I know very little about lighting & portraits so I may be completely off base but it seems like your lighting for the first few was off. Did you mean for there to be that much shadow on/around the faces in 1, 2, & 4? It seems like you usually see a lot more even lighting for the face on portraits (like the last 3). Was that what you were going for or ?

2/24/2011 12:00:47 AM

Quote :

"I know very little about lighting & portraits so I may be completely off base but it seems like your lighting for the first few was off. Did you mean for there to be that much shadow on/around the faces in 1, 2, & 4? It seems like you usually see a lot more even lighting for the face on portraits (like the last 3). Was that what you were going for or ?"

Yes, we call that contrast. Having shadow, or higher contrast leads to more definition in the face/form and allows a shape to be seen in a 2 dimensional image. In commercial portraits, you usually want to use very diffuse sources of light and be very broad with your lighting, but that tends to be the "average" photo with not too much contrast. You can always add contrast or drama in post with dodge, burn, levels, etc... Typically you'd stay in the 3:1 or 4:1 ratio for normal ratio lighting for good portraits, but higher leads to more dramatic contrast and sometimes make the person pop more in the scene.

It also depends on what medium your images will be on (output as in paper). The reason why a lot of commercial photos tend to be bland, flat ratios (or close to) and very broad light sources is that most of them don't know what surfaces or end uses they will be on so photographers tend to play it safe and be not as dramatic as possible, unless that's what the client wants. Newspaper (toilet paper) doesn't offer a lot of contrast so anything more than 3:1 would look odd and funky mainly because of how bad the paper is, and usually the d-min and d-max (density of black) doesn't offer good brightness or deep blacks. Now if you are talking about high gloss magazine prints, that's a different story, but when a commercial shooter gets hired for a campaign, they will typically need to use that same photo for multiple outputs/mediums.

Here's what the ratio means:

1:1 - No difference - flat lighting
2:1 - 1 stop difference
3:1 - 1.5 stop difference - normal portrait
4:1 - 2 stop difference - dramatic, low key
8:1 - 3 stop difference - very dramatic, low key

The ratio is the difference of how much light between the two half's, left and right. Or your highlight and shadow. The 1 always represents your exposure of your shadow while the left number is your hight difference. Say for an 4:1 ratio, that means that the highlight side is getting 4x more light than the right, or 2 stops difference (inverse square law).

The head is nothing more than a sphere shaped object and light falls off differently than say a cylinder or square. Not all heads are a like, some are more curved than others, or flatter, or just shaped completely different. Some people could even be more like a square, but most people, its a sphere.

Also what's important with portraits is the fact that light (or highlight) will grab attention if the viewer and appear to be the high points of a surface, while dark (or shadows) will recede and appear to go away from the surface. With understanding this principle and using it to shape people's face with light, you can only light the good parts of their body or features and then hide the rest using shadow. This is typical to make people thinner than they really are by using shadows. What the eye doesn't see, the eye doesn't know.

2/24/2011 1:32:25 AM

^Cool. Thanks for the lighting 101 intro I'm going to start paying more attention to pro stuff now (ads & such). Since I've never been big into portrait work, I've never paid attention except when other people I know try it out (who are mostly like me with little to no experience in it).

2/24/2011 7:50:27 AM

When you start to learn the different lighting mods and principles, it becomes something like solving a puzzle. How did that photographer accomplish that quality of light using what and what? You get to train your eye to see the different variables of the photo and break it down to the core essentials of what makes up a photograph.

There's a whole methodology and psychology of what makes a good picture as for most of us, our brain works the same way; at least on the core components. Everyone generally has a sense of what looks good and what doesn't (to a degree, hopefully), but most of the time, they don't know why it looks good or bad, just that it does. It's these's behavior and psychological brain functions that need to be understood. Of course different demographics, different backgrounds of viewers will see things their own way, just like everyone has their own opinion, but we all technically see light the same and the way our brain processes that information is going to be same.

They did a ton of research in the 60's and 70's to prove this and research still goes on today.

[Edited on February 24, 2011 at 2:47 PM. Reason : ]

2/24/2011 2:42:13 PM

There are some cool studies looking at eye movement when looking at people's faces that they use to illustrate how you naturally look at areas of contrast in your field of vision. For example, when looking at a person's face, your eyes mostly focus on the person's eyes, then the mouth, which are the areas of sharpest contrast. I'm sure the principle works for photography as well because the photoreceptors in your eye are sending the same signals to your brain as they would looking at any object. Cool shit. I'll see if I can find an example of that diagram.

[Edited on February 24, 2011 at 4:10 PM. Reason : ]

2/24/2011 4:09:44 PM

So I bought a Tamron 18-270 and I love the lens, but due to its width, the built in flash on the camera doesn't work to well because its not high enough and I end up having pictures with the shadow of the lens across the bottom of all my pics.

