Full Length, Even Light, Small Studio Portraits | Take and Make Great Photography with Gavin Hoey

Smaller studio spaces can be a real challenge to work in especially if you’re after a full-length portrait that’s evenly lit and also has super soft, shadowless light. Add to that the problem of perspective distortion when working fairly close you’re your model and you might think it’s a challenge too far for a small space.
Luckily photographer Gavin Hoey thinks otherwise. By breaking down and demonstrating each problem in turn, Gavin explains why there’s an issue and how to resolve the problems one by one.
Starting with perspective distortion, where the models' head appears larger than their feet, Gavin next tackles uneven exposure before making the light from his Flashpoint XPOLR300 flash super soft across the whole frame. Once everything is in place, he then puts it all into practice with a graphic, eye-catching photo session.
Timestamps and Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:59 Fixing perspective distortion
2:55 How NOT to set up your light
4:00 Move your flash for even lighting
5:09 Make shadowless light with a scrim
6:32 Full-length, evenly lit, soft light portrait session
7:31 Conclusions and Subscribe
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✘ PRODUCTS USED:
OM SYSTEM OM-1
www.adorama.com/iomom1.html
Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro
www.adorama.com/iom1240b.html
Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro
www.adorama.com/fplfx300ptb.html
Flashpoint R2 Pro Transmitter
www.adorama.com/fprrr2proo.html
Manfrotto 1.1x2m Pro Scrim
www.adorama.com/bgmllc1201k.html
SmallRig RA-R6090 23.6x35.4" Rectangular Softbox
www.adorama.com/sr3930.html
Glow 7" Reflector
www.adorama.com/glrf7bo.html
Glow S2 Round Flash S-type Bowens Mount Bracket
www.adorama.com/glbdsm02pro.html
Kupo 20" Master Raiser C-Stand
www.adorama.com/kuks703712.html
Flashpoint 10’ C-Stand and Grip Arm
www.adorama.com/fplsc.html
Tether Tools Pro 16' USB 2.0 Active Extension Cable
www.adorama.com/ttcu1917.html
Sekonic L-308 Flash Meter
www.adorama.com/sksk401305.html
Benro GoPlus 28c Tripod
www.adorama.com/befgp28c.html
#studiophotography #lightingsetup #adorama
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Follow Gavin on
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Model: Katie Willy
/ katie.t.willy
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!

[@stephenpezzulich1108]

I love that you make mistakes on purpose so we can see not only why they're mistakes, but also your process to fix. I always look forward to your videos. BTW I love that background!!

[@GavinHoey]

Some (not all) of the mistakes are planned but all the mistakes I've made for real at some point. Glad they've helped Stephen 👍

[@nolansdad55]

I always immediately click when I get notifications for Gavin’s videos!

[@avpjon]

Gavin, you manage to teach so much, so well, so quickly! You are an amazing teacher and a great photographer. Thank you

[@stevenmassey2276]

The Isaac Newton of photography. Thank you for such informative videos. I get so obsessed with too much technical details, or with the perfect equipment. You reveal how the art, not the science, is important. Bravo!

[@RandyM403]

Gavin (and I'm assuming his team) are a never-ending creative idea machine! I love these videos. So inspiring.

[@kennethnielsen3864]

Yes yes yes, a new Gavin video!!!!!!!

[@marcusprime6766]

"Perspective Distortion" 🤔 Now I have a definition for it. Finally!!! Always something to learn here. 😁 Thanks Gavin Hoey!

[@giannitherock]

I see Gavin, I click thumbs up.

[@jskatton7751]

A ska guitarist here attracted by your great backdrop. I'm more into videography but light magic matters there as well. Good 👍 stuff!

[@GavinHoey]

A Ska guitarist, now that's cool! Yep lighting skills are transferable which is lucky as I also do many video lighting gigs (behind the camera)

[@250GTOAJ]

Very usable light set up a very 60s vibe for the set and Katie's outfit, Thanks Gavin, Katie, Sam and Freya 😎👍🇨🇦

[@GavinHoey]

Thanks Allan. 60's vibe with modern poses 😁

[@bradleyc6564]

I can’t tell if the target audience is NASCAR fans or ska fans but either way I’m here for it

[@GavinHoey]

Ska is more my era but swap NASCAR for the BTCC and I'm all over that too 🏁

[@charlieross-BRM]

It reminds me of the Carnaby Street era of London. I've still got some photos of two young women in front of the shops wearing all white and fashionable mini dresses in 1969. Shot with my dad's Instamatic I think.

[@dunnymonster]

Using the large scrim with the strobe firing through is genius. Fantastic results Gavin 👍

[@richardkm5355]

wow i had been searching for this. Thank you so much

[@georgefrench1907]

Great as always, Gavin.👍

[@MarieNuchols]

I just finished getting my CPP from PPA and was tickled to note how your lesson hit on so many of the principles I have been studying. Such a compact and well conceived demonstration of lighting principles. Loved it! Thank you!! (And now I need that scrim.....)

