I'm fairly happy with how the image came out of the camera in terms of lighting, but it doesn't wow me. Advice?
Here's my exif:
Camera: Canon PowerShot S5 IS
Exposure: 0.4 sec (4/10)
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO Speed: 80
Focal Length: 13.9 mm
Should I have done something different? I shot in TV mode so I could control the exposure, but I felt like the aperture should have been higher. ? Also, I'm frustrated that it looks flat/dead (as do all of my low-key efforts).
Here's the image (it's better when it's bigger, of course, but it's still lacking something to me?):
you have some nice shadows in the shot. I think the yellowish shirt is distracting, and i'm not in love with the face-in-the-center framing. did you do any post-processing? you could definitely key up some of the highlights to get more depth. :)
@sdpace Yeah, the shirt bothers me too, I was just taking what she gave me because she rarely "has time" for a photoshoot haha. I cropped it a little (my dog photobombed?!) and I used the airbrush to soften her skin. For a shot like this, what sort of framing would you have done? Thank you so much for your input!
What does your histogram look like? You have strong shadows, but weak highlights, I would look at your histogram and adjust accordingly, or at least until you get that "pop" you're looking for :)
It's underexposed. You don't need to underexpose to do a low-key shot.
What you need to do is shape the light - you need to restrict all the splash, so it only falls where you want it to fall. A smaller aperture and faster shutter speed will help, but of course your light source needs to be strong enough to light your subject. If you are using natural light, it is tricky unless the background is already very dark. But remember, you still need a correct exposure on the subject (the parts that are lit).
This one used a single diffused light (chinese lantern softbox) held up and to the side. As it was a weak light, the fall-off ensured the background remained relatively dark.
These two used a single studio light. The first one used a single softbox, above the camera and slightly camera-left.
This second one used a gridded spot, camera-right.
the jacket definitely does not need to be in this shot. and there's a bit of hair below your left cheek which should be tucked away somewhere.
The pose/angle of your head is taking away any impact there could be IMO. It looks like your back is hunched and your head is tilted forwards slightly. To improve the short, i agree with @dmortega you need to crop tighter on the face.
Find a couple of hours to yourself and play with the lighting. the aperture is fine, the key to a good close up is lighting. also, play around with where your eyes are looking, change up your facial expression slightly, look intensely at the camera, look intensely away from the camera in various directions.
@jinximages Your examples are amazing - I especially love the last one. Thank you for being willing to give someone who is less than even an amateur (me!) such great technical advice. I'll be trying this again sometime with all the suggestions!
For now, here's (what I think is) am improved edit of the same shot. I think I've done the best I could do with the original. Again, I sincerely appreciate all of your willingness to help me!
Your second version is better - definitely. The higher contrast helps prevent it looking so flat.
Something that might help: inverse square law. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/isql.html
Basically, doubling the distance (from light source) quarters the strength of the light. So, if you have a black or dark backdrop behind your subject, and are using a strobe or other light (not direct sunlight), the further back your backdrop is (from your subject) the darker it will be. If your backdrop is twice as far from your light source as is your subject, it will have one fourth the amount of light on it, thus appearing much darker than where light falls on your subject.
So, for this shot, I had the bike right at the front of my backdrop (the part that lay on the floor, that is), so the vertical was back a good 8-10' and thus reflected little light. Also, by using a smaller aperture, f/16, and a decently fast shutter speed, 1/125th, and low(ish) ISO, 200, the camera picked up very little light beyond the subject. I used two softboxes (one left, one right), but controlled the spill so they didn't light up the whole studio, and I also had the softboxes really, really close to the subject (almost on top of the bike), thus the backdrop was about 3-4 times further away from the lights. It's a little different to what you're doing, but the same ideas apply.
