Model Photography Using Studio Strobes:

I've been getting several questions about how I take pictures if my models. Since I am a better photographer than a model-maker, I thought I would write a little tutorial.

1. Table: I am not a fan of "photocubes" that have been aggressively marketted recently. I have one and never got good results with it. I bought a little photo table off EBay. This is an example of how it looks ($100):

They come in different sizes. Mine is relatively small. I replaced the plastic backing with foam board, as I could not get the rolled-up, thick, mis-shaped plastic sheet to lay evenly. This causes a sharp bend between the horizontal and vertical surfaces that would not loook good in the photos. Therefore, I place a white sheet of paper on top of both surfaces. It is thin box wrapping paper. It is clipped with large paper clips. It add a smooth transition between vertical and horizontal surfaces and is replaceable if gets dirty.

2. Camera: I use a hgher-end Nikon DSLR now, but same results can be had with any cheaper, older DSLR. D70 or D40 ($250-$350 used) are great lower cost options. You need a hotshoe, so DSLR is needed over a point-and-shoot. A kit zoom lens would probably work, but I invested in a dedicated macro lens - 60mm f/2.8. The kit zoom lenses will not let you get as close and some have closer focusing distances than others. Go to a camera store and try some out. I used a Nikon 18-70mm zoom in the past and it worked well too (cost $200 used). More on setup later.

3. Lights: I hate tripods and long exposure times. If you are using lamps, they omit very little light and the camera must make a long exposure. Long exposure require the camera to be still for a long time and to achive that you will need a tripod and even a remote release to stabilize the set up. Each shot has to be set up and I think takes a lot of time. Color balance is also more difficult to get right, as any other light sources in the room will have a large effect. I tried this for years and hated it.

So I went with the studio light approach. I bought an inexpansive light kit again off EBay ($200). It comes with everything you need. Here is the one I have:

It is a relatively low power setup for real studio photography, but for these applications it is more than enough. The soft boxes are a must as they are amazing at softening the light. It comes with 2 stands, 2 softboxes and 2 independant lights that plug into the outlet for power. There is also a wireless slave kit included that connects the camera to the lights with no wires. One light is triggered by the slave from camera and the other has an automatic slave build-in that causes it to go off when the frst flash fires. Each light is a stobe and has a modelling light. Be aware that at this cost you are buying very low quality stuff, so test is once you get it. I had another brand previously (equally low budget) and one light arrived broken. A pro kit like this would cost $500-$1000.

4. Setup: OK, this is the fun part. I set up the lights and table like this:

Each light is set at 3/4 power with modelling lamp turned off. You can leave some lights on in the room for focusing, as they will not affect the color balance significantly. You can also use the build-in modelling lamp for this, but they are expansive to replace so I avoid leaving them on. They are pretty useful to get an idea of how the model with be lit when the real strobes go off. I just do not leave them on for a long time.

Next I set the camera on manual exposure: ISO 200, shutter speed 1/250 (or what ever the flash sych speed on your camera is), and f/22. I connect the wireless remote to the camera hotshoe and test fire. Each shutter release should set off the strobes.

Now you can point the camera at the model and get real images. Using your preview function you can get an idea of your exposure. If photo are too dark, decrease the aperture to f16 or lower if too light, turn down the power on the strobes. Digital is free, so experiment until you get a desired result.

Now the most important part - color balance. This is the hardest thing to get right in this type of photography when using lamps. With strobes you are exposing the picture with purely one color light, so color balance is a lot easier. I use the custom color balance setting on my camera. You have to read the manual on how that is done, but it is very easy (basically you point the camera at your white background and the camera sets it for). Remember do not use the preset AUTO white balance - that will calculate it for the ambient light in the room and not the strobe light!

5. Picture processing. here is how pics come out of the camera (resized to 72 dpi and 1000 pix width):

I adjust sharpness (a must with digital photos) and levels to add some contrast. A little crop to aid in composition. I use PhotoShop, but you can use any number of almost free image editing programs out there. Occasionally I do more fancy things, but very rarely. Here is the result of the basic adjustments:

That is it. I know the cost is almost $1000, but if you use your camera for other purposes it might be worth it. I want to stress that this setup is not for everyone due to cost and some complexity. It is just how I do it and I home some of you find it useful. Please e-mail me with questions or other ideas.