Hi all,
I really liked the photo of michael emerson on the freznle lighting post so I decided to have a play in my tiny studio to see if I could get anywhere close with what I have available. I used two speedlights - one with a beauty dish and grid for my main light, the other with a softbox.
It's a self portrait by the way and my model was a dick for not straightening his tie! I'd love some constructive criticism please as I'm just starting out learning how to use off camera lighting etc. Thanks!
Learning about studio lighting
Paul,
Without knowing what you were trying to achieve, some of my comments may not apply. Off camera lighting is a fun and widely variable study.
I normally would use a beauty dish with grid for a dramatic lighting arrangement; not usually with a softbox. Your style and vision may differ.
Your hotspot from the beauty dish is on the jaw and level with the jawline. Perhaps raising the beauty dish above the head, angling it down, and focus the light higher on the head.
Having the model step away from the background (if there is room enough) will allow better control over the shadow and could keep the shadow from hitting the wall behind the model. You could use the softbox for both a fill light and background light with the proper angle and distance. I normally have my fill light 1 stop below my main light, but vary depending on the type of shot I want. For older women, I use the same flash power for fill and main; for high school seniors I normally can use less fill for a slightly more impactful image.
Tony Corbell has some very good books and videos on lighting, as does Jerry Ghionis. Learn with the lighting you have before buying more equipment.
Experiment a lot. The nice part of digital, unlike film, is you can experiment without cost. Try different lighting setups, different angles, power settings, different ratios until you get what YOU like.
Thanks for that Steve, really helpful advice! I think I fell into the trap of throwing every light I had it instead of really looking at the image first. I'm loving the learning curve! Just for reference, this is the photo I had in mind.