I am lucky to have clients who allow for a little experimentation during a paid assignment shoot and will indulge my lighting experimentation. This shot is an example of what happens after I have an image covered in a conventional way and am allowed to play. The subject of this photo is the bridal headpiece so we had a little more freedom in posing the model. The image was created on a studio set.
For the conventional shot I used both a 6'x6' diffusion to the far left side and an extra large softbox on the nearer left side for a wrap of soft light at f11. BUT when I was given the freedom capture some images using only the 6x6 diffusion at lowest power which resulted in this image at f3.2. The diffused light from the left rear created the soft highlights that define her form and the shadows are controlled by wall of foamcor reflectors. The result is this image which mimics the look of natural window light and required very little post-processing.
Shot with Nikon D810 and Nikon 105mm DC lens.
Wonderful image. Bright, clean, great expression, background.
Great photo. I hate to bring it up in this context but I was really surprised you used the 105 DC. I'd always heard how soft it is, especially on a D810. Does it hold up this well for headshots as well?
Maybe folks experiencing soft photos is due to use, or extreme use, of the defocus feature (which is the point of the lens, anyway). I tried Nikon's 85 f/1.8, as I typically stay above f/2 anyway, but it didn't really "Wow" me. Zeiss lenses are out of the question since my eyes aren't nearly good enough to manually focus a portrait.
This is a wonderful photo, and she is stunning. Bravo!
beautiful image