Beginner Tips for Home Studio and Portraits?

[supaspiffy]

Hey all,

I've just started my home studio. I have 3 backdrop muslins, 3 speedlites with 4 transceivers and 3 soft boxes with light stands. (They all have ETTL and HSS by the way) I need to know the best way to set my camera (6D) and equipment to take portraits.

Should my camera be on M? P? Av? Tv? I usually leave it on Av set to f2.8 but I don't know any better. Is my 100mm 2.8L Macro the best lens to use out of all my lenses (listed in my sig)? Should I leave some faint ambient light from my tungsten ceiling lamps or just shoot in the dark and completely rely on the speedlites to have maximum control of the lighting situation? What should I point my camera to meter? If I want to expose for the background, how would I do this without blowing up my subject when the flash fires? Likewise, if I purposely want to underexpose my background so that it looks like my subject is coming out of the darkness, what would my settings be?

Thanks! Any help is appreciated.

 

[sulla]

Hi supaspiffy!

I would say yes, the EF 100 L macro is the best lens IQ-wise. If the focal length works in your studio, this is a perfect portrait lens.

Assuming you have third party radio triggers, you have to use M-mode in camera (controlling Av, Tv and ISO) and M-mode on the speedlites. Automatic expousre modes (P, Tv, Av) won't work with those triggers, as they all are one-way communicators and lack the back-channel that is needed for flash exposure metering (ETTL-mode). Take a few pictures and play with the flash power until the histogram looks ok. You could start at ISO100, Tv=1/100 and f=5.6. Use of Tv=1/160 is also possible when your flash triggers are fast enough, but that can be a problem with slow triggers, 1/200s almost always causes problems with 3rd party triggers.

If you have one canon master-capable flash (580 or 600) in the hot-shoe you won't need triggers as you can use canon's wireless ETTL system (either optical or RT, doesn't make a big difference in the studio). Then you can work with automatic modes as well. I would still use M-mode in camera and put the flashes in ETTL-mode. The results wont't be 100% identical if you press the shutter repeatedly, ETTL is not that reliable, but it will be ok mostly.

 

[sulla]

Should I leave some faint ambient light from my tungsten ceiling lamps or just shoot in the dark and completely rely on the speedlites to have maximum control of the lighting situation?

If the tungsten lights are weak, you can leave them on. The flashes will overpower them. To test the effect of the ambient lights, you can remove the flash trigger and take an image with the same M settings on camera. It should come out pitch black.

What should I point my camera to meter?

In M mode, just meter by histogram and trial-and-error.

If I want to expose for the background, how would I do this without blowing up my subject when the flash fires?

Hm, difficult. As you have 3 speedlites, I would illuminate the background with one or 2 of them. Then it is no problem. Use trial-and-error to adjust the flash powers. If you have only (stong !) continuous lights for the background (tungsten) available then illuminate the background as needed without lighting the subject and adust the M-mode parameters to expose correctly. Then adjust flash power for the subject. However, the colours of the flashes won't match the continuous lights, so colour correction gels might be necessary.

Likewise, if I purposely want to underexpose my background so that it looks like my subject is coming out of the darkness, what would my settings be?

Avoid flashlight to hit the background by shading the flashlight so that it hits only the subject. That should yield pitch black backgrounds (see above). Note, that you must also prevent flashlight reflected via the ceiling and walls to illuminate the background. A good subject-background distance helps.

Playing with studio setups is difficult, but it is fun and teaches a lot about light, reflections, exposures etc...

Good luck and have fun!

 

[YuengLinger]

Get some good books! For full understanding of Canon speedlites, Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook. For an excellent walk through many practical lighting setups, Christopher Grey's Master Lighting Guide.

Remember, with speedlites, any modifiers are going to cut down on the little bit of power you have to start with, so choose carefully and plan to work in tight. My favorites are still white bounce umbrellas with speedlites, but B&H has a great little softbox and optional grid just for speedlites. Impact brand, something like 24". Avoid anything with a bracket that blocks the light, such as the Westcott Rapid Boxes. They just kill too much light.

