Need Help w/Lighting for 8x10 Project

[bvy]

I'm looking for a dead simple one- or two-light setup for some 8x10 work I want to do. I'll be using Impossible's 8x10 black and white film (ISO ~600). I'd like to produce a series of "photo booth" style portraits, so I'm thinking about a light setup that will work on most subjects most of the time. One reason is that this film is contrasty, and I find it difficult to nail the exposure. If I can find a setup that works, I'd like to keep it (tape the floor, note the settings, etc.). Another is convenience; if we have guests, for instance, that are willing to sit for a photo, it should be quick and easy -- not me moving lights around, metering, remetering, etc. I think this will give me some good practice working with this film and a foundation from which to experiment further.

I have lights -- three Travelite 750's and an AB 800. I have a 3x4 softbox, umbrellas, seven-inch silver reflectors and a snoot. I have three backdrops -- black, white, and a neutral painted one. My main limitation is seven foot ceilings. My subjects will either be seated or children. With that in mind, one challenge I have with this film is getting light in the hair. I don't have room for a hair light and haven't had much luck bouncing light off the ceiling. I think if the light is high enough and the subject low enough, I might be able to work through this.

(I thought of putting a light with a seven-inch silver reflector over the camera and a fill light (or reflector) below for butterfly style lighting. I don't know if the silver reflector is a good choice for this, but nothing larger will fit over the camera.)

I'd be grateful for any ideas. Thanks.

 

[CropDusterMan]

Have you done any light tests yet? It's hard to just give you a blueprint really, as lighting is something very personal, and can dramatically
change the look and feeling of an image. What look are you going for? Personally, unless you have a "Black Projects" budget, I'd experiment
with med format polaroid first to establish a direction. Good lighting comes from experimentation. Go do some tests and have a little fun...
document your tests too...the more detail the better.

 

[removed account4]

hi bvy

have you seen the work of william coupon ? from what i remember, he uses very simple lighting.
it might be worth a peek at his website to study how he lights his subjects ...
sorry i can't be more help ...

 

[ParkerSmithPhoto]

I'm looking for a dead simple one- or two-light setup for some 8x10 work I want to do. I'll be using Impossible's 8x10 black and white film (ISO ~600). I'd like to produce a series of "photo booth" style portraits, so I'm thinking about a light setup that will work on most subjects most of the time.

Why don't you post/link to a few examples that have the feel you want to create?

 

[John Koehrer]

Photo booth.
Don't they use one light on each side of the lens? I don't recall anything more elaborate than that.
Two smaller flash units. One on each side of the camera?

 

[Bill Burk]

Pick up a copy of William Mortensen, Pictorial Lighting.

Almost every setup he shows uses two lights.

 

[markbarendt]

Flash is a fickle thing
It can make one picture ring
and another sting

Direction is the key
It guides what we see
You set what will be

It is a nod to style
Can be as vile as bile
or as gentle as the aisle.

It is about contrast
Left to right overcast
or right to left bombast.

Balanced is flat
centered is flat
do you really want that

Move the lights hither
Make them slither
Play and dither

Make the lights dance
make your subjects prance
the light your lance.

 

[Bill Burk]

Make the lights dance

Beautiful poetry markbarendt!

 

[markbarendt]

Thank you Bill

 

[M Carter]

There is just a giant range of possibilities for what you want to do. Especially without visual examples.

I'd say, work out the lighting you want with digital - it sounds like (even though you have some gear) you don't have all the experience to picture a look and set it up.

Two things though - for soft light, a softbox isn't often soft enough for people. I often hang an 8' x 8' sheet of diffusion (ripstop, real purchased photo diffusion, unbleached muslin for color, any-old white fabric) on a crossbar with two stands. 8' softbox.

You har light challenge - try one of these mounted to your ceiling with something like a 3' strip softbox & grid, or an 11" or so reflector with metal grid. Dial it way down, scrim it with black mesh or window screen, etc. if you can't get it distant enough to not be a huge blast of light. You can also try ceiling-mounting a 12" square of acrylic mirror (on a flash bracket or grip head to adjust it) and hitting it from below or the side with a snoot.

 

[bvy]

Love the poem. Will check out the book, Bill. I might try loop lighting, key and fill both with reflective umbrellas. I like this look. I also like butterfly lighting. I didn't know if a seven inch reflector maybe fitted with a diffusion sock would make a good key. As far as examples, I believe Victoria Will's tintypes from Sundance all use the same general lighting strategy:
http://www.esquire.com/entertainmen...ce-celebrity-tintype-portraits-2015/?slide=45



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk