Creating Delicate Gentle Magnificence Portraits with the Westcott FJ400

What we wish is a big, mushy mild supply. We’re utilizing the Westcott FJ400 and their medium Octabox. I like their medium Octa, and I like their giant Octa too. The bottom line is, it’s all relative to your topic. So should you peek round right here, the nearer we transfer this to her, the softer and softer it’ll change into, and the much less contrasty and fewer specular it will likely be. That’s going to wrap round her face, creating softer shadows, which can assist with pore element and create what we’ll name magnificence lighting—that’s the last word aim. You don’t have to make use of solely an Octabox. There are magnificence dishes you should use, however it’s actually about ensuring we’ve obtained some even, generally even flat, lighting to provide this.

So we’re doing two issues—we’ve obtained two lights arrange right here, and we’re going to get dialed in. After all, we’re utilizing a lightweight meter. I take advantage of the Sekonic Lite Grasp Professional L-478D-U. The title is difficult—I’d relatively simply name it “mild meter, model two.” However no, we’ve obtained the Lite Grasp Professional L-478D-U. So, we’ll use that in the present day and get dialed in.

I’m at ISO 200, shutter pace 200, and handbook mode. After I’m within the studio utilizing strobes, I’m at all times in handbook mode—it simply makes life simpler. So, what we’re going to do is get a lightweight meter studying right here, and we’re at F4.5. However I even have a kicker mild on the background. On the background, I simply need slightly little bit of edge mild to create separation, and we’re utilizing the FJ80 II. Let’s see what we’re getting on that kicker mild.

So on that, I’m getting F2—simply over a cease much less, perhaps a cease and a half, nearer to 2 stops much less. 2.02. I’ll kick it up slightly, kick it up a notch. From the set off, I’m simply going so as to add yet another cease of sunshine. It will most likely push it to simply over 2.8. Do it yet another time and it’s 2.81. We’ve obtained 4.5, I imagine it was. 2.8—so simply over a one-stop distinction. That’s going to be sufficient to provide us the look we wish.

So that is so necessary with a lightweight meter—I can’t stress it sufficient. It simply makes life easy. I do know quite a lot of you wish to run and gun it, and I’d be mendacity if I mentioned I don’t try this generally too. However what I actually need is to have the ability to get dialed in. And look, we’re not in a studio area; we’re in a lounge with a backdrop up. The background is from Instinct—it’s the Tapestry, a part of their new wall assortment, and it’s completely lovely. Love what Lauren’s sporting—the tone on tone. Let’s get some killer portraits.