# Another Veteran's Portrait Project session (w/ Bonus extra images!)



## tirediron (Mar 19, 2017)

Another Veteran's Portrait Session:





Lt(N) Krista Seguin, RCN

And, because Krista was a little different than most of my VPP clients, and because she had some time on her hands and was willing to stand there, we played around with some other lighting.










As always, comments, critique, and suggestions always appreciated.


And because I've had a few questions on the lighting I use for my Veteran's Portraits, here's what it looks like:




From my point of veiw:  Key light is the 22" gridded beauty dish on an M11 head, and in this case I also used a hair light.  When clients have light or no hair, I often don't use a hair light at all.





From the client's point of view


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## Derrel (Mar 19, 2017)

I kind of like the subtlety of the first shot'slighting setup.


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## ZombiesniperJr (Mar 19, 2017)

Nice set


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## FITBMX (Mar 19, 2017)

Very nice! 
And thanks for posting your lighting setup, I always love seeing it!


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## tirediron (Mar 20, 2017)

Derrel said:


> I kind of like the subtlety of the first shot'slighting setup.


Thanks Derrel!



ZombiesniperJr said:


> Nice set


Thanks Logan!



FITBMX said:


> Very nice!
> And thanks for posting your lighting setup, I always love seeing it!


Cheers!  Hope the 'behind the scenes' is useful.


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## itsjustbreality (Mar 20, 2017)

I especially like the 3rd one! Love the hair highlight. Nice!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


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## ronlane (Mar 20, 2017)

Nicely done. I think my favorite is the 2nd one. The blue gel helps with a subtle separation of her from the background, but I may be seeing blue after my Saturday night session (images to come).


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## zombiesniper (Mar 20, 2017)

Great set.

Agree with it being nice to see the lighting setup for those wishing to try something similar.


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## tirediron (Mar 20, 2017)

itsjustbreality said:


> I especially like the 3rd one! Love the hair highlight. Nice!
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


Thanks!  That was her favorite as well.



ronlane said:


> Nicely done. I think my favorite is the 2nd one. The blue gel helps with a subtle separation of her from the background, but I may be seeing blue after my Saturday night session (images to come).


Thanks Ron!


zombiesniper said:


> Great set.
> 
> Agree with it being nice to see the lighting setup for those wishing to try something similar.


Thanks Alex,  I'll start trying to post more of the 'behind the scenes' stuff as well.


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## Derrel (Mar 20, 2017)

I use that same Speedotron black ballistic nylon location carry case! It is so,so handy! Holds all the flash heads I usually need, a power pack, three light stands, and two umbrellas, power cord, trigger set, a few gels, a few 7-inch reflectors, some grids, and a 2-way barndoor set. Fits great in my car too.

Is that the new 1604 power supply I see, to the left of the handy 202 power supply? I love that small 202! So light! So easy to pack!


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## MSnowy (Mar 20, 2017)

Very nice John. I especially like the blue background photo.


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## tirediron (Mar 20, 2017)

Derrel said:


> I use that same Speedotron black ballistic nylon location carry case! It is so,so handy! Holds all the flash heads I usually need, a power pack, three light stands, and two umbrellas, power cord, trigger set, a few gels, a few 7-inch reflectors, some grids, and a 2-way barndoor set. Fits great in my car too.
> 
> Is that the new 1604 power supply I see, to the left of the handy 202 power supply? I love that small 202! So light! So easy to pack!


I have two of those bags, and they're the best lighting bags in the world.  That one carries almost exactly what you mentioned.  4 heads (3xM11, 1xMW3U), 1604 power pack, two brollies, tri-level control, 3 7" reflectors, barn door, set of grids, gel holders, and two extension cables.  That's my old 1604 (two-blade style trigger port) power-pack.  The new one is in my other bag... just finished reattaching the handle to it...  one of the screws had come off and it was half-mornng's job to get back on.  I had to take almost all the components off of the underside of the lid to access the screws!  That's actually a tri-level control.  I love my 202 pack, but didn't have it that day.



MSnowy said:


> Very nice John. I especially like the blue background photo.


Thanks Mike!


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## chuasam (Mar 21, 2017)

Photo #3. Hand position awkward. It looks like her fingers have been lost (i know they're not because of photo #1)
also for certain body types, having them lean forward into the camera makes them look slimmer.


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## tirediron (Mar 21, 2017)

chuasam said:


> Photo #3. Hand position awkward. It looks like her fingers have been lost (i know they're not because of photo #1)
> also for certain body types, having them lean forward into the camera makes them look slimmer.


The fingers thing is annoying, but her jeans had no pockets or belt loops to hook into; I definitely should have put a little more care into that aspect!  I did have her leaning forward slightly, and yes a little more might not have gone amiss, but as a national-level power lifter slimming wasn't such a priority.


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## Big Mike (Mar 21, 2017)

Solid work, as we've come to expect from you.

Did you try any with short lighting, rather than the broad lighting that we see here?  

