Constant LED Light Portraits with Sony and iPhone

The more I use the LED Constant Light for Portraits, the more I fall in love with it.

I know I said it before in an earlier post but when you use it, the whole WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) not only makes setting up so much easier and quicker but also every time I use it, the people I photograph say how much more relaxing it is not having a flash go off in their face.

Just over a week ago I was recording some content for the iPhone Photography Conference and thought it would be an interesting comparison just to see how close I could get a photograph I took with my main camera, my Sony A7RIV Mirrorless and my iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Of course I went into this knowing that the iPhone image wouldn’t equal or surpass the quality of my Sony, but just thought it would be interesting to see how far the quality has moved on and do this with a lit Portrait using the constant light … the Westcott L60-B Bi-Colour LED.

THE SET UP

For the lighting. I had originally planned to use just one light, the L60-B, however I couldn’t resist the warm light emitting from the heater that Ian had turned on in the studio. I loved the way it cast a warm glow onto the wood panelling so this was carefully raised off the ground and then became the main light and the L60-B was positioned on the opposite side of Ian further forward and higher up.

The L60-B was given a warmer temperature using the iPhone app which works incredibly well.

As soon as I opened the app it connected to the light and I was able to dial in the power settings, change the temperature and I could even make it perform lighting special effects like lightning, TV and a faulty bulb … but these are obviously for use when doing video.

CAMERA SET UP 

So with my Sony A7RIV on my tripod I used my 55mm Zeiss f/4.0 lens and tethered this into CaptureOne on my iPad, which works an absolute treat!

It’s incredibly easy to set up; you literally plug one end of a USB-C cable into the camera, the other end into the iPad, and with the app open i’st connected and ready to go.

I’m using this all the time now when tethering and what I also love about it is that you can stop and start the monthly subscription whenever you want. The subscription is only £4.49 / month so I tend to look at what I have planned and just restart it for that period, then cancel it again.

The only thing I don’t like which might (I hope) be just down to a setting I’ve missed turning on, but the photographs you take are only stored on the iPad. I only discovered this after the first shoot I did using it. I disconnected the camera and went to check the images on the camera and nothing was there. Only once my heart re-started and I looked on my iPad did I realise where they were 😳

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CAMERA SETTINGS

The settings dialled into my camera were …

• f/4.0

• 1/60 sec

• 2000 ISO … which for modern day cameras is nothing
  

using the iphone

Having taken the portrait with my Sony I then swapped over to my iPhone which was placed on the tripod using the ULANZI ST-27 Phone Mount.

I also attached the 2x Telephoto lens from ReeFlex to the 1x lens on my iPhone using one of their cases that has threads in each of the lens apertures.

The 1x lens is the equivalent of 24mm and is the only lens on the iPhone capable of shooting in ApplePro Raw at 48MP … the highest resolution and largest file my iPhone 15 Pro Max can produce.

With the 2x Telephoto lens attached this made the 1x lens the equivalent of 48mm and did this optically rather than digitally, and so doing everything possible to create the best possible file; not quite 55mm but the closest I could get oto it optically.

iPHONE PRO CAMER APP

To take the photograph with my iPhone I used a Pro Camera App from ReeFlex and called ReeFlex.

This app like most other pro camera apps gives you control over extra settings like Shutter Speed and ISO but it also makes it very clear to see not only what file format you are in but also the resolution.

ReeFlex Pro Camera App usinfg 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP

However here’s the catch …

If when you’re using the 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP you make changes to the shutter speed and / or ISO then the file size immediately drops from 48MP to 12MP.

ReeFlex Pro Camera App using 1x lens with Shutter Speed Adjusted

So because of this I opted to leave the iPhone in the AUTO settings which kept the 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP, and these are the out of camera and out of phone results, with the Sony image on the left and the iPhone image on the right …

Now at this 100% magnification the iPhone file, although different to the Sony file, certainly looks to be holding up.

However, it’s when you zoom in on that iPhone file that things look VERY different …

Look how the file looks soft and slightly out of focus. Look how the file lacks texture and detail in Ian’s skin, his hair and the wood panelling.

Apple ProRaw

This softening appearance to the image is all because of shooting in the supposed highest resolution settings, AppleProRaw at 48MP and that’s because Apple ProRaw isn’t like a traditional Raw file as we know and understand them.

You see Apple ProRaw files do actually receive some processing such as Noise Reduction ( quite al lot ) and Smart HDR, so the file we end up with is also a blend of a number of images at different exposures taken and processed increibly quickly.

