First Self Portraits with Impact 1 Light Umbrella Kit


Last night, before I headed off to bed for the night I took a bit of time to set up the light kit, Impact 500W Light Umbrella Kit, and actually get snapping some photographs this time. I created a very simple set up and had intended on going black and white with the photographs from the start. Next time, especially with color portraits, I'll use my SB-600 as a fill flash.

Here's the set up I used:

Single Light Black and White Self Portrait Set-Up

I was pretty happy with the results which is fantastic since I hadn't done my hair and was wearing no makeup and have never really had a lot of luck with self portraits in the past. I found three or the 60 photos really embodied the emotion I wanted and I used Lightroom to go gray scale and adjust my settings to really make the photographs pop. There were a couple other shots I liked but I think I might try them again another time and see if I can have better success without that silly hat on!

Hat used solely to hide my bad hair day

Other Great Lighting Set-Ups

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8 months ago
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Gravatar:
Written by:
Kim
Posted:
5 months ago

Hi terriseethings, great photos i think the one i like best is where your looking over your sholder. and the hat works.

how did you do the backdrop? im looking to be able to achieve the same kind of backdrop that goes onto the floor for some nice shots of my kids. your setup described there is what i have in my head. Thanks for any info.

Gravatar:
Written by:
Terri Ann
Posted:
5 months ago

Hey Kim,

The backdrop behind me was actually the brown curtains on my windows, probably 8ft behind me. That's part of the reason I chose to make all the shots black and white, the color versions had a bizarre color combination.

In post (I use Adobe Lightroom) I increased the contrast a LOT and darkened the browns so they appeared almost black.

I still have my room arranged the same way so I just snapped these photos to give you an idea what it looked like.

Setup Shot 1 Setup Shot 2

I've never had a lot of success with full length but the best I have done with things I have at home is to move my bed out of the way and hang a black flat bed sheet from that curtain rod.

Hope that helps. I'd love to see how your photos come out.

Gravatar:
Written by:
Kim
Posted:
5 months ago

cute place. the shots came out great. i couldnt even tell that there was anything behing you other than black. Thanks for the examples.

im going to be shooting a 4 month old and either have to put her on a table covered of have something full length, as there will be other family members in the shot. i live near a joanns so i think im gonna head on over and see what on sale. i have two book cases i can clip the material onto to hang it. well see how it turns out! thanks again.

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Written by:
Ritchie
Posted:
2 months ago

This has been helpful in my decision to buy this model or not. Seems like it gets nothing but good reviews, and this little blog helps reinforce it with the great self portraits you took.

Quick question: since this kit is pretty cheap, do you recommend buying two of these, just to help create more light on the subject and/or background, or should one kit do the job for most situations?