I would usually default to short lighting, especially if the subject is on the heavier side....unless there is a reason to switch to broad, like glasses causing a reflection etc.


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## ronlane (Mar 21, 2017)

Sorry @tirediron for the slight highjack.  Hey @Big Mike, it's been a while since I've noticed a post from you. (I know that I have been lurking and not in as much) Good to hear from you.


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## tirediron (Mar 21, 2017)

Big Mike said:


> Solid work, as we've come to expect from you.
> 
> Did you try any with short lighting, rather than the broad lighting that we see here?
> 
> I would usually default to short lighting, especially if the subject is on the heavier side....unless there is a reason to switch to broad, like glasses causing a reflection etc.


I did these all broad lighting as that's how I do my Veteran's Portraits; it tends to work better when someone shows up with a chest full of medals, and since the image is part of that series and I want a common style...  The others, you're right, I could/should have moved the key light.  Really just laziness on my part.


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## jcdeboever (Mar 21, 2017)

Nice set & setup


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## annamaria (Mar 21, 2017)

Nice set, my favorite is number three. Thank you for sharing the setup.  Nice studio btw. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tirediron (Mar 21, 2017)

annamaria said:


> Nice set, my favorite is number three. Thank you for sharing the setup.  Nice studio btw.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks!


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## Big Mike (Mar 22, 2017)

tirediron said:


> Big Mike said:
> 
> 
> > Solid work, as we've come to expect from you.
> ...


I figured you had a reason.


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## Hermes1 (Mar 28, 2017)

Very nice set and an excellent project, #1 is my favorite.


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## tirediron (Mar 28, 2017)

Hermes1 said:


> Very nice set and an excellent project, #1 is my favorite.


Thank-you!


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## smoke665 (Mar 28, 2017)

As always solid set. I prefer the hands in #1, but not a fan of the lack of separation on the hair and the background.. #2 is really good, maybe a little tight on the crop at the top. #3 I really like the back lighting on the hair, think it adds so much to the beauty of the young lady. Not really a fan of the hands and the same comment on the top crop.

As others have said posting pictures of your setup is appreciated so much. It really helps those of us not as accomplished improve. For those of us still learning, would you tell us about the modifier on the hair light and the beauty dish?


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## tirediron (Mar 28, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> As always solid set. I prefer the hands in #1, but not a fan of the lack of separation on the hair and the background.. #2 is really good, maybe a little tight on the crop at the top. #3 I really like the back lighting on the hair, think it adds so much to the beauty of the young lady. Not really a fan of the hands and the same comment on the top crop.
> 
> As others have said posting pictures of your setup is appreciated so much. It really helps those of us not as accomplished improve. For those of us still learning, would you tell us about the modifier on the hair light and the beauty dish?


Thanks!  Appreciate the comments and valid points for sure!

With respect to the modifiers:  The beauty dish is a 22" white dish that I use here with a tight grid to project a "stream" of light across the face and chest (to highlight medals when worn).  In this case the client wasn't wearing any medals, but I try and keep a degree of continuity throughout the series.

The hairlight is my own creation.  A few years ago I picked up a big box of Brownline odds & ends; amongst which was a snoot.  Having a couple already, I decided to turn it into a hair/background light.  I cut a 2" wide strip along the length, took the bottom of a soup can (Campbell's Chicken & Rice in case you're interested  ) and pop-riveted that to the end of the snoot, put a wrap of gaf tape around the joint and spray-painted the inside white.  I use it the way you see here as a hair light, or vertically, on a shorty stand behind the client for a background light.


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## smoke665 (Mar 28, 2017)

tirediron said:


> a tight grid to project a "stream" of light across the face and chest



so it is a grid and not a cloth?



tirediron said:


> The hairlight is my own creation



Hey whatever works. Just out of curiosity, I've seen something similar used to modify a speedlight. In that mod rather than an abrupt end like the cap on yours, they used a slanting baffle all the way to the end, to actually changed the direction of the light.


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## tirediron (Mar 28, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > a tight grid to project a "stream" of light across the face and chest
> ...


Yes, it's a grid.  If you look at the bottom set-up picture, you can see the faint glow of the modelling light, and the darker center of the deflector plate in the BD.  The hairlight actually works quite well.  It "costs about 1.5 stops, which generally works out well for my style of lighting.


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## Derrel (Mar 28, 2017)

Your homemade rig-up looks somewhat like the standard type of "background reflector" that Photogenic and Speedotron have made for decades. Not quite the same, yet similar. Speedotron 14257 White Background Reflector

Very handy for placing behind a subject, and directing the light in only one basic direction, and keeping unwanted light from blasting out in a wide radius.


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## tirediron (Mar 28, 2017)

Derrel said:


> Your homemade rig-up looks somewhat like the standard type of "background reflector" that Photogenic and Speedotron have made for decades. Not quite the same, yet similar...


  Huh...  who'da thunk?


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