Get a mannequin head and place it up on a stool or something and practice, practice, practice!

 

[dkaiser]

Personally I would recommend starting with only one flash, this makes it easier to experiment and understand what changes you get by varying camera and flash settings.
Also, watch some videos on youtube or other platforms. I really like the Tutorials by Gavin Hoey in this Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL821B7D720DEA39FA&spfreload=10

Especially the "Home Studio Essentials" which has 10 parts could be useful for you.
But as others already mentioned: You also have to try a lot.
Good Luck!

 

[supaspiffy]

Thank you all! Those are all helpful tips.

To clarify, I have 1 430EX II and 2 YN-568EX II (Youngnuo Masters) speedlights and my wireless transceivers are YN-622Cs. Seems like they support ETTL as the option worked on the camera when I tried it out the other night. Also my 3 soft boxes are 24'' x 24'' in case any of you are curious.

I don't really know how to work the histogram and the graph intimidates me.

Also, I do have the Speedliter's Handbook and currently going through it.

 

[dkaiser]

I have one YN-568EX and one YN-568EX II and they both work with ETTL on my 6D and with the YN-622C transceivers.
What I also have is the YN-622C-TX which I would recommend if you plan on using your flashes more often because it is easier to control the flashes with this. In my opinion, it is way easier to use the YN-622C-TX on the camera instead of always having to open the flash settings in the camera menu or changing settings directly at the flashes.

 

[Besisika]

My understanding is that you are going to do portrait in a home studio.
The gear you stated are not for studio, they are for on location shoot. And I am wondering what is the purpose of your studio approach; to do in studio work, or to learn to use your gear so that you will perform well on location.

If you want to do studio work then all have to go manual. There is no need for TTL in studio. All is manual for one and only one single reason; "repetitiveness". In manual modes you have full control and that is the road to repetitiveness. The advantage is that you study over and over again it and once you master what you want, next time you have another model you don't need to think anymore, you just set things up like you practiced and shoot. You would save both yours and the subject's time.

If you want to practice so that you could excel on location then you need to replicate your intention on location. If you want to shoot TTL then practice TTL, just take into consideration few things like the color of your walls, its size and hight; those things that vary from one location to others.

Either way, lucky you for having the ability to use a home studio as a beginner, so as people already stated get some training online, a mannequin and practice, practice, practice. Mannequin doesn't get tired.

 

[supaspiffy]

That's a good question Besisika, I opted to get the soft boxes because I read that they do a much better job of diffusing light than umbrellas and they're what photographers try to "step up" to. I was hoping the soft boxes can work in house almost as well as the umbrellas so that I wouldn't have to go buy a whole set of umbrellas and their corresponding flash brackets etc... I want to get multiple usage for my gear and minimize the amount of gear I have as much as possible.

I did a fair amount of outdoor portraits before I bought my home studio equipment but I plan on doing more and more studio shooting as I get to learn more about my equipment, light physics, flash techniques, etc.

Also I'm very close to getting a mannequin as even my gf tends to get tired of all the "free" portrait sessions I offer.

 

[Besisika]

... I want to get multiple usage for my gear and minimize the amount of gear I have as much as possible.

It is hard to minimize the amount of gear, especially if you are still in the learning process.
I have more than 20 light modifiers at home and it seems that I pick almost something else every time I go on shoot. I shoot rarely in studio, I shoot mainly on location; both indoor and outdoor. Home studio is just for practice and learning to be fast with my gear and calculation.

Umbrellas are easy to pack, and spread the light all over the place. It is not the good option for studio, but very effective when shooting group portrait outdoor. The silver is my preference especially shooting at noon outdoor for group shots. I use the translucent when shooting outdoor, single person, when shielding the person against the sun and use it as reflective umbrella at the same time.
They are useless when the wind begin to blow, then I am switching to beauty dish. Light is harsher but does the job on group shots. I just bought an octagon but I haven't used it outdoor yet (still cold in Canada).

