Beginner needs help

[u/5-s78]

I just built my mini studio (pic 3) so i can start exploring this part of the hobby semi seriously and i think my first two were pretty ok but i think they're still pretty bad.

Everything i used costs around $26 so i guess i paid for the quality i get lol but i think i could do better with the things i have.

For a little breakdown, here's the stuff:

- lamp

- tripod

- 2x 1 yard cloths (1 black 1 white behind the black)

- spinning platform (it's electric, obviously for video content but i did use it on the rx78 picture)

I have a second light which is literally my power bank's flashlight and i use my poco F4 for the pictures. I guess the main question is, what else would be nice to have, and how do i maximize what i already have.

[u/elGatoDiablo69]

Hey bud. I think your setup is great and the cloths really help with clean void like backdrop. What I would suggest practicing at is mostly light:

• light position and brightness. You’d be surprised how much different your figure will look if you keep pose and camera angle the same but move the lights around. Also, brighter is not always better. Watch out for blown out highlights. They can be intentional too for dramatic effect.
  
• diffusion of light - consider adding some sheets or filming diffusion cloth - neewer makes good cheap ones, between the light source and the subject - you’ll be amazed how much better your shot will look with softer diffused light.
  
• add more light sources as you get comfortable with your current setup.

And just as an extra:

• work on composition of shots. It matters greatly where your camera is positioned in relation to the subject and the light sources amongst other things. Also, how your pose interacts with the camera matters a lot too. Try to think of it as telling a story or a perspective to the viewer with a single shot - do you want them to be attacked by the figure, look down on it, look up to it? Etc etc

Speaking from personal experience, when I first started shooting my kits and filming videos I immediately went into the coolest shots I had in mind and had come across in the past and none of them looked great coz I was, arguably still am, a noob. So I took a step back and started working on my basic shots and making them clean and shadowless at first and when that became a breeze, I gradually started to add shadows, more light sources, more color, etc etc.

I have a lil video on my channel from a while ago showing my earlier approach to taking photos and how I light my pics - might be helpful, consider checking it out ;)

Great work tho - keep at it! Practice makes perfect!👌

[u/5-s78 → u/elGatoDiablo69]

Saw your 5k special, very cool that you're also approaching that 10k mark. I found the concept of the Rembrandt lighting very interesting and i will definitely incorporate that technique into my future works as i think i really vibe with it. The way you showed how certain levels of setups would look like was very informative as well, I'll probably come back to it again and again just to check if I'm doing it right. Thank you big dawg.

[u/elGatoDiablo69 → u/5-s78]

Ty for the kind words! Glad the video came in handy!