Thanks so much for the kind word! Yeah I've found that the strobes work best for me.

Thanks so much! I hope you found it helpful. Have a great day Jeffery!

Thanks so much! Working on a new one now 🙌

Thanks so much! 🙏 Have a fantastic day!

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it! 🙏

Thank you! And yeah, the "man light" ended up being my favorite of her headshots as well. Thanks for tuning in!

Thank you so much! Have a great day. :)

Thanks so much! That's really generous of you and I appreciate the kind words. 🙏

Hey Anthony! Great to hear from you man, and thanks for the kind words. Hope all is well with you.

Yes. Things are going well. Keep up the great work!

Hey Mark, man thank you so much! I really appreciate the positive feedback. :)

Thanks so much! 🙏

Thanks so much! I appreciate it. :)

Thanks a lot! I appreciate the comment. Let me know if there's any way I can help further!

Thanks so much for the support! And yeah, Leah is really talented and great on camera. I'll make sure to send along the kind words. 😊 Thanks again!

Man, thank you so much! Glad it helped. Holler if you ever have questions brother.

Yeah, it's become my go-to! I love it.

Thanks so much! That's generous of you! 🙏

Thanks for the comment Rod! Hope the video was helpful.

Thanks so much for the kind words! Good luck with your new business! Let me know how I can help! If you want to hop on my email list for more useful content, you can check out this link >> bit.ly/46H1HaX

Thanks a lot Michael! Happy to help if you have any questions. :)

Dude, I can't thank you enough for the pointers! I'm still pretty new to making videos, and trying to learn as much as I can about the technical side of uploading to KZfaq. So what you shared is so helpful. Thank you also for the very kind words, this is really encouraging. You honestly just made my day. 🙌

Thanks a lot Vic! I appreciate the kind words.

@@saminterrante You're welcome! Just discovered your channel and will tune in!!!

Thank you!! This is honestly really encouraging. I am in the process of getting a few new YT tutorial videos going, so your kind words are a big motivation! Thanks again.

@@saminterranteso, just revisited this video. not sure why i wasnt subscribed unless y-t did some purging (its been known to happen!)

Thanks for your comment, @@abidnego5974 ! I appreciate it!

Thank you for your very kind comment! I hope this video is as helpful for you. 👍

Wow man, thank you so much. I'm really glad this gave you something new to play around with. It's always nice to switch things up and keep it fresh. I might be overdue myself honestly!

@@saminterrante I've always used a 42" beauty dish softbox as my key, with a 40" reflector and a 12x36 kick. It's a solid set up but the placement of the key gets really crucial depending on the subject. When photographing people in their 50s and over I'm trying to minimize the effects of aging and get a light that is 'slimming' which can be a real struggle. Too flat and they're a big old pancake, too far around and they look like the grand canyon. Never a dull moment. Have a good one.

@@MattSpaugh Hahaha truly, the struggle is real. You get it!

Thanks Elomar! I appreciate it.

Thanks! What insane light conditions are you referring to? What is it that your specifically struggling with? Maybe I can help!

Thank you! 🙏

Thank you for the kind comment! Happy shooting Michael!

Thanks a lot! Appreciate the support! :)

Man, thanks so much! I really appreciate it. Hope you found this helpful. 🙂

Awesome man! Let me know if there's any other way I can help. Wishing you all the best.

Bahaha thanks my man, appreciate that!

Thank you! I am using the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8. The optics are fantastic and I think it's under $500.

Yeah I really liked the way it looked as well!

Thanks so much. :) And yes - I used the Savage "fashion gray" seamless (bhpho.to/3MedtjI). To get that nice rich dark gray background more easily, I'd recommend the "thunder gray", (bhpho.to/3MdjI7v) which is a little darker. Hope this helps!

Yeah I know what you mean! I can do the same thing for years and suddenly find a new thing--even if a small tweak--that helps me forward. Also if I'm not always looking to improve somehow I'm naturally gonna get stagnant and bored. Thanks for the shout!

