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How can I reproduce this shot

conamor

conamor

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 27, 2013
364
21
Good day everyone,

I would like to know tips on taking a picture like this. (Please note that I do not own this picture and it was found using Google images)
I have a Nikon D3200, 18-55, 55-300, 35mm prime 1.8.

I am sure that all these should be able to do that shot.
Do I need a black muslin? I've seen before tricks to do this without any background.

Thanks for all the tips!
 

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conamor said:
Good day everyone,

I would like to know tips on taking a picture like this. (Please note that I do not own this picture and it was found using Google images)
I have a Nikon D3200, 18-55, 55-300, 35mm prime 1.8.

I am sure that all these should be able to do that shot.
Do I need a black muslin? I've seen before tricks to do this without any background.

Thanks for all the tips!
Click to expand...
Set up proper exposure for the strobe light then have the ambient light dim or dark. Angle or mask the strobe so that it doesn't fall on the background. That's all there is to it.

Check out Strobist for anything you want to know about strobes.

In general proper exposure using continuous lighting will be determined by aperture and shutter speed. For a flash it will be determined by aperture alone. So if you setup your camera at say 1/200 of a second it likely won't record an image in dim lighting at f8. So if your strobe is set to f8 anything not lit by the strobe will be black.
 
The background is the guy holding the kid, no need for a muslin.

Flash (full power) in a softbox / shoot through umbrella @ 90º to subject approximately 3-4 ft distance
1/200 / f8 / iso 100.

Voila. Done.

You're welcome. ;)
 
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The Bad Guy said:
I didn't read that, but judging by the images...that's not a great tutorial. o_O
Click to expand...

Do you think so? I mean the first few are just examples and through-out the tutorial the images correspond with what he's writing about. I've probably seen better for sure but IMHO for explaining low-key in general, it does quite a good job but as you say, the OP might find it rubbish as well :).
 
tomnavratil said:
Do you think so? I mean the first few are just examples and through-out the tutorial the images correspond with what he's writing about. I've probably seen better for sure but IMHO for explaining low-key in general, it does quite a good job but as you say, the OP might find it rubbish as well :).
Click to expand...
Yeah, those shots are a tad bland.

Without being a douche, here's a recent(ish) shot of mine. Take away one light and you've got what the OP wants.


Ebony by Adam Campbell, on Flickr
 
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As The Bad Guy said above - definitely no need for muslin here. Looks like the father(?) is wearing a black sweater. The contrast & black point has been crushed in post-production to get rid of any detail in the sweater. Then any remaining details/distractions around the edge of the frame have simply been painted over with solid black.

Everyone above is talking about the use of strobes to recreate this shot, and while I absolutely recommend learning about off-camera lighting, it's definitely not necessary here. Just use a big window on a slightly overcast day.

To recreate this particular shot, the window would be to the left of the subject (to the right of you & your camera). Don't place the subject in the centre of the window, but position them towards the back of the window so the light washes across the front of your subject (see set-up diagram). Use your 55-300mm lens set at about 100mm and f/5.6.

The lighting in this shot is very simple. What makes it interesting is the composition - you want to be shooting straight at the baby, not up or down. Pay attention to your rule of thirds - the baby's face is directly over the top-right intersection and the father's hand is very close to the bottom-right intersection. You don't need to worry about this when framing the shot - so much of the frame is solid black that you can frame it however you like in post.

Hope that helps.
 

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Two points:

1. You may find you need some black cloth or paper to shield the shadow side of the subject from light reflecting off of the walls and floor. If you don't have a huge room to work with then this will almost certainly be the case.

2. Beginners should use a continuous light source (e.g. window light, incandescent, LED bank, ...) and not flash. Flash adds too many technical issues and unless you use real studio strobes (read: expensive) with accurate modeling lights you can see the lighting effect in advance.

The OP's example image was quite obviously lit with a rather large light source. It was probably done with a large softbox (read: expensive) but could easily be simulated with a white sheet draped over a sunlit window.
 
Hi!
I feel so bad, I completely forgot about my thread! I did not "follow" it! Thanks very much for the info - Ill have a look at the websites + I might have to buy a strobe :)
 
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