I had my first studio shoot with the french model Morgwen Coste during a workshop with Morten Krogvold. I was limited to 1 light and a softbox. I would like some feedback on how to improve the lighting, especially in the second image.
First studio shoot, 1 light setup
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The second one is very nice. The first is just a little boring to me.
To be honest, the lighting on the second lighting is pretty good. It's just flat because you need to edit by adding some contrast. I looked up Morten's website and the majority of his photos are on the contrasty side. I can show you with a quick edit if you like.
Please do, I'd like to see what's possible
Here's a quick-n-dirty edit just to give you an idea. This obviously is subjective.
Use the arrow keys to go back and forth between the original and the edit.
The majority of the edit is from the curves, brightness, and contrast settings. Don’t take the below settings literally since they can differ from image to image.
Also, there were also some dodge and burn done. Some burning of the arm since it’s so bright. And, dodging of some of the brights on her back.
Thanks for the tips. What is best, working with harder light or adding contrast in post?
"Best", like a lot of things in photography, is subjective. For me, I like to set things up so I have options, which usually means I go for an initial flat look. Then, grade in post so I can control everything. Taking your photo as an example, you can see you have a full range of tonality and contrast you can achieve with just 1 light and softbox. And, I was working off a jpg not a raw file. :)
Even if this was shot with harder light, it's likely you'll still have to edit. There's no escaping editing if you want your images to look the way you want.
Liked them both !!