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Enlarged Pupils
So my go to setup for remote headshot sessions is now just a few speedlights and an umbrella. Packs up nicely, easy to set up and break down and clients are happy with the results. One thing I'm noticing is that since I'm not using a modeling light my subjects pupils tend to widen in response to relatively low ambient light. Not a big deal but noticeable when zoomed in... especially if the client has pretty eyes that are marginalized by a narrow iris. Anyone have a simple workaround? I turn up the ambient light to help focusing but doesn't seem to do make much difference. Nov 06 15 10:51 am Link Masciandaro Photography wrote: I've herd of people who have the model look into a small pen light for a moment, to contract their pupils so they get more color in the eye. I believe the larger pupil is a more sensual, but it’s all about what you’re going for… Nov 06 15 11:05 am Link It's good you've noticed it and are doing something about it. Dilated pupils may only be useful for boudoir and has spoiled many photos. If the natural light is not bright enough, I use one or more flat panel (in addition to strobes) to provide ambient light which helps in a number of ways - helps you compose and see the fine details & color in the scene, helps with focusing, helps with eyes. The flat panel while bright, doesn't add much ambient light to the capture. Nov 06 15 11:11 am Link Masciandaro Photography wrote: So. You want them to look like they are narcotic addicts. (jk) Nov 06 15 11:22 am Link Light and Lens Studio wrote: As opposed to cocaine/meth/benzodiazepine addicts with huge pupils... :p Nov 06 15 01:00 pm Link Light and Lens Studio wrote: Phantasmal Images wrote: If brighter ambient/existing light is sufficient and doesn't interfere with the end desired effect of the overall lighting, I'd sure agree. Add the faster, more accurate focusing as a bonus. But, if for some reason increasing the ambient lighting isn't possible or practical, then the flashlight is something to fall back on. It takes the pupils several seconds to dilate again after they constrict from having light strike them. Nov 06 15 01:26 pm Link Masciandaro Photography wrote: I had the same problem, and posted a question on MM, but did not get answer good answer. I found this and bought and the problem solved. Nov 06 15 03:59 pm Link Light and Lens Studio wrote: btw, dilated pupils is a sign of sexual arousal... not a bad thing in photos. we use to call that bed room eyes. Nov 07 15 08:47 am Link I got the hair-brained idea to shoot a model as a miner down inside a gold mine and it was uber-black down there. The scouting showed I needed a focus light on the camera, so the property master shined his flashlight on various things to get a focus lock and fire off the speedlight on the camera - otherwise sheer blackness. For the actual shoot, I took a SureFire U2 LED flashlight (It's military grade and built the same, but there are a lot cheaper varieties out there now too. Now I see the U2 has dropped to half what I paid for it too!) that has an adjustable dimmer on it. I gave it to the woman MUAH person beside me and had her shine it on the model's face to constrict her pupils as well as give me a focus lock. I took a couple of light-stands with old Buff White Lightnings with umbrellas down there, but I had no modeling lamps as they ran off the Vagabond Mini's. Turned out it worked very well, but there was some planning prior from the scouting of the site. Eye results shown here:  Actually, now that I think about it, a LED headlamp may also work for the same pupil constricting and focus-locking purpose for the OP as the one on her miner's helmet. It's hard for the LED to be overpowered by a stronger flash. Some cheap Harbor Freight thing is what they use at the mine since they do get banged up down there and rocks fall from overhead at times (Unsettling!). Nov 07 15 09:01 am Link GRMACK wrote: Headlamp sounds like a great idea. My LED flash lights are all tactical ones and very bright. A more subtle lightsource should be great, and a headlamp is hands free. Nov 07 15 09:35 am Link Aside, my Samsung S6 Edge phone's LED 'flash' fires off twice: One time for maybe either a focus-lock or possibly to constrict pupils like some older speed-lights and cameras did with their built-in preflash, and then a second flash that is tied to the camera's shutter. I don't know if any current flash units do that old pupil-constricting pre-flash sequence anymore as Nikon seems to use that for their weird triggering CLS data stream (That sometimes works for me, but more likely not in bright sunlight.) to their other speed-lights. I think my old Minolta film camera and their dedicated flash did the pre-flash trick to constrict pupils too back then. I think some P&S cameras still have a pre-flash of some sort for that purpose? Dunno, but maybe another option to find a flash that does that routine. Nov 07 15 09:51 am Link I've switched to something similar. 3 speedlights all attached to Godox S-Type adapters so I can use my studio equipment with the speedlights. Key light is a big 60x90cm foldable softbox Hair light is a smaller 40x40 foldable speedlight softbox (might change this though) Background light is a background hood. Plus a silver reflector. I always keep a spare faux Icelight int he case, I can always stick it on a stand if there's not enough light. Nov 07 15 04:58 pm Link I tend to just throw up a 1K hour light somewhere behind me or bounced off the ceiling. Problem solved. Nov 16 15 04:29 pm Link This is a good example of why not to use speedlights, there is no advantage asides from cheapness to be doing so. Invest in proper studio lights and yoiu'll see a lot of differences, assuming that you know how to use them properly. Nov 17 15 02:01 am Link Hauling an entire studio around is not practical sometimes, which is why speedlights are ideal. The poster has identified a true issue for on-the-go close-ups during interior location shoots. My easy fix is a pretty big collapsible reflector, using the white side. Obviously, not that effective for an underground mine! But that is one great shot! Interesting thread, hope to hear more on this one. (Personally, I would recreate the underground mine in the studio to get this close-up, but there were perhaps other images from the shoot that would be good to see.) Nov 21 15 12:23 pm Link Photography by Riddell wrote: There are ways to still use speedlights and do what you can to get the ambiance to help out.. I do this with mine and I admit it may not be as hot on as more expensive options but I quickly noticed a huge improvement in the eyes after placing this in some of my more often used modifiers. Nov 21 15 12:33 pm Link |