@jinximages That is great info (and another great image)! I had her laying on my eggplant colored sofa, with a bright, shadeless lamp (all I could find at the time!) - she was propping the lamp up with her feet. Do you think I should have had more space between the subject and the background here? I think next time I try this I need to have her more upright so I can position the lamp closer, and then of course go as high as my camera will go on aperture. I suppose it will auto expose if I'm shooting in AV mode, and I can bring the ISO up. (I originally set it low because I was afraid I'd get noise) Thanks for the link! I'm off to check that out now! :)
@chassitym With light sources like lamps, you will find the light will be softer when the light is further away, but also (a lot) dimmer. You can use a bare bulb for low-key portraits quite well, but it can be tricky. If you have it close to your subject, the shadows will be quite harsh (this can be great for dramatic images), and it is certainly one way to make the most of your subject-to-background distance, as your background can be closer to your subject while still being 3 or 4 times further than your light-to-subject distance. Because the light is brighter when it is closer, you can also use a smaller aperture and faster shutter speed, further reducing the light gathered from the background.
Don't be afraid to shape your lights - you can use simple paper and cardboard to make whatever shapers you like. Just be careful not to let them get too hot!
as @jinximages already said, low key doesn't mean the entire image has to be dark. Put a bit more light on the face, and possibly reflect some back into the shadow side as well.
If you don't have fancy lights, barn doors, flag, just put your subject in a dark room and close the door, leaving a crack for the light to come in - it will be nice and narrow and you can position it to just light what you want.
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What you need to do is shape the light - you need to restrict all the splash, so it only falls where you want it to fall. A smaller aperture and faster shutter speed will help, but of course your light source needs to be strong enough to light your subject. If you are using natural light, it is tricky unless the background is already very dark. But remember, you still need a correct exposure on the subject (the parts that are lit).
This one used a single diffused light (chinese lantern softbox) held up and to the side. As it was a weak light, the fall-off ensured the background remained relatively dark.
These two used a single studio light. The first one used a single softbox, above the camera and slightly camera-left.
This second one used a gridded spot, camera-right.
The pose/angle of your head is taking away any impact there could be IMO. It looks like your back is hunched and your head is tilted forwards slightly. To improve the short, i agree with @dmortega you need to crop tighter on the face.
Find a couple of hours to yourself and play with the lighting. the aperture is fine, the key to a good close up is lighting. also, play around with where your eyes are looking, change up your facial expression slightly, look intensely at the camera, look intensely away from the camera in various directions.
Good luck, happy snapping!
@jinximages Your examples are amazing - I especially love the last one. Thank you for being willing to give someone who is less than even an amateur (me!) such great technical advice. I'll be trying this again sometime with all the suggestions!
For now, here's (what I think is) am improved edit of the same shot. I think I've done the best I could do with the original. Again, I sincerely appreciate all of your willingness to help me!
Your second version is better - definitely. The higher contrast helps prevent it looking so flat.
Something that might help: inverse square law. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/isql.html
Basically, doubling the distance (from light source) quarters the strength of the light. So, if you have a black or dark backdrop behind your subject, and are using a strobe or other light (not direct sunlight), the further back your backdrop is (from your subject) the darker it will be. If your backdrop is twice as far from your light source as is your subject, it will have one fourth the amount of light on it, thus appearing much darker than where light falls on your subject.
So, for this shot, I had the bike right at the front of my backdrop (the part that lay on the floor, that is), so the vertical was back a good 8-10' and thus reflected little light. Also, by using a smaller aperture, f/16, and a decently fast shutter speed, 1/125th, and low(ish) ISO, 200, the camera picked up very little light beyond the subject. I used two softboxes (one left, one right), but controlled the spill so they didn't light up the whole studio, and I also had the softboxes really, really close to the subject (almost on top of the bike), thus the backdrop was about 3-4 times further away from the lights. It's a little different to what you're doing, but the same ideas apply.
Don't be afraid to shape your lights - you can use simple paper and cardboard to make whatever shapers you like. Just be careful not to let them get too hot!
If you don't have fancy lights, barn doors, flag, just put your subject in a dark room and close the door, leaving a crack for the light to come in - it will be nice and narrow and you can position it to just light what you want.