So not REALLY a Raw file as you would expect 🤷‍♂️

topaz sharpen ai

Running the file thorugh Topaz Sharpen AI does recover alot of that lost detail as you can see here …

However knowing what Apple ProRaw does to your files does arm you with a bit of knowledge so that you can make the decision to use it or not.

Depending on how serious you are about your iPhone photography you might want to consider shooting in 12MP Raw which Pro Camera apps like Moment and ReeFlex allow you to do …

Naturally we always want the highest resolution file possible but the noise reduction that Apple ProRaw does, might make you reconsider.

12MP Bayer raw files

Currently ALL Raw Long Exposure apps produce 12MP Bayer Raw files and that’s what all of my seascape images are and I’m more than happy with them.

Sure more resolution would be good but until that time, these 12MP Bayer Raw files are very acceptable …

So acceptable in fact that Digitalab even printed one of my iPhone seascapes at 72” on the longest side and it looked incredible …

final retouched portraits

Here though are the final retouched portraits with the Sony file on the left and the iPhone file on the right, and yeah the Sony file is definitely better and that’s to be expected, but looking at the iPhone file the future is going to be VERY interesting indeed!

wrapping up

So more testing to be done which will be interesting as new iOS updates come along and the iPhone 16 later this year.

In the mean time I’m going to carry on taking seascapes with my iPhone because I really enjoy doing them BUT I’ll also be taking them with my Sony too.

As for Portraits I’ll keep taking them with my iPhone but only as an extra bit of fun and experimentation when taking them with my Sony.

Catch you next time
Glyn

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SONY ... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? 🔥 ZV-E1 Overheating FIXED but it COST ME MONEY

I love my ZV-E1 for filming video content and for LIVE Streaming but even in the lowest recording settings it overheats!

This is now fixed though thanks to a Cooling System I weas recommended …

Links mentioned in the video …

Tilta Cooling System ( LINK )

Tilta Full Camera Body Cage ( LINK )

Movie Inspired Portrait in the Mountains of Wales

So last week I met up with my mate Anthony Crothers just outside of Cardiff, Wales and then we both headed to Newport in Pembrokeshire.

It was there that I’d arranged to meet up with Dai O’Toole ; a friend I’d not seen since my 39-45 Portraits Project Exhibition at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum back in November of 2019.

We’d always kept in touch but this was the first time we’d caught up in person since, and this was all motivated by me having seen Dai mention about a Trek he was soon to be embarking on called the GR54 ; a 120 mile trek in the French Alps which takes in elevation of 12,500ft 😳

Hearing this and his motivation for doing so, I got in touch saying that I’d love to take his portrait on location and record a short chat with him about it all … needless to say , we were ‘Game On’

Meeting up in Newport, Pembrokeshire after some long overdue man-hugs, armed with a small amount of kit we all headed off on what Dai would call a stroll, up nearby Carn Ingli ; a mere 1500ft above sea level 😃

( Left to Right ) Anthony , Dai and Yours Truly

With no need to rush, we took our time making our way to the top whilst chatting , laughing and chatting and laughing some more whilst stopping regularly to take in waht can only be described as spectacular views.

I cannot stress enough how enjoyable and uplifting this was and it didn’t take much to understand why Dai goes out trekking every week.

Once at the top and in between repeated cries of “WOW” , with the help of Anthony on lighting, I took a series of full length portraits of Dai.

The main image from this I’m currently working on but with regards to kit, this is what I used …

• Camera: Sony A7RIV

• Lighting: Westcott Fj200

Due to the winds on top of Carn Ingli I decided not to take a softbox but as there was a lot of cloud cover and consequently soft light, this I needed to match on Dai.

The solution was to take along the 45 Degree Deep Focus Reflector

This would help to give more control over the light, add an extra stop of power but also by aiming it slightly off Dai, the outer softer area of the light would light him. The result … soft light from a modifier that would ordinarily produce a hard light source.

Of course using the outer area of the light isn’t as powerful / strong but for this combined with the Fj200 and conditions on the day was more than adequate.

I was also shooting tethered into my iPad using a TetherTools USB-C to USB-C cable directly into CaptureOne Mobile; shooting tethered does not get simpler and it works an absolute treat!

Having finished on ‘the top’ we made our way down ( not quite so direct as the way up mind you 🤣 ) and after grabbing a coffee and chatting more and more, we headed back to the cars which is where I wanted to take a headshot portrait of Dai for an idea I had, inspired by the original ad for the movie Hancock starring Will Smith …

To control the light on Dai I opened the boot of my car and had him sit on the bumper.