Thoughts on a flash like this? I saw pretty good reviews on different sites

http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-YN-467-Speedlite-Dedicated-Cameras/dp/B004A9DHMK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_2

This will be my first flash and trying to get something to try out before stepping up to a Nikon SB600 or something a lot more expensive

2/27/2011 11:13:36 AM

^ i would love to compare my nikon 18-200 VR to that lens, since those were the two i was looking at

as for the flash, i would troll craigslist for a speedlite SB-600 or something...i nabbed one for not much more than the one you linked to

2/27/2011 11:29:15 AM

I would be weary about using crappy off brand flashes on my camera's hot shoe. I've heard that differences in power requirements can fry the flash and/or the camera. I wouldn't risk it.

Just buy a Nikon flash.

2/27/2011 1:51:36 PM

i have a comic con slideshow at the top of the homepage: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/

2/28/2011 10:30:58 AM

What The Facebook video Nick and I worked on over the weekend. Did it for a school project and I'm pretty sure the other classmates didn't put this much work into it. It was fun.

3/1/2011 9:55:53 AM

Remastered, normalized the audio better, cut almost a min of worthless clips and added titles to the sequences.

3/2/2011 8:33:22 PM

Found a luna moth the other day fresh out da chrysalis. Played around with the off-shoe cord (thanks JBaz) for some creative lighting with my 50mm macro on the T2i.

3/14/2011 7:46:04 PM

took some pictures at a friend's 35th this past weekend - got a few games of beer pong in

3/14/2011 10:09:56 PM

Boredom with a baby

3/15/2011 7:05:09 AM

I FINALLY got around to getting a website up. I've needed something more professional than "you can check out my flickr gallery" for a while now.

Let me know what you think.
http://ronnynause.com/

3/16/2011 5:47:12 PM

ronny, i didnt see ANY pictures of colossus under your live music heading

3/16/2011 5:49:10 PM

not a huge fan of displaying all your pics side-by-side like that. i think each one loses its significance that way.

also the scrollbar doesn't seem very obvious

3/16/2011 5:53:43 PM

Quote :

"not a huge fan of displaying all your pics side-by-side like that. i think each one loses its significance that way. also the scrollbar doesn't seem very obvious"

these were the first things i noticed, as well

even a thin white line between images would be nice, and i thought the scrollbar was a loading progress bar at first

3/16/2011 6:43:18 PM

Although I thought the scroll bar was obvious, I, too, am not a fan of the side-by-side image display.

Like ^ said, maybe even just a little space in between the images would help a lot.

3/16/2011 6:47:10 PM

Ok, I changed the 3 sections under portraits to a vertical listing instead of horizontal.

I liked the horizontal because it kept everything more contained, but I agree on the spacing. I need to figure out how to do that.

Until then, you guys like the vertical over horizontal?
My Photojournalism section is in slideshow, which I like, but I don't think most people will have the patience to sit and click next a few dozen times.

3/16/2011 8:02:18 PM

Meh, I like the horizontal over vertical after seeing it, but I like the space between the images now. One of my complaints with the new layout is that when the pictures load, they are below the gallery links and I can't see them at all until I scroll down. One might assume the pics aren't loading and try another link instead.

I think if you're going to go vertical, you need to consolidate the gallery links on one side and put the pictures on the other. When you were scrolling horizontally, the gallery links were well placed.

3/16/2011 8:22:30 PM

Yeah, I'm using a template and am tweaking it a bit here and there. I'm not l337 enough to write my own site at the moment.

The other templates had menus on the side that wouldn't scroll up and down with the photos, but they were boring and didn't look as good. I dig how clean the horizontal scroll is, but I agree with spaced between the photos. I'll have to try and figure it out.

3/16/2011 10:22:05 PM

i just checked it out and i like it!

the only thing that bothers me is that the scroll bar isnt going all the way to the left or right and its really annoying


but its really easy to use. and it looks good.

and ps ronny...im not saying this just to be nice, and i think i've said it before, but you are honestly a really, really fucking good photographer. your people pictures captivate me. i love them .


[Edited on March 16, 2011 at 10:32 PM. Reason : e]

3/16/2011 10:28:29 PM

haha i know that pete guy. funny dude.

3/16/2011 11:46:59 PM

This was one of my projects for a visual merchandising course at NCSU and my group had to display something to get people's attention. In one of my crazy brain storming sessions with myself, I sketched out this:


I pretty much kept the same layout from the plan, but went and added in more supporting props and features to the display to tie it all in. The location at my school where we set this up had no power outlet so I literally ran power through the ceiling and across the room to the other side with a 50ft extension cord. I definitely got some looks when I was poking my head around up there, but in all it was a fun project.


