter speed. Trying to keep the background as dark as possible I kept the setup as far from the back wall as I could and set the aperture to f/22 with a lens focal length of 90mm. I kept the camera settings the same throughout.
Camera Focus and Lighting Setup
Photographing in my apartment living room a main objective with this photo was to make the background black. I had no backdrop and the background wall is a tan color so camera settings and light position was all I had to work with. On the south wall, in front of two windows with closed blinds, I placed the camera and tripod. I needed to keep myself as far from the background wall as I could to keep from lighting it with the flash. A softbox positioned three quarters of the way between the camera and the background was about the limit of how close I could be to the camera and still focus with the 70-200mm lens. I focused on the softbox, marked the spot on the floor so I'd know where to stand and set the lens to manual to hold that focus point. The flash intensity falls off so quickly at such a small aperture that each softbox was placed to the left and right as close as I could get them to me.
Vary Lighting and Poses
Photographing this way is always a challenge; deciding how to pose, keeping myself in the frame, glare on eyeglasses. It's a case of set the camera timer, press the shutter and within ten seconds position myself in the right place and pose before the shutter snaps. It can be aggravating but seeing the results of different poses and lighting positions is very educational and at times gratifying. After each photo I viewed the image on the camera monitor and adjusted lighting and/or pose to get the effect I wanted. At times the pose didn't look right while at others reflections in my glasses was the problem. I kept trying different things and after about thirty shots was satisfied I had the shot I wanted.
What I Learned in This Photography Challenge
The point to all this is to improve flash photography skills. So, what did I learn from all this. The pose is nice. I managed to pose in a manner that I don't have an unattractive slice of ear hanging off one side of my face. That was an objective; either have the right ear fully visible or not at all. Reflections in glasses is always a problem and changing poses and lighting position helped solve that but it was tough doing so in a way that kept light from spilling onto the background which I wanted to keep black.
Make the Background Darker and Control Exposure
The background isn't black; it's an off shade of black. It looked darker on the camera monitor but when viewed on the computer monitors the image overall was too dark. I had to boost the exposure in Photoshop and that led to a lighter background and more noise. Adding flags of some sort to block light from spilling onto the background may help that. Making use of the camera histogram, which I failed to do, will help me recognize an underexposure in the future.
Have a Posing Chart or Plan for Better Workflow
I'm always hit and miss with posing, reflections and exposure in flash photography portraiture. I never quite understand what's happening or why and repeating a good result is difficult. With practice I'll improve but in this instance after moving around so much I'm not sure what worked and what didn't. A list or posing diagram could help with a better workflow and more practice.
Calibrate Your Monitors
My monitors need calibrating. The one I use for processing my photos has a distinct red tint which should be expected as it's the older of the two and monitors are said to do that as they age. On the newer monitor and my cell phone the image had a distinct yellow tint versus the red on the old monitor. I've refrained from spending the money for calibration equipment but if I expect to make prints that match the monitors I'll have to do that.
Control Light Spill to Reduce Glare on Monitors
While processing the images I noticed vertical bands on my monitor and realized they were reflections. Light passing through vertical blinds on the front windows reflected from a wall on my right creating glare on the monitors. A pair of blackout curtains hung over the blinds will help solve that problem.
Photography Challenge Week 1 Complete
I am really surprised how much I learned through this weeks challenge. Much of it was unexpected and unrelated to lighting but I've identified problems and weaknesses and found some ways to fix them. That gives me much to work on and some experience to share in the future. I hope this post gives you some ideas and inspires you to challenge yourself to creative projects that improve your photography skills. If you have questions or comments feel free to drop me an Email ! Thanks for reading!