Studio Test Shots

On the rare occasions when I am asked by friends to shoot some studio photographs, Sheila becomes my default assistant. We often will need to reschedule these few shoots due to my health and then try to find a 'good' day in between bouts of poor health so scheduling a shoot is always a bit of a nightmare. I enjoy studio work though and wish I had better health to do this more often. (Actually, if I were healthy, I would probably own a photography studio... among a few other things... I've even sketched my own studio designs!) 

Just a quick photo shoot requires a lot of prep work such as testing all gear, recharging batteries, creating a shooting plan, moving gear, setting up gear, etc. 

The easiest part of a photo shoot is the actual shooting time with the model/client but don't confuse this with being "easy" because a lot of things can go wrong, a lot of things can be done incorrectly and shooting photos requires technical, creative and artistic skill and knowledge. 

After the shoot, there is the clean up which goes quickly by comparison to setup but is followed by meticulously checking all gear, removing batteries, recharging batteries, and cleaning and inspecting all gear before storing away. 

Then comes the most time consuming part... developing these RAW image files into beautiful images.

This writing, however, is more about the setup and the one person who helps me with this logistical puzzle. 

Each photo shoot is different. Sometimes I'll use natural light from a window. Sometimes I'll use a single light... or sometimes two... or sometimes three. Backgrounds, whether natural backgrounds or cloth backgrounds, need to be chosen and set up. On the very rare occasion when the weather is good for portrait photography, we might even step outside but there is still plenty of 'setup' to do even outdoors.

Once the light directions are chosen for a particular project, I need to decide how I am going to modify that light... soften the light or harden the light... and choose the appropriate light modifiers and decide how I am going to apply those light modifiers (particularly if the light source is the sun). 

I need to figure out which lens would be best for the particular photo shoot. If I have a lot of room, I can use a longer portrait lens (my preferred choice). If I am in a smaller room or area, I may need to use a wider lens but then try to avoid the distortion that is prevalent on these wider lenses. If I'm outdoors, I may want the viewer to be able to identify the environment yet separate my subject(s) from the background so this may require a different lens.

After choosing the lens and knowing what will be visible in my viewfinder, I need to figure out where all these sources of light will fall. Light spills in different ways... it bounces, bleeds, and reflects... light falls off across distance... and light even reflects different colors and has a color of its own. If any source of light is going to spill into an area where I don't need extra light (which often happens in tight spaces), then I must set up flags (basically, a black baffle or shield) to keep the light only in the area where I need it.

Setting up for a photo shoot requires a lot of time and a lot of work, so... Sheila helps me by lending a hand as my assistant.

Before the model/client arrives at the location for the shoot, I have Sheila act as the subject to test the lighting so I can spot any potential problems before the client even arrives. There is no sense having the client stand around while I'm trying to figure out how to resolve a lighting issue. One of the biggest potentials for problems is equipment reliability. Another thing to work out is the different light intensities. This all gets setup and tested with the help of my default assistant. 

Sheila steps up as my test model on these rare occasions. Shown here is one such test shot before a photo shoot. During the shoot, Sheila also helps to rearrange lighting, holds reflectors to bounce light, holds scrims to modify light, and, if the model is a female, helps with keeping makeup, jewelry and hair in order (since I know very little about this stuff yet already know more than I want to know).

In this particular case, the biggest source of a potential problem with my lighting was eyeglasses. I knew the model for this particular day wears eyeglasses and, since I wear eyeglasses myself, I know all too well how eyeglasses can ruin a photo with terrible reflections bouncing off the glass and obscuring the eyes. A portrait is not a portrait if you can't see the eyes! (There are exceptions but very few exceptions.) 

I had Sheila step in while wearing her reading glasses... adjusted the light positions... adjusted the light intensities... figured out the best posing angles and where my limits to angles were before reflection ruined the shot... and ended up with a few shots of my beautiful assistant.

One of these days, I need to go through all of this again with Sheila... but, this time, to get some shots of her as the model... wearing nicer clothes, makeup, jewelry, hair done, and ready to smile glowingly... 

I plan to write more about setting up for studio photography. I am in the process of putting together my own little on-site system for reviewing photos on a larger screen right there in real time during a shoot. I'm also educating myself on coming up with my own film color profiles and applying these profiles for more pleasing tonal qualities and warmth. The goal is to shoot portraits which have unique color and smooth tonal qualities which are identifiable only as my work. Sometime soon, Sheila and I will need to schedule some time for some portraits of her as I put some new knowledge to the test...