Lessons

Lesson Info

Shoot using a Beauty Dish (Bethany)

We're gonna have fun today. Shooting. We've got some wonderful models. Bethany is gonna be our first model today. And we're gonna start out in this corner using the pro photo with the beauty dish and actually even see the light over here. So do I have an idea of what we're gonna shoot yet? Not really. We're gonna create this as we go along, because seeing the shadow this is going to create a beautiful shadow. I love this wall. Love this corner. So I want to start here. They want to switch to a different lighting set up in a different background. So, Beth me, you'll come over here, give a round of applause for microphone. Is that a prop ideo? That's in case you wanted to ask me anything. And if not, I can put it down. Well, tell us what you do from Well, I'm mostly from the Seattle area. I I sometimes work here creativelive and I sometimes do, you know, do contract in other places. But other than that, I am an avid swing dancer and singer. Awesome. And that's what I wanted. I wanted a d...

ancer because I wanted you to be comfortable in front of the camera cause we met what, 10 minutes ago for the first time. So and that's fine. We're not fun today. What I'm gonna do, Joe, you're gonna help me today. The first thing we want to do is kind of shine Flew a set up What a shine flew me Does anybody here know it? Shine Flu is shine Flu comes from the view camera You should know this You shine flew, the photographer would shine, flew the camera were standard in front standard in standard in perspective and step it up and then throw the cloth over the head. That first part is called shine flooding. The second part is called Refining so gently. When I'm setting up a shot, I shined fluid in my mind. I use that term when I'm setting up a shot because I want to see the light. So I'm gonna shine flu first and then we'll refine it. So let's do that. And what I'm gonna do is use my camera. What kind of camera do you? I'm using a five d mark three and I've got my very favorite lens on which is a 72 304 56 So 72 300 I love using the 300 specially for portrait says you'll see in just a little bit as we do the head shots. So we've got the pocket wizard set up with the lights, and what we're gonna do is a meter test right now. Joe, if you give me the setting first I'm gonna take a look at the light. Let me shine. Flew the light in. But I think I'm going to do is take this up Just a touch And I'm just gonna flash the stroke. 0. 11.5 1 25th of a second using eso won 60. And what else? What other details were there Just your shutter speed. 11.5. Was it OK? So it'll be a 13. I s 0 1/60 I s 01 61 25th of a second. Okay, definitely. Uh, if you'll just stand over there for just a minute, we're also going to do what I call an insurance policy. This is a color checker passport. We'll actually see how this works today, but I use the color checker passport for three things. Number one is a custom white balance, but we're not gonna do custom white bounce today. We got the camera set up with these strobes at 5600 Calvin. So we're using that for our color balance. And the thing about using white balancing in the camera. There's three options. You have auto white balance. You have a preset white balance or you have custom white balance. And when you're thinking about consistency being the key and a digital workflow as great as auto white balance is, and by golly, today it's really wonderful. But it can be a little bit inconsistent. So my preference for white balancing is either a preset or custom. And today we're choosing a preset and a preset could be daylight cloudy shade those type of settings. But we haven't set for Kelvin, and we've said it to 5600 Kelvin for the white balance for today. No, as far as the passport is concerned, this side is a 24 24 color patch color checker, and you know, we have a shout out Wednesday with Joe Brady, and I'm sure he'll cover this just a little bit more, but I use this for two reasons. Reason Number one is for what? A calling insurance policy? Because if I have at least one shot of this in a shoot, I've got reference for a click. Quite balancing another thing. I use this forced actually create a camera profile, and we'll actually do that today and take a look. Sometimes I use the profile. Sometimes I don't, so we'll create one today. We'll look at it and see if we're going to use it. For all the shots were doing, do these lights. So Joe feel, Hold that next to that pretty face for me. I'm going to take a picture a close up of the chart, and the important thing here is that it's perfectly illuminated if you point the chart to me just a little bit more just and tilt down just slightly. The other thing that's important is to get a perfect exposure, and I think I might be a little hot, so I'm actually going to close down from 13 to 16. Let's try that in turn the color checker to me. Just a little bit more. This way. The other way, Just like that. Good. Thank you Okay, That looks pretty decent As far as the exposures concern. And looking at the history Graham I'm going to do one were shot just in case. And I'm gonna open up to F 