At Holmes Middle School, where I teach, there are always opportunities to practice and try new techniques. In choosing our theme for this year’s Variety Show, the students thought it would be fun to mimic our performance after the hit tv show, Glee.
I make no claims regarding my Photoshop skills. However, I am confident in my claim: it can be a challenge convincing teenagers to pose…cooperatively. This was something fun that generated a high level of excitement with all the students. Considering many of our clients are graduates I thought this brief tutorial may cater to their interests.
Gear
- 3 Alien Bees B800s
- 2 Canon Speedlite 580s
- Pocket Wizards
- 1 Octagon Umbrella
- 2 Strip Lights
- White seemless paper
- Canon 5d w/85mm f1.2 L
- 54 amazingly talented 7th & 8th grade students
Setup
Kylie was positioned against a white seamless backdrop in order to completely isolate her in frame. This is necessary in order to create a colored vignette in Photoshop later.
ISO 160, f10, 1/125
We have noticed the highlights aren’t as prevalent when against a white background – possibly the lack of contrast or the loss of depth? However, with this setup I have had success setting the front Octagon 1 or 2 settings lower than the sidelights to achieve the nice contours across the face.
Photoshop Layers
Layer 0: Magic wand to cut out around edge of Kylie. Then add outer glow to help blend in edge with background (the size, spread, and opacity vary).
Layer 1: Radial gradient tool to create vignette. Drag from center of subject’s face to edge of frame.
Hue/Sat: Took out some of the unwanted red values.
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