On a side note, I almost got reprimanded today. The Dean of my college took the time to look at it and liked it; although, that was after the Dean's office expressed concerns about having an "operational" motorcycle inside the buildings as a safety hazard, plus the idea of me riding it up and down the hallways. Maybe a wheelie or two while we are at it. Too bad the engine was blown because their fears would have been a reality. lol

[Edited on March 16, 2011 at 11:54 PM. Reason : image]

3/16/2011 11:51:40 PM

woooo hooo!
target contacted cody and paid him for the rights to his picture


http://apps.facebook.com/targetclubwedd/?ref=sr_shorturl_clubwedd101things

we're number 27...its not a great pic (in photogrpaher standards ) but its still pretty cool

3/19/2011 9:00:18 AM

Just picked up a Canon T1i and wondering if anyone could suggest a good tripod to use with it?

3/20/2011 4:04:33 PM

just got one of these:

http://photo.net/equipment/tamron/28_300_Di/

YAY

3/20/2011 7:52:17 PM

I like your site a lot Ronny

the only remotely jarring thing is having different setups for different photo sections.

as in, i was just expecing them all to be sidescrolling at the top and was like "oh" a couple of times.

I personally like sidescrolling.

[Edited on March 20, 2011 at 7:57 PM. Reason : .]

3/20/2011 7:53:36 PM

I posted this in Sports Talk but it's relevant here too. I had a chance to photo the US Men's National Soccer Team this week when they were practicing in Cary. Borrowed my friend's 70-200 f/2.8 L for the shoot...wish I had one for myself.

http://citizen-photo.com/p405731049

3/24/2011 1:14:11 PM

never liked my 70-200, however the mkII is dead sexy. WANT.

3/26/2011 1:24:59 AM

Great site Ronny.

I'm a fan of the sidescrolling portfolios.

3/26/2011 1:30:25 PM

since there have been no photos posted in two weeks i guess i'll post these:

3/31/2011 1:04:17 AM

^ nice shots. what kind of lighting are you using for that?

3/31/2011 2:40:11 PM

i havent been to a club in a while, are most people really wearing sunglasses to clubs now?

3/31/2011 2:55:28 PM

^^Just a 430EX speedlight. with a business card rubber-banded onto the back of it for bounce.

sometimes i'll hold it off to the left and use my on camera flash for fill, but I don't think i did that any in these.

and thanks

[Edited on April 1, 2011 at 3:31 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on April 1, 2011 at 3:33 AM. Reason : .]

4/1/2011 3:31:09 AM

No planning was done. Had the idea, went to the gym and worked out.

4/2/2011 4:46:25 PM

haha the best part was on the stationary bike when he acts like he's leaning into a turn.

wish there had been more of people's wtf expressions

4/2/2011 4:56:18 PM

me too, wished there was more people too, but it was a Friday. People were looking forward to the weekend or something... fun fun fun fun, party, yeah, party, yeah...

If we actually had planned before we arrived, I would have said that to my friend to get some reaction shots, but honestly, we saw maybe two people who stopped and paused the whole time.

4/2/2011 6:10:26 PM

4/2/2011 6:24:57 PM

My favorite part is when the garage door dramatically opens up to reveal a bunch of junk

4/2/2011 10:46:45 PM

haha, i lol'ed at the same thing

4/3/2011 11:51:56 AM

its a work in progress, I do have quite a bit of motorcycles and parts in the bay. Basically a workshop atm.

4/3/2011 12:42:29 PM

lol @ the exo 1000 but the built in visor really does crank up the ridiculous notch. i'll come film the next session with ya, my suit's all kawi green

4/3/2011 1:31:30 PM

hell yah! when your in a group, its not as weird. LOL Lets fill the rack of stationary bikes with guys in full leathers.

The best part about the exo 1000 is the who internal lining is removable to be cleaned or replaced.

4/3/2011 1:33:29 PM

i'm thinking about using some of my tax refund on this manual 85mm f/1.4 lens on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Rokinon-85M-C-Aspherical-Canon-Black/dp/B0025EWXEU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1301932901&sr=8-3

this'll be my first manual lens. anybody like/dislike them in general? it's nice that this is already converted for EF mount.

[Edited on April 4, 2011 at 12:07 PM. Reason : ]

4/4/2011 12:07:32 PM

whoa cool

4/4/2011 4:13:26 PM

kinda wonder how well the IQ really is.

4/4/2011 11:14:24 PM

the death of this thread saddens me

4/11/2011 11:31:34 PM

alright then animal photos it is.

4/12/2011 12:07:54 AM