I'm so Proud

[mmeyer]

I know this isn't an outdoor photo but I was so proud I had to share it with everyone. My little girl (she's 3) had her first dance recital tonight. She looked so cute in her little too-too and she did great in front of all the people. I think I was more nervous than she was.

I didn't get any good shots at the recital. Apparently my learning curve was longer than the dance. I did set up a little studio in my basement and took some shots before the recital. This is my favorite.

Mike

[WifeKidsandDog]

Oh my ... that is SO CUTE. She's adorable.

I love the lighting here, too.

Well done.

[MN Shutterbug]

What a little cutie. It brings back memories. No, I never wore a tutu. I had 2 dancers in my household at one time. It was a lot of fun, but did get quite expensive the older they got and the more types of dances they wanted to do. But, they're only young once. I was a videographer at that time, so I have more videotapes than photographs.

[finnbay]

Enjoy 'em! They grow so fast. I like the lighting you had for this!

[fishinchicks]

She's adorable! Love the photo.

[dukhnt]

That is what sweet photo of her. Nice work.

[mmeyer]

Thanks Everyone,

I'm glad that you let me do a little bragging on her.

It was my first attempt at homemade studio lighting. I bought 2 of those cheap clamp on lights for a garage with I the silver reflectors. I put one behind her on the left to show off her hair and skirt and another in front on the right to give a little side lighting to her face. I also used on camera flash that I had turned down quite a bit just for a little fill. It worked pretty well although I had to do quite a bit of PP to get the yellow color off her dress from the lights. All in all I thought it was a good start. I do need to look for some type of day light bulbs though so the color is a little better from the start.

Thanks again and if anyone has any tips for at home studio lighting I would like to hear it.

Mike

[buzzsaw]

Cute as a button, Mike! Little girls are so cute, mine loves playing dress up as well.

[Steve Foss]

Mike, that's a pretty shot of a sweet little girl. And great ingenuity in lighting with whatever supplemental lights were at hand.

[The_Duckslayer]

And darn proud you should be! Great picture and that Lil girl is a darling! Thanks for sharing! Take care and N Joy the Youth././Jimbo

[Dbl]

Quote:

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Thanks again and if anyone has any tips for at home studio lighting I would like to hear it.

Mike

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It is essential to use a custom white balance when shooting with any studio lights, homemade or not. When you add flash you now are working with three different light sources, nearly impossible to get correct colors. You have flash, light bulbs, and ambient light. You could gel the flash to match the dominant light source, but that may start getting a bit complicated. You can see the skin tones are off because of the mixed lighting. This would make an excellent conversion to black and white, eliminates any color issues the lights gave you.

Controlling the light is what portrait work is about. Try using a form of a homemade soft box to help diffuse the light from your bulbs. The reflectors throw light that is too harsh. This causes the face to lose definition and makes it flat looking. More separation from the background by using a light more to the back to give you more of a rim light would make her really stand out from the background. One of the most effective studio lighting is using light from a window. A touch of flash and you now have a wonderful, cheap effective studio. It really is easier than using any light that is not a studio light.

Color of the clothing really makes a difference as well. With a dark background you really want to have dark clothing so that you key in on the face. This is where the rim light from behind will make the face stand out. With the white color of the dress you would be better off with a light or white background to key in on the face.

This is over simplified but it gives you a starting point. I hope this gives you a few ideas for your next shoot.

It is a really good effort for what you had to work with.

[HawgTide]

Great Job!

[mmeyer]

Dan,

Thanks for the help. Today I bought some daylight bulbs for my lights. I'm hoping they will match the flash a little better. I'll also come up with some sort of soft box. Her dress is actually pink so I was hoping the black would show it off a little more. Maybe when I get the lights right I can bump up the saturation a little to bring out the color? I'm not really into studio shots but I thought in this case it would be kind of fun. It is tricky that's for sure!

Thanks again

Mike