This woman is absolutely beautiful and has the most gorgeous skin. Unfortunately, I am having a tough time capturing it. Her glow turns into hot spots. I am use to photographing pale people (haha) and not sure how to adjust to a darker tone. This is the first in what will be a series of pregnancy shots, so I want to be able to get this down.
I need two pieces of advice, if you don't mind. First, how do I improve this particular photo:
It's taken, and there is no going back.
Second, how do I improve for next time so there is less editing and more justification of her skin tones???
I have absolutely no advice and no experience in this, but just wanted to say that I'm not disturbed by the darker parts (this is how she is). Perhaps the whiter spots are even too white (burnt?). Doesn't it turn OK if you underexpose the whole photo?
1.Meter for the skin. If your camera has a spot meter, aim for a spot neither the brightest or darkest. The black background will remain black.
2. Lower the intensity of your main light or up the intensity of your secondary light source.
3. More diffusion on your main light.
4. Makeup to reduce glare.
Just suggestions, find a willing model to practice on.
lol, she doesn't have dark skin by my measure.
@vikdaddy Can I increase the white balance after the shot has been taken? This was no flash, just natural light through a window....
@scatcat I am not disturbed by the darker parts at all. I am worried about the lighter parts. I want to show off her skin tone, not flatten it or tone it down, make sense?
@lilbudhha Thank you. I need to look up metering (ducking, I know, terrible I don't understand how that really works...) I do not have a light set-up, I use the natural light through my windows... I am wondering if reflectors may help? And you are right, her skin is much lighter than some of the other ladies I have been photographing. But darker than Caucasian, which seems to be the majority of "lessons" on portrait photography....
See if your editing program has a highlights adjustment. Play with it until you get the look your going for. I use iphoto and by sliding the highlight bar to the right it tones down the hotspots and gives her skin a more even tone. honestly I don't see anything wrong with her skin, it looks flawless to me.
@nicolekos
Reflectors can be very useful. If you do not have access to reflectors, foam core makes a good white reflector. I have also used metallic paint on foam core to obtain other colours, such as gold.
White balance is for light temperature (colour) not so much about intensity. Though I do agree with shooting in RAW. More tonal range available ( variations from white to black) and easier to correct/change white balance.
I am going to say don't meter for the skin on people with darker tones! What happens is, your camera thinks you are pointing it at 18% grey, and so it overcompensates and overexposes, causing those nasty highlights. Darker skin tones should look, well, darker, in your photos. See how her top is blown out? That's the obvious indicator of overexposure. That said, there is a lot of contrast there, and you might be best to avoid white clothing on darker skinned people for this type of work.
It is important to use manual exposure modes. Don't let your camera decide on a shot-to-shot basis. Meter on white if you have to (spot meter) - a grey card is far better - and once you have your settings don't change them unless your light or environment changes.
The other advice, about shooting raw, reflectors etc are all excellent points - no need for me to rehash all that. Those things will all help immensely.
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I'd be thrilled if I took one like this
seems perfect to me lol
2. Lower the intensity of your main light or up the intensity of your secondary light source.
3. More diffusion on your main light.
4. Makeup to reduce glare.
Just suggestions, find a willing model to practice on.
lol, she doesn't have dark skin by my measure.
@vikdaddy Can I increase the white balance after the shot has been taken? This was no flash, just natural light through a window....
@scatcat I am not disturbed by the darker parts at all. I am worried about the lighter parts. I want to show off her skin tone, not flatten it or tone it down, make sense?
@lilbudhha Thank you. I need to look up metering (ducking, I know, terrible I don't understand how that really works...) I do not have a light set-up, I use the natural light through my windows... I am wondering if reflectors may help? And you are right, her skin is much lighter than some of the other ladies I have been photographing. But darker than Caucasian, which seems to be the majority of "lessons" on portrait photography....
Reflectors can be very useful. If you do not have access to reflectors, foam core makes a good white reflector. I have also used metallic paint on foam core to obtain other colours, such as gold.
White balance is for light temperature (colour) not so much about intensity. Though I do agree with shooting in RAW. More tonal range available ( variations from white to black) and easier to correct/change white balance.
It is important to use manual exposure modes. Don't let your camera decide on a shot-to-shot basis. Meter on white if you have to (spot meter) - a grey card is far better - and once you have your settings don't change them unless your light or environment changes.
The other advice, about shooting raw, reflectors etc are all excellent points - no need for me to rehash all that. Those things will all help immensely.