Doing this reduced the light from above , behind , and to his right hand side ( camera left ) resulting in an obvious and controlled direction of light rather than his head being evently lit in all directions.

Using my Sony A7RIV on a tripod and my 85mm G-Master lens I took a series of headshots with Dai simply looking straight down the lens but now wearing some fantastic reflective and tinted sunglasses.

I tried a few shots using the FJ200 in the Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish and bouncing some light onto a reflector which Dai held horizointal to the ground in front of him to bounce some light up onto his chest and beard.

However, I ended up going with the natural light as positioning Dai on the rear bumper under the car boot lid produced superb light with great direction.

These were the dialled in settings:

• Manual Mode , f/4.0 , 1/125sec , ISO 160

And this is the final retouched portrait …

Genuinely loved every minute of this …

Getting to hang out and have a mini road-trip with my mate Anthony Crothers , catching up with and photographing Dai , working on the edit and to top it all, being out and about in the fresh air surrounded by stunning scenery.

What’s not to love about that?

Cannot wait now for the next adventure!

Sony ZV-E1 | 3 REASONS why it's their BEST and CHEAPEST FULL FRAME CAMERA 😮

This is not a review of the Zv-E1 but a video showing WHY and HOW technology in the ZV-E1 means it's a shrnken FX3 but also means you don't need a gimbal, external microphones OR an assistant …

How I Lit and Photographed this Portrait of a Female Attendee

A couple of weeks back I was in Stoke on Trent presenting at the Guild of Photographers Event on behalf of Sony.

Kicking off first thing I hosted a workshop for a limited number of 10 people ( although 11 were there 🤣 ) and went through how I set up and light portraits but more importantly how I interact and help subjects in front of the camera to relax.

I love sharing this kind of stuff; stuff that I learned mainly from when I was full-on photographing World War 2 Veterans for my 39-45 Portraits Project. These portraits were of people who maybe weren’t so keen initially on being photographed or felt self conscious in front of the camera as opposed to me photographing models. 

No eye tracking, sharpness, dynamic range or whatever will help with this.

Anyway the reason for this was mainly to share one of the portraits I took when showing a lighting set up that is incredibly simple but so incredibly effective.

I only took one photograph but this is the result; a portrait of workshop attendee & Photographer Jo Bullas …

And here’s a Behind the Scenes photograph showing the set up I used however in this one I’m now holding the light for one of the attendees…

KIT USED

Aside from my camera ( Sony A7RIV with the 85mm G-Master Lens) , this is all the kit I used for this portrait …

• Westcott X-Drop Pro Background Support

• Westcott Vintage Grey Background by Glyn Dewis fort X-Drop Pro (5 x 7)

• Westcott FJ80 II M Speedlite

• Westcott FJ-X3 M Trigger

• Westcott Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish

If you saw an earlier post you’ll recognise the set up as being the same as when I photographed my friends Ian Munro, Anthony Crothers, Dave Clayton, Brian Dukes and Gerwyn Williams; I even jumped in front of the camera too …

The difference this time was simply down to a camera setting using a wider aperture and a slightly slower shutter speed to allow more ambient ‘ natural light into the shot.

Anyway if you didn’t see the original video I shared on my YouTube Channel going through exactly how I do this, I’ve shared it below.

Enjoy,
Glyn

Sony A7RV - I WAS WRONG !!! 😳 User Review + RECOMMENDED SETTINGS for BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY 🦅

I was WRONG!

Here's the correct review of the NEW Sony A7RV along with recommended settings for photographing Birds that made a BIG DIFFERENCE! Plus the camera finally has Focus Bracketing, a Flip / Tilt Screen AND Artifiical Intelligence!

But would I buy it? 🤔

WeX 25th Anniversary Event

Really looking forward to being at WeX Store in Birmingham next week on Saturday 18th June 2022 as part of their 25th Anniversary Event and being asked to present on behalf of Sony.

The event days are completely FREE for everyone to come along to with lots going on including hands on and presentations.

I’ll be there all day at the Birmingham Store and presenting a new talk at 12midday thru 1pm …

Portrait to Landscape: How to Keep Creative

WeX Stores across the country are holding their own anniversary event days.

You can find out more by visiting the main event page on the WeX website by CLICKING HERE

Hopefully see you in Birmingham…if that’s the one you’ll be going to of course 😃