14. What is the angle to the light that you had the color checker? Is there a specific into her face? So how are you arranging that? If I was shooting in acute light, I might tilt the color checker a little more toward the light, but nine out of 10 times I have it facing directly toward the can. Right? Because I want to get the proper elimination right On what situations would you use? A grid over the beauty light. As opposed to not using a grid that never. He's a great over the beauty dish itself. I would use a grid over a soft box. Could you explain why you wouldn't want to use one over the dish? My warning is a grid. Why? You wouldn't want to use a great over the dish. What I do like use over the dish, is a sock. Okay. Just to soften it a little bit as far as a grid concern. And you know, now that you mentioned that I do have a grid for my beauty dish at home. And quite frankly, I'm rethinking this. Thanks for asking. Glad to be of service. We're going to use a grid on a different light today. But for the beauty dish, which I loved, the beauty dislike the The grid allows you to focus in just on a very specific spot, if you will. So, um, the Times that I use a grid on the beauty dishes when I'm using to beauty dishes 14 main light and one for effect Like one more quick question. Eddie. It's about that color checker from Cook Esquire. Would you suggest taking a color checker shot for every shoot, or only when changing light or locations? How often are you? A. Sfar as an insurance policy? Every shoot as far as the cameras concerned, you don't need to take it, but once for a lighting conditions. So once we set it up here, we can use it for the rest of the shoot for the day. However, when you're shooting for customer, if you use the color checker, take a picture of it. It's kind of impressive, but it's also that insurance policy, Especially if you need to do a click balance once you get into the process. So it's always good to have. It is an insurance policy. I've been using the color checker my entire career that, you know, they used to be this big. It is a matter of fact. I still have several of them. Better that big. But so it's a great technology, maybe wear something. So I actually took one of them underwater a couple of years ago in a Ziploc bag, which was a disaster. I got the shot, and the color patches were still right on. And I've saved that. Caused the color patches. Kind of swelled it up. It's kind of cool. All right. All right. Thanks. Good. Good questions. Okay. Now F 14. Okay, we're looking good there. Thank you. All right, Bethany, What I'm gonna have you do, my dear, is just kind of go to my left, your right? Just a touch. And this is where I, as you are sometimes kind of getting a little frustrated mode until I see my shot. Till I find it until I work it. So, working with Bethany, I can say it's gonna be very easy to get great shots, but there's another element here that I'm also looking at, and that is the shadow. So let me dio first, just a test shot without forming anything just yet. And let's take a look how the lights actually going to present itself and you can see that the light is actually going to generate a pretty heavy shadow compared to what we see in person because of the ambient light. And that's okay. It's okay because we want to learn how to see light more specifically, and we learned what the light is doing. Then we can kind of shape our shot here because I don't see the shadow quite that deep because the ambient light here. But I'm going to utilize the shadow as well. We're going to do that with body language. So why don't you do is go over one more time this way and I'm not sure how to pose you just yet, but let's start out with some kind of s curve with your body. You're a dancer. You want to see me pose? No, I would very much yes, but I wanted something in this fashion, okay? And maybe over your head with that. Good. Now, one thing I would like you to do is that is to bring switch your niece. What? Your feet and actually bring. Now that I'm starting to see the shot, I want you to bring your foot back the other the other way. And now, been your left knee? Four. But more, more, more just like that. Okay, good. All right. And now can you lean back? Just way. Way back. All right, so let's turn around this way. Not quite with the shot yet, but I like what I see. There may be your foot. Very nice. You know, been coming close. And this one thing I love about using this lens bring her nose this way for me. Now, I'm not saying the shadow at all on the wall. It was four lights of nature that I pay close attention to spec. Your highlight diffused highlight, A diffuse shadow and me and my shadow. So what have you back up? Closer to the wall? And this time, let's just kind of spread out with your arms on the wall, Actually, yes. And I want to once again. Just create. Good. Good. Good. That's beautiful. That's what I'm looking for right there. So I'm finally seeing the shot developed for me. Good. Now it's a matter of working the expression in the face, So twist your body toward me. I'm sorry. The other way. Good. Now let's work the face. You just tilt your head and