Thanks for the comment! Someone else had this question a few months ago, so I'm gonna just copy > paste my reply from below here: If I'm getting glare in the glasses I'll ask my subject to drop their chin just a little bit which often cuts down on glare. If my subject has long hair that can cover the arms of their glasses I'll have them lift the back end so the arm float above their ears, so the glasses tilt more downward and avoid the glare. You can hardly notice it in a lot of cases and it addresses the problem really well. If there is still just a little bit of a glare or tint, it can be easily removed in Photoshop (search "Piximperfect glasses glare" on KZfaq for an amazing tutorial on how to do it). All of that said, sometimes my subject has lenses that create horrible glares everywhere and nothing can be done other than asking them to remove their glasses entirely. Hope this helps, friend!

That's a great question. If I'm getting glare in the glasses I'll ask my subject to drop their chin just a little bit which often cuts down on glare. If my subject has long hair that can cover the arms of their glasses I'll have them lift the back end so the arm float above their ears, so the glasses tilt more downward and avoid the glare. You can hardly notice it in a lot of cases and it addresses the problem really well. If there is still just a little bit of a glare or tint, it can be easily removed in Photoshop (search "Piximperfect glasses glare" on KZfaq for an amazing tutorial on how to do it). All of that said, sometimes my subject has lenses that create horrible glares everywhere and nothing can be done other than asking them to remove their glasses entirely.

@@saminterrante thx for the quick reply

Are you referring to the last setup? There is no dedicated light under her chin, but the kicker light behind her is wrapping a little highlight around her jaw on camera left. Hope that helps!

If you mean Aaron Nace, that's a huge compliment! That guy is amazing...and knows a hell of a lot more Photoshop than I do too haha. Have a great day man, let me know if there's any way I can help!

Thanks! And that's a good idea for a future video. I'll put it on the list!

Thanks Mark! No, I don't generally use modeling lights. On my little 200 watt lights the modeling lamp doesn't really push out enough power to even help me see. And they run off of lithium-ion batteries, and have an impressive life cycle. I've been using them for six years now, and they still seem to work just fine. More details about those lights are in another video I made here >> bit.ly/3g6quRA the actual content of the video starts at around one minute!

@@saminterrante Thx Sam. We hear the importance of closing the pupil with a modeling light, you have bright windows in back so you may not need a model light, but what do you recommend for those of us who may need a model light?

​@@markelovett Ohh, that makes sense, yeah! I guess you see more of the iris if the subject's pupil is contracted. To be honest I haven't given a ton of consideration to this (and thanks for bringing it to my attention!) I would probably just pick up a cheap LED light panel, like this one >> amzn.to/3GqjM3B. As long as it isn't more powerful than your studio lights, it shouldn't affect your shots.

Yeah unfortunately that seems to be a common problem. I personally use autofocus, but my studio usually has enough ambient light that the autofocus works fine. I might suggest getting some low-watt room lights, like just lamp or whatever, and use one of those LED bulbs that you can change the color temperature on from your phone, so you can match it to your studio lights if you're using them. I forget what the brand of LED bulb is called, but if you Google it I'm sure it will pop right up!

@@saminterrante so you don’t totally get rid of ambient light in camera when dialing in your settings? I was going for an all black screen but if it’s fine not to I think that’d solve my problem.

@@emmieslife Yeah I don't necessarily try to actually darken the room. Basically as long as my ambient exposure in my camera is mostly dark I consider that good to go. My lack of familiarity with mirrorless is worth mentioning though. The difference is I'm looking through a viewfinder and I'm not sure how the mirrorless camera's digital display affects the camera's ability to "see" in low light.

Sure thing! It’s just a Manfrotto tripod that I bought probably 12 years ago, not sure the exact model, but their products are great pretty much across the board!

That would be correct! If you don't want to spend the money on two more 600w lights, I would get the Godox AD200 (same as what I'm using in the video). The 200w and your 600w lights will work together and the 200w provides enough power for almost any indoor studio application. As far as the strip box, check out Glow's version (www.adorama.com/glsbez1236.html). It's literally the same thing but at like 1/3 the price of Westcott's strip box. Hope this helps! Happy shooting. :)

Thanks! Hope you found something useful in there! :)

@@saminterrante yeah I've learned a lot

Thanks! I'm pretty sure I was using the 60" Softlighters. And I agree about that last setup, I was surprised at how much I liked it. Leah is definitely a great model!

Haha nah, ISO 320 is just what I happen to land on. I could crank up my lights a bit and drop my ISO to 100, but the difference is undetectable to the naked eye. I'd rather have my lights at a slightly lower power so they recycle faster. And not much I can say about the holes in my earlobes, I was just born that way. Strange, innit?

Thanks so much! I believe the inside of my softboxes are silver, and also have an interior baffle, so there's two layers of diffusion.

@@saminterrante thank you for your prompt reply

@@bluefrogfilters Of course! Happy to answer any questions you might have. Happy shooting!

Thanks! They are 12"x36". Here's the link to them on Adorama where I purchased them >>> www.adorama.com/we2525.html

Do you think it is worth spending the money on the Westcott vs the Glow?

@@michaelburton6053 I would 100% recommend the Glow softboxes. They're the exact same thing as the Westcott, same materials and all, and for about 1/3 the price.

Hey Frank, very good point! When I’m doing headshots I often shoot quick bursts of photos (like when my subject smiles, for example) to try to get that perfect shot. At 200w each, these lights aren’t the most powerful, so if I have them cranked up too high they don’t recycle fast enough and I get misfire shots. Technically you’re completely right, and I’d always want the lowest ISO possible, but in the real world I can’t actually recognize any difference. Hope that helps! 🙏

Cameras these days can handle higher ISO's very well. ISO's are clean on most newer cameras up to ISO 800 at least and the difference between ISO 100-400 isn't not enough to be seen by the naked eye in a print. It's good to take advantage of the newer technology. On top of that, you can't take all photos at the base ISO. Think of all the shots you have ever taken above ISO 200, would all of those shots be considered trash? Higher ISO's increase the life of your flashes/strobes and as Sam stated, decreases recycle times for reliable shooting in the studio.

Hey Annette! If you're doing headshots on location and trying to invest almost nothing more into gear, maybe there is a neutral (white, gray, black) wall in the office large enough to make that the background? To get light on your subjects without your own light source, you'll want to utilize window light and a simple pop-open reflector on the opposite side of the light source (the window) to fill in the shadows on the subject. I'm always trying to get nice, open, and even light on faces for headshots - nothing too dramatic. If you plan on using the speedlight you said you bought, check out this starter lighting kit PDF guide I have. >>> bit.ly/3SfB85p

@@saminterrante thank you for your quick response. I do have a reflector. I will take all your advice and watch the video! 👏🏻👏🏻

I actually do have a Sekonic light meter that I bought like 5 years ago, and I've used no more than maybe once or twice. 😬 I just use the old guess-and-check method. With the number of times I've used these specific lights in this specific studio, I have a good sense of where to start out and be almost spot on right away.

Thank you so much!

It's the Instamic, and I am a big fan! You can use it as a wireless lav mic, do field recording, and even live stream with it. It comes with an app that makes the whole thing easier too. Hope that helps! Check them out online!

All good questions! The higher ISO is so that I can rapid fire with my camera and my lights not misfire on every other shot. If my ISO is lower, the power of my 200 watt lights have to be higher which causes the recycle time of the lights to suffer. In theory you always want the lowest ISO possible for maximum detail and minimal image noise, but with cameras these days, I can see zero difference in detail between ISO 100 and ISO 400 (or even higher), so I'm not worried about it. As for shutter speed, I could shoot a little slower, but I see no point. 1/200 is kind of a sweet spot to freeze any motion that might happen during a headshot session. It's also part of the effort to minimize ambient light, and slowing my shutter is gonna let more natural light creep in. Regarding f-stop, I like shooting at f/4 on my 85mm lens for headshots because it gives you just a tiny bit of blur around the ears and hair which I think looks nice. If I want my headshot to look a little bit more painterly and artistc, I could open up my aperture more. If I'm trying to get the entire subject in tack sharp focus, I'll close down my aperture. Hope this all helps!

Hey thanks for the kind words! Yes, I just see the white balance to 5500k and forget about it. If I need to make any small white balance tweaks in post I’ll do so. Hope this helps!

The second and third light are set to about 1/4 to 1/3 of the power of the main light. So if the main light is 1/16 power, set the second and third light to about 1/64 or 1/128.

Hey Brian! Not a dumb question at all - the main reason I'm not at ISO 100 is that I tend to shoot in fast bursts, and with my ISO turned down I'd have to turn the power of my lights up, and they won't have enough time to recycle, often making every second or third shot a misfire. Also in all honesty I don't see any loss in image quality and detail between ISO 100 or ISO 800 or even higher, so I'm not worried about making the lowest possible ISO my first priority. Hope this helps!

Oh also I'm not using my shutter to change my exposure, and would keep it at 1/200 in almost any scenario if I'm using strobes. If I want to change the exposure I would be relying on my strobe power, aperture, and ISO.

@@saminterrante Ah gotcha!. I didn't think about the refresh rate on the strobes. Can you explain the reasoning for not turning your shutter down? Thanks so much!

​@@brianvales4760 sure! When I'm using studio lights (specifically strobes) to shoot portraits, changing my shutter is actually going to have basically no effect on the exposure of the photo, unless the shutter is REALLY slow, in which case you're just gonna get motion blur. It's tough to explain without actually demonstrating. Maybe I'll have to make another video haha.

@@saminterrante Ah. Thanks for the answer. I have always set my shutter at 200 or 250 and made sure the frame was black before adding in my strobes.

The first thing I would do is just have my subject drop their chin a tiny bit and see if that works. There are obvious limitations to this, and I don't want my subject to be confined to just that kind of head positioning. So if that doesn't work, I have my subject actually lift the arms of their glasses up slightly so they sit just above the ears, effectively tilting the lenses down and often eliminating the glare. This works best on people with longer hair which they can use to cover it up around the ears, and in most cases it's not that noticeable in general if you keep it subtle. If you have to fix it in Photoshop, check out this KZfaq video for an amazing tutorial on it. The teacher, Unmesh Dinda, is an outstanding teacher. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ptJ_ptigzZbJdps.html&ab_channel=PiXimperfect Hope that helps!

That's the Instamic! And I love it. I don't know much about video production and audio, so there was a decent learning curve for me in learning how to use it. But it's great!

Hey Keem! I had an Instamic attached to my shirt, though admittedly I don't think I ended up even using the audio from it, if I remember correctly. 😅 I will say however that it is a fantastic mic and is great for this kind of thing, as well as field recording. It can even be used for live-streaming. The fidelity of the audio is fantastic too. Highly recommend!

Hahaha, good eye! I share the studio with a few other photographers, and one of them specializes in boudoir photography.

Nikkor 85mm f/1.8. It's the cheaper version of the beloved f/1.4 version, at about a quarter of the price, and the optics are outstanding. A no-brainer for me personally!

In theory, you're 100% right! The lowest possible ISO should be what we always go for. For me though, I'm not worried at all about anything under like 800 ISO, as the loss in detail seems totally negligible. In the case of this shoot and since the lights I used were only 200 watts, if I drop my ISO I'd have to increase the power of my strobe, slowing down the recycle time on the lights. So consequently, if I'm firing in fast succession I may end up getting some misfires. Hope that makes sense!

@@saminterrante Really well explained lighting setup Sam. I was just curious about the ISO you used in studio. A 400 watts up strobe will give you a quick recycling time. Keep going with the good tutorials . Happy clicks 😉

​@@snoopusa2006 Yeah for real, sometimes a more powerful strobe is just the answer. I think the thing that keeps me hooked on my little 200w lights is how portable they are. I can load up four of those in my roller case when I do location shoots and they take up almost no room.

