Don’t get me wrong I looovee taking images of people in natural daylight. ( there will be a tutorial on that coming up.. ) but what if you need consistency on a shoot or you don’t want to be worrying about soft focus or movement blur then maybe their is an easier solution.
In todays “learn with stef” i’m going to walk you through step by step and recent shoot using a three light setup to create a modern soft vibe which is very popular at the moment in editorials and beauty submissions. One of the best tools in the photography kit is how to create soft lighting. Clean lighting has many benefits, its extremely popular with fashion clients as it shows a lot of detail in the clothing, it’s popular for photographers as its a super efficient in reducing bumps/lines in the skin hence reducing the amount of retouching required in post production. It also looks so fresh and modern.. I just love it!
Lets start with a gear kit for this shoot…
Nikon z9 24-70mm lens
V-Flats foam boards in black and white
Studio - Studio Northbridge, Perth Australia
Elinchrom 1000w ELC strobes ( with large octagon soft box - Rotalux 150 )
Elinchrom 1000w ELC strobes ( with small octagon soft box -Rotalux 100 )
Elinchrom 500w ELB strobes ( with an elinchrom Litemotiv Parabolic 120cm )
disclaimer I am an Australian ambassador for Elinchrom - you can read a little more about that on their website here https://www.elinchrom.com/discover/finding-a-voice/
If you are in Australia and would like to purchase Elinchrom gear I recommend speaking to Kayell Australian or Team Digital. I will pop their links at the bottom.
A fancy diagram -
This Diagram gives a pretty good understanding of how I set up the lighting for this shoot. Keep in mind when setting up your lighting you will always need to make fine adjustments depending on what camera you are using and what lighting equipment you have.
Its worth noting its actually the third light ( the light sitting right behind the photographer/camera is the super power light! This light gives the extra kick or magic into the set and gives the models skin just that little bit extra glow, this is actually the light that makes this setup work so well!
Posing -
With this soft lighting setup your posing, makeup and styling doesn’t need to be “overdone” sometimes keeping it really simple can all add to this effortless modern cool chic feel.
When it comes to simple posing I always try to find poses where the model feels and looks comfortable. It may looks like I have just said to her “just stand here” where in fact i’ve said ok lets try standing with the box, without the box, relax, let your shoulders drop, try a hand in pocket, ok try hands down, hands crossed, give me a little more attitude, chin up etc
I talk to the models constantly giving direction and reassurance.. in doing this their confidence grows and they start to protrude confidence in their poses. This model is actually very new and this was only her third shoot so its my job as a photographer to make her feel safe, comfortable and confident on the shoot. This is how you get the best results, when everyone on set feels happy, confident and comfortable.
You as the photographer must take the lead, you're the boss on set so like any workplace we must lead by example. :)
Some useful links - Elinchrom suppliers
https://www.kayellaustralia.com.au
https://www.teamdigital.com.au
So that is it for today! Please email me to let me know your thoughts. The following emails from here on will be paid subscriber emails.. Your subscription will allow me to be able to continue sharing my tips and trick all year round in a Bi monthly newsletter. Some of the topics to come will be bas and video tutorials from on set, a deep dive into post production, interviews with photographers from all over the globe, step by step lighting setups, mini workshops and thats just touching the surface.
Anything that can be improved I’m all ears and please feel free to share with other photographers that might be interested to learn with stef!
This email format will be a Bi monthly by Stef King photography www.stefking.com.au