Joe groups might have lost contact. Once again, I would get on the camera. Okay. Beth. Neighbor, your arm back up on the side. Good. Thank you. And we do their hand. Just redo your figures. Beautiful. And Joe, What I might have you do, if you will. It's the spring. The light were this way. I wanna shape her face with the shadow a little more. Oh, yes. And let me check my preview here, and you're seeing full frame. Good deal. No. Yeah. All right. Be ready to do some job. Can you do some Johnson those shoes, or would you rather change shoes? Just I'm just trying to get somebody. Uh, okay. If you'd rather change shoes. I'm good with that. Okay? We're not gonna go far, and I don't you to jump far, but I know when you jump, you're going to create this feeling. This looks I'm going to try to capture. Let's do a test shot here. Yes, a test shot. Go ahead and let's do that again. I'm coming closer. Yeah, All right. So I'm not getting where I want to either. Don't worry about that. This is the way I work anyway. So until I find the image and now I'm starting to see a fabulous shot, I may have to close down, and what I'm gonna do is step over this way. I'm going to incorporate this light coming in at this angle. I want you to tilt your nose this way just to touch beautiful right there. And let's see what I've got with this window coming through. And the wind was a little bit dark. So, Bethany, give me a second here. I'm gonna take my shutter speed temporarily down to 1/60 of a second and let me see what this Dallas isn't with. It's still overpowering. So Wow, In order to do that, we're gonna have to back this light about twice as far away because we've got the power turned all the way down on the light and by backing it up to things are gonna happen. The first thing it's gonna happen is going to, uh, force me to open the lens up. So I'm 14 right now. Let's go to F nine and I'm guessing at this without the meter, so we'll see if it works. And I'm also going to go down to 30th of a second. And the reason I'm doing that, I want to see if I can capture the light coming through the window pane here. In addition, toe shooting Bethany. And the nice thing is this and that works. The nice thing is this that the light that stroke whites going to give me the sharpness and then the light coming through the windows just a little bit of extra detail now, So we're just playing. We're having fun once again what the attorney or knows toward the light just like that. And then throw your hip out, even though I'm doing a close up up here to kind of get your shoulders in place, and I might have you in just a second. Close upside 3/4 shot. And now turn your nose toward the light once again this time tone down your smile Just a touch but till the top of her head and bring your nose back to me Just a touch right there. And I want to try bringing your hand up into your hair just in kind of like this. I think when we try that and see if that works, is that a beep? Did you hear that beep with me? Good love that smile. I get right there always right there. Okay, So let's back up all the way into the corner and changing as I go here. Let's get back it right into this corner. And Joe, let's bring that light in. Not too far, not too close. But just turn it this way the other way. And I think that tilts just fine on it because I'm not looking at the shadow. What I might want to do is take one of these pieces of foam core, and we're just going to shade the light off at the bottom here. Just like that, it's hard to see with the ambient light. We were playing with the light and Bethany, I want you. Another's rather strange, but I want you to kind of Lay on this wall. Good, good. And then twist around. I'll find it in just a second. Maybe put your right hand on the other wall. Now we're getting there. OK? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's it. Now I'm gonna need one foot. Perhaps your right foot up on the wall. Not quite that high. There you go. Now we're getting there. Now. I want you to loosen up for me. Good, Good, good, good. And twist away from me. Just a touch. And that's looking very nice. Beautiful. Right there. Hold right there. I'm gonna come in closer and I want you to bring your nose this way. Chin down and till the top of your head. Right in here. Gorgeous. And now let's work on that smile. That gorgeous smile of yours. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful And knows this way a little more nice and just kind of 1/2 smile. Beautiful. Just that sweet smile of yours right there. You change your angles, not changing anything else but the angles just to get that light. Little more effective. Beautiful, beautiful shot. Let's go horizontal. Good. I'm starting to see some great shots of It's a great shot right there. I don't want to pull the court out again. Now, just tilt the top of your head right there and now starting to see she from Atlanta. But that's no excuse. I'm starting to see a loop. Shadow of the nose right on the face said that Probably more prominent in image that let me do one more shot. Here. Tilt the top of your head. Yeah. Turn your nose toward the light. Just a