Great question! Typically I try to keep my ISO as low as possible to preserve detail, but in the case with these 200w lights, I would have to turn my light power up to the point that the recycle time is too slow and I'd end up getting misfires every other shot. Also with how camera sensors are these days, I'm not too worried about shooting at higher a higher ISO. Hope that helps!

@@saminterrante ah, makes perfect sense. Thanks! 👍

Thanks! For older folks, if it's a professional headshot I'd want to fill in the light as much as possible. So I'd use the 3 strip-box triangle setup. If it's just a portrait to tell a story of the person, I'd want to celebrate the lines in their face, so I'd probably just go with one 36" octabox overhead and tilt it down at 45 degrees. Without anything to fill in that main light you'd get nice deep shadows and contrast. If you want to soften it up slightly, through a white piece of foam core or a white reflector under their chin just out of frame. Hope this helps!

It's mostly just a preference thing. I get a little bit more compression with the 85mm lens. One of the reasons that helps is, if I were working against a smaller backdrop it might not fill the frame and I'd see the edges of the backdrop. I have however used a 50mm for headshots in the past and it works just fine in most situations. If that's all you have to use right now I'd say you're good to. Hope this helps!

One other thing to add - the 50mm is probably the most versatile lens you could have in a studio setting, in my opinion. You can get in really close and capture intimate portraits, but you can also capture a full body photo without needing a huge studio space. If I had to choose only one lens to keep it would be a 50mm. 👍

@@saminterrante thanks

Yessir! Love them. They're the perfect balance of affordable and reliable. I've been using mine for like six years now and they're still work just fine.

@@saminterrante No modeling light needed and pupils still good?

@@saminterrante I’m thinking about getting 3 of the ad200pro’s and the elenchrome strip boxes which are only $124 ea rather than the $240 wescott rapid box strips. They seem more light weight and bulky. Do you have any opinion on them?

@@markelovett I've never noticed any issue with it personally! 👍 And my studio isn't even particularly bright.

@@markelovett Sounds like a good plan! As great as the Westcott strip banks and other "Rapid Switch" light mods are, you can get the same thing from Glow for way cheaper. I have two different Glow "EZ Lock" softboxes and they're the exact same thing as Westcott's (I have a bunch of those too) but around only half the price. Here's the link to the entire lineup which come in a bunch of different sizes, all for under $100! >> www.adorama.com/glsbez1256.html

This photographer is in the U.S. We use feet, yards, etc. Deal with it.

Can't disagree with you on that hahaha. I was pleased with the result of that last photo, but it's definitely not how I would have initially thought to set up the lights for a woman's face.

How would you light her then? Asking to learn by the way not to argue.

In the case of multiple people including both men and women, I just pick one light setup for everyone.

I mean if you buy a light you'll invariably also have to buy a light modifier, unless maybe you just buy a light and bounce the bare bulb off white wall or ceiling. Maybe I'm not clear on what you're saying? Can you clarify?

@@saminterrante11:49 My point is, almost everything that you’ve done here can not be achieved with one light. You used multiple lights + light stands + modifiers. This might seem normal to you, but for somebody getting into it, it’s just not what you’re dealing with. Looking back to it a year later I can definitely agree to multiple lights helping with adding depth to you headshots, BUT I still mostly shoot with 1-2 lights, a reflector and black cloths to add shadow. Those last two things are cheaper to get for a beginner and work with the same principles.

I'm not even sure what you're trying to say haha. Can you explain?

It's a mere bit of sarcasm, Julian. The finer point is that lighting ratios are something I quickly learned not to go by, and to trust the acuity of my eye to achieve the look I'm going for. In this case, recognizing a shadow depth that I feel is flattering for the subject's face. I suppose I could have explained that a little better haha. I must not be much of an educator either. ;)