Double diffused softbox is my main gear when shooting darker skin. That as well is the right tool when I don't want the light to spread out too much, especially when adding honeycomb. It is perfect when the wall is colored and I don't want the spill (and so is color cast), or under brunches of trees (same reason), or against a wall that I don't want to light, or a very close background. This is the best tool for feathering my light as well.

The bottom line is, until you are sure what do you want to do in your photography, you will have to buy them at least for the sake of your training.
I would follow what Zack Arias said; start with an umbrella and shoot with it for 30 days until you know what are its advantages and disadvantages then move to something else.

In studio, I would buy 1 bigger double diffused softbox for main, 2 smaller with grid for rim and hair, and a beauty dish for head shot.
You will need a reflector, a boom arm, and if you have a space a V-flat.
I would start with one and then add as I go.

As for training, get the DVDs from Zack Arias and Lindsay Adler and then go for practice, and practice and practice.

Back to your original question; in studio go entirely manual on both camera and flash. Learn how to measure your light exposure for each modifier and distance to subject (quantity of light). Learn how lights add to one another depending of their position. And make sure that you can repeat your result over and over again without thinking about it, regardless of your background, or color of your subject's clothing.
I just regret that your light don't have modeling.
Put your background at least 5 feet from your subject (the inverse square law) and if you grid your hair and rim lights they should not affect the background exposure. Then you can add light independently for your background.

 

[sanjosedave]

1. Practice/Experiment

2. go to creativelive.com and consider purchasing/watching Lindsay Wagnar's studio training

3. Practice/Experiement...everyday

best of luck

 

[agierke]

the allure of studio work is that it offers the potential for full control over lighting and exposure. everything is manually controlled as has been stated.

the challenge in learning studio technique is that the approach is almost limitless. for example, i have at least 3 different lighting set ups that i use for simple headshots alone depending on my mood and the look i want to achieve. no one can tell you how to set up or use your lights...there are just way too many variables to try to do that and in the end each individual technique is just a personal preference and may not be suitable in your space or for your intended purposes.

my suggestion...start to learn and understand what lighting ratios are. this is key in studio work. next, learn how different modifiers shape light. understanding that will inform you on when to choose an umbrella, softbox, dish, grid etc etc. all of this will greatly depend on the size of the space you are working in. width, depth, and height of your space will dictate what you can or cannot do in terms of lighting scenarios.

 

[sagittariansrock]

1. Practice/Experiment

2. go to creativelive.com and consider purchasing/watching Lindsay Wagnar's studio training

3. Practice/Experiement...everyday

best of luck

+1
Lindsay Adler's tutorial is live, right now, for free.

 

[anthonyd]

Thank you all! Those are all helpful tips.

To clarify, I have 1 430EX II and 2 YN-568EX II (Youngnuo Masters) speedlights and my wireless transceivers are YN-622Cs. Seems like they support ETTL as the option worked on the camera when I tried it out the other night. Also my 3 soft boxes are 24'' x 24'' in case any of you are curious.

I don't really know how to work the histogram and the graph intimidates me.

Also, I do have the Speedliter's Handbook and currently going through it.

Your softboxes are on the small side, as light modifiers go, but much much better than using a naked speedlight, or these silly diffusers you stick on the speedlights.

Here is my advice on how to learn how to use multiple lights. First, take advantage of the largest "softbox" in your house, a north facing window (or any window through which you can _not_ see the sun). Put your subject next to that window and take a picture in Av. Move the subject and yourself so that you get different directions of light. When you are happy with the direction of the light adjust the exposure up or down if you need (that's usually called exposure compensation in Canon cameras) and mark the aperture and the speed that the camera chose. Now go to M and set the same aperture and speed as before. Then bring one of your softboxes on the other side of your subject (facing the window) and set the flash to the lowest setting. Keep increasing the power of the flash (without changing the speed and aperture of your exposure) and see how that affects the shadows on your subject. Then move the softbox so it's not facing the window but rather it's at an angle and repeat the experiment with the power settings. Keep moving the softbox until it's next to you, or even behind you.

When you are able to decide what kind of shadows/catchlights you want before taking the shot and setting your lights so you can achieve it, you can throw away your manuals.