touch. Noticed. Instead of asking her, turn her head, I'm asking. Returner knows that's just something I developed. And it helps communicate because when you turn your head toward the light, it sometimes doesn't make sense. At least that's what I found, but a great shot. Look at that. Look. I mean, beautiful, But I do need to change one thing, so don't move. Don't change. Your express and Joe bring the light this way. And I'm looking at the shadow of the nose right there. Freeze right there. Turned the light toward her. Just attach. And don't worry about shading it right now, because I'm doing close ups now. Just that sweet small smile right there. More more in the lovely smile. You've got it gorgeous. Now till the top of your head. You know what a great shot we're getting here. I do want you to try something with the card here. What I want to do, we want to create a shadow just on the wall here, Okay? Because I'm doing a close up and we'll go back to that same shot. Good. Nice. Let's make sure we got that. We do that really made a big difference with the card. Go toward the wall. Just a little bit. There you go. Good. Very, very nice. Good. What is that card actually doing any? Let me show you. What do you want? Shot with the card. And now remove the card. And if you look quickly, see the background. Um Well, here we go. You know, it looks quite different on my screen than it does. No, There you go. That's without the card, and that's with the card. So what we're doing is shading just around her head there because she's got a great shot. Now, we'll be able to take this in process on the ones that are too bright and work that down, So we'll be able to do that. Anyway, Any time. I can love to get it in camera rather than in post. You know, you always hear people say, Oh, we'll get that photo shop. No, we don't want to do that. We want to be professional on what we do so and shaping light. Um, just try different things. Have fun with it. Thank you. Now, what would you like to do? This is perfect for frame here now. I used to photograph a lot of cheerleader competitions and they would have what they call stick it. Meaning that they reached the pinnacle of that pose. Or that I think so. What you're doing right now, to me is wonderful. That's sticking it right there. Let me change angle slightly. As a matter of fact, can we do this against this wall? I'm gonna pull the light over this way, and now we're going to take advantage of not only her pose, but we're going to accentuate it with the light in the shadow. So, Joe, if you tilt the light, actually, I bring it down and I want you to turn it the other way. And now let's take it So it's this high fist of that height and turn it more this way here. It might be easier for me to do this just now. Sometimes I don't know what I'm one until I get it there. But this is the sort of thing I'm I wanted to do. And now can we just check meter on this? Since we change that kind of dramatically, I'm still at 1/60 and I'm gonna go back. Teoh 1 25th Well, he's doing that any what? For people who can't tell at home. What is the sort of the angle that you're at right now with that beauty dish? 45. That's a 45 degree. Or, if you look at what we at 11 if you look at the angle of the light that the hot spot, if you will, would be in the center. Even though this beauty diss does not have a hot spot, it's beautifully even, but it's pointing toward her feet. So my objective is to get a nice, even light on her, and now my objective is to take advantage of her posing with the shadows. So let's see what we got here. Test shot. Good love, love, love the post. I'm gonna back up a little bit more and I actually love to shoot this book. Yes, horizontal love It just love it. Now. The same thing this time I should be shooting is I'm talking to you because you keep giving these great shots but knows toward the window in eyes back this way. Good. And for the sake of it, eyes to the window so I can show the difference. Because right now I'm looking at too much. Why did the eyes And now bring your eyes back. Beautiful shot. Beautiful. Okay. I love that right there, too. I love that great shot right there. And now just come up taller for read. Just stand up taller. And what I like to do is drag your toe. Yeah, just a little more like that. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful and sweet. Turn your nose. Just a touch. Good. And, um, I having too much fun here. Yes. Good. Never rely a lot. Not rely, but use the models natural movement a lot. There's a little bit of direction, but it just seems like, um, you know you like Teoh. Find something within your subject more than direct them. Is that what that's an excellent observation? And even when I'm shooting fashion, a shoot more natural with the model than I do Posey Posey. Because I used to do a lot of posing. I do a little more refinement when I find the right image. I might refine it just a little bit and what I didn't do, uh, with Bethany, I didn't go up and give her a few pointers as far as how I like to work. But I'm gonna do that now, just for the sake of doing that. So are the models can hear this, too. So Bethany