I received my 2 flash stands today so I was motivated to use them (amazon link). I thought a self-portrait would be a great idea.
I wanted a black and white setup with the background blacked out. Even stopped down to F/16, the flash would still reach the walls. So I moved to the garage and with the help of my dad, we used a blanket for a backdrop.
Here's the setup:
My goal was to set this up alone so that anyone could do this, even if they would be alone. I'm sure we could figure out a way to hang the blanket.
To pre-focus, I placed a tall cardboard box on the chair and focused on that. It was good enough since I shot at F/11.
Here are my flash settings. Main flash YN650III (right) at 45 degrees was set to 1/8+0.3 at 24mm. Filler flash YN560 (left) was at about 40 degrees at 1/32, 24mm. I used my Fujifilm X-T20 + Rokinon 50mm 1.2.
This is out of camera raw with Lightroom presets (Adobe Monochrome):
My exposure isn't good. I think the light source should be closer to me, especially the main one. It's something I will try again sometime.
Here's a good tip. Even if you're shooting RAW, apply a monochrome filter. This will help you a lot by giving you a good idea of the end product. I find a 4x5 crop really suits head shots.
I fixed the exposure issue in post so overall I'm happy how it came out. I'm also happy with the stands. Yes, they're cheap but they're sturdy enough to hold a flash with an umbrella.
I wanted a black and white setup with the background blacked out. Even stopped down to F/16, the flash would still reach the walls. So I moved to the garage and with the help of my dad, we used a blanket for a backdrop.
Here's the setup:
 |
My goal was to set this up alone so that anyone could do this, even if they would be alone. I'm sure we could figure out a way to hang the blanket.
To pre-focus, I placed a tall cardboard box on the chair and focused on that. It was good enough since I shot at F/11.
Here are my flash settings. Main flash YN650III (right) at 45 degrees was set to 1/8+0.3 at 24mm. Filler flash YN560 (left) was at about 40 degrees at 1/32, 24mm. I used my Fujifilm X-T20 + Rokinon 50mm 1.2.
This is out of camera raw with Lightroom presets (Adobe Monochrome):
 |
My exposure isn't good. I think the light source should be closer to me, especially the main one. It's something I will try again sometime.
Here's a good tip. Even if you're shooting RAW, apply a monochrome filter. This will help you a lot by giving you a good idea of the end product. I find a 4x5 crop really suits head shots.
I fixed the exposure issue in post so overall I'm happy how it came out. I'm also happy with the stands. Yes, they're cheap but they're sturdy enough to hold a flash with an umbrella.
 |
| 50mm 1/125s F/11 ISO 200 |
This is a work in progress. I will try again with different settings because I have other ideas to improve upon this shot.
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