lighting for beauty shot

[MatthewBrush]

Hey guys: It's been sometime, but I've finally signed up since the switch from Rob Galbraith. Anyway, I need some tips on setting up a down and dirty beauty shot for some model tests. The gear that I have to work with is a 7b pack, 22" B-dish, second head with grids (if needed), an umbrella white, and a large 5/1 reflector. I'm curious as to how to get that overall lit effect similar to what you see on Cover Girl campaigns, Allure mag, etc. I can rent any modifiers. The problem is that I don't have a background or seamless paper to work with. I can work with a green wall?? Any help would be great, as I'm doing this for my makeup artist and I want her to get some stunning stuff.

Thanks

matthew

[Tony_Gamble]

So many questions to answer........

Let's first address the green wall and the make-up artist's need for stunning stuff. Don't you think you are making it hard for both of you?

Early in my portraiture days I bought one of those Lastolite white backgrounds that fold down into a disk. There are masses of brands around and they come in all sorts of variations so that you can have white on one side and maybe black or gray on the other.

But if that's too big an investment get a clean white bed sheet and fix it to your green wall with masking tape.

With regard to your lighting set up I'll let someone else give you some pointers.

Rgds

Tony
London UK

[Laurence_Bartone]

Some pointers:
Your beauty dish should create a 'butterfly' shadow under the models nose (keep the eyes lit). Or create a small triangle of light on one cheek. Keep a reflector under the chin. Place the camera at the height of the models best facial asset (eyes?). Let the background (not green) vary or gradate to make model pop out. Try feathering it left to right or ? Use a fairly non-spotty light for a hair-light - an umbrella can work, but shade the lens carefully. i used to use a pair of wooden doors painted white and hinged together, bouncing a light of them (from behind me) for a fill. If you're adventurous, try a tiny on-camera strobe (very low power) to light a reflection in the eyes - but make the light source larger than the usual dime-size. You can also use a very soft light as a back-light (umbrella or such), just don't let it wreak the skin of the model. Speaking of that, be ready to do some serious retouching. Plenty of books on both. Glad to hear you're working with a make-up person - how 'bout a hair person? What about clothes and jewelry?
bartone
Bartone Photography & Productions of Virtual Reality and Digital Video