Way are working and you see me through my hip. That's kind of your indication. This is what I call fat to the camera. This is thin to the camera. So a fast get a thin your right hand. That means just turn the fatness away from the camera. That's all little things like that, but knows thing. You've got that down already. Um, if I ask you to move your foot over, you can almost do it dramatically, and I might have to go back or something of that nature. So There's a kind of simple instructions, if you will. But if there is an absolute pose and sometimes when everything is working together and there's three things that you want to work together, and that would be your subject, your background and the lighting. And when you have those three things working together and that's what we're shooting, that's what we want to create and pick your. Are those three elements the background, the subject in the light and, um, than the refinement? So here we're just playing. But I'm glad you observed that, a technique that I use, which is more natural. So with that being said, when we get to the process part would find the winning image, and it's going to be more natural than not. I'm not against posing and you'll find me posing sometimes more than not, but I appreciate that observation. A few more Bethany, if you will, a few more. We'll do a few more poses, and okay, if you can. What I would love for you to do is to June and I want to catch you in mid air, so I'm gonna get down on one knee and set, just like that great. And as you do that for your head back toward the light. Yes. Great. And again let me change. I need back up just a tiny bit more and two more times. Ready, set. And once again, if you can't throw your head back toward the light a little bit more and set. Go. Okay. You know, Tarver's job is never finished. If you don't mind, Let's get up. Just right up against the wall. Okay? Still a few shots like that. Turn your head. Chin down. Bring your eyes on the floor. Right around there and through your hip. Out for me. The other way, perhaps. Yeah. Good, good, good. Bring your right hand out on the wall. Well, more and chin down. What am I looking for here? I'm not quite sure yet. But post processing is definitely going to be something I utilize on this shot. You close up here, you just get in your eyes until the top of your head. Down once again. Good. All right. Thank you, Bethany. Okay. Can we take some questions before absolutely models coming? I have ah, curiosity, and actually, this has been asked several times in the chat room. And that is, um, why you prefer to use a beauty dish from such a far distance. And when would it be a more appropriate to use soft box versus a beauty dish? How do you make that decision? Beauty dish gives out beautiful light. Might as well call it beauty light. Okay, of course. Matthew Jordan Smith been here several times, and he utilizes the beauty dish like nobody I've seen. It's a beautiful light. It it creates your flight. It makes it in my mind easy to create beautiful life. Soft box. We're going to use that next. Come to think of it, a soft box just creates a softer rounder shadow. Um, that's one of the big differences, but I used all lighting. I don't just use just a beauty dish. I love using a beauty dish, especially if I have to go on location and a big warehouse of beauty additions. My first choice from doing a portrait, the soft box is my first choice. That does that Answer the question. Yeah, I mean, it kind of sounded to me. Correct me if I'm wrong. Like you're saying that a beauty dishes better just all around natural lighting, and it's a bit more speculative, right? So it kind of creates harsher shadows. And my guess is that you like that of the speculator ity. There's no diffusion sock on the beauty dish right now. Because of that, it will be more speculator. Um, so that's a good observation, but we define what speculum highlights are for people. Yes, well, there's four lights of nature. Speculate how I defused Highlight the Defu Shadow and Me and my Shadow. And a spectacular highlight is the first reaction to reflection. The easiest way to describe that is if you're taking a picture of a car and the sunlight reflecting off the crew, that's a speculum highlight. So when we look at speculate highlights, we'll look at that closely. Today we're getting the process. When you look at this, time sinks bigger highlights of your face right now, incidentally, because I see, like that way I see speculator ity on everybody's face, going to look at it. But the speculum highlight is the helps of shape foreshadows shaping. But the diffused highlight is what we refer to as the skin tone color, if you will, for taking a picture of a ball, there's a specter highlight. Then there is the color of the ball. That's the diffused area. Good question, but a specter highlight is the the brightest speculate, or ity or brightest, part of of the light itself. If you look in and I when you look at the light and I see the little circle, that's also a speculum highlight, it was different. Speculator, it ease will take a little more of a study on that today. It's a good good point.