[@siddharth_r1]

Such lovely pics in such a small space. Takes a true expert to pull it off and teach at the same time!

[@lisapalzer2511]

This was fantastic! Thank you!

[@ericstephenvorm]

Fantastic tutorial. Truly informative, and really clear. Thank you so much for putting this together!

[@paulamorin6332]

For full length in my studio (cleared out dining room )with a wide door frame which enables me to shoot from the living room with a length of 15 ft., I use a 36" BD from Westcott higher up for faces down to the waist and a 26" BD lower on a short Kupo stand angled downwards. I also use a another light on the opposite side of the 36" BD for fill. I just photographed a classical music trio that way and it worked well. This lit all the instruments beautifully too. I was at 50mm on my zoom , f/8 and 12 ft back. I have two 3x4 strip boxes but I only use them for rim lighting as I don't think they give me good even light. I could never handle a 7' scrim or store it. I even made my own V flats because the 8' ones were too difficult to move around.

[@alun7006]

Great stuff, Gav - excellent demonstration as always! Now I need a scrim!

[@patricknehls9087]

Thank you Gavin, as usual, a great video.

[@albertr915]

Excellent video Gavin. Nicely done.

[@raulakis35]

Clever and ingenious as always! I have faced that challenge a couple of times and come up with a no so elegant solution (photoshop here and there) but never felt very honest. So this set up will definitely help my craft, and get the shot in camera, rather than spending too much time in Post. I loved the camera angle tip !! That one is definitely key and now will remember it!! Thank you Gavin and thank you Adorama!!

[@bala1000mina]

Thank you so much Gavin for the awesome tutorial!

[@josephchan4198]

Sweet!! Thanks for the tips. Hope to see more videos before the end of the year. Awesome work Gavin and Adorama.

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Joseph I'm right here on Adorama TV every other Thursday 😉

[@kirstyhepworth7343]

Love it Gavin 😀

[@zacklarez]

Great video as always! I recently did my first full body shoot in my dining room and I clamped a white sheet between two light stands to make a budget skrim. Got the results I wanted, or at least better than I would've gotten with a 3x4 softbox. Love this channel. I recently got to visit Adorama in my first trip to NYC and I was excited over that as I was seeing The Lion King on Broadway.

[@gregkiserphotography]

Thanks for this one Gavin. I love soft light, and this gives me another way of lighting a whole scene with soft light when I don't have the luxury of going with multiple lights. As an aside, I also want to thank you for the red cover on the light meter. I didn't need it for protection, but having lost mine a few times hanging on lights, I can always see yours, which prompted me to add that case. It works like a charm, and I rarely lose it now.

[@GavinHoey]

That's exactly why I have mine Greg :) The only time it's been fail (for me) is when I hung a load of red fabric from my C-Stand as well as the meter!!!

[@andyallard5990]

Excellent tutorial you always explain everything really well for even an hour or so like we can understand not that I have ever used the flash I Gotta say you do inspire me to one and give it a go thanks very much for your time Gary

[@andyallard5990]

that Gavin 😂

[@RahulKumar-nh3wc]

Gavin Hoey is a genius.

[@stephenmatthews5437]

A shoot through brolly gives great even illumination when at a decent distance.

[@RalfWeyer]

This was yet again a funny but very informative video, thank you very much Gavin 🙏😊👍

[@sebastianligueno]

Great video. Thanks, Gavin

[@GavinHoey]

Thanks Sebastian 👍

[@samanthaodonnell4329]

That's made me go bozz-eyed!! 😵‍💫😵‍💫 Great vid as always! 🙂

[@johnclay7644]

very informative Gavin, some great tips for studio portraits. very engaging.

[@GavinHoey]

Thanks John 👍

[@jimgsewell]

Great lesson and photos, thank you.

[@hetsleb]

Thanks Gavin!

[@swccbakersfieldca2076]

Learned a lot like always. Hello 👋 from Bakersield California

[@timrosenthal46]

Nice one Gav !

[@mirandavandenberk786]

Thank you, I love all your video's, so very helpfull. Great🥰

[@carlostochehenderson2990]

First one here!!! hahaha Love the videos Gavin...keep it coming ;)!!!!!!

[@GavinHoey]

Will do Carlos 👍

[@marcuss9076]

Great video and a fun model. I will use my scrims more often now. I’ve actually used it for more commercial work.

[@GeorgeMonaghan]

Great video Gavin and very well explained. I have the same vinyl flooring (on a roll for floor) but doubt if I could find a raised support that would take the weight. That must be a very solid setup you have in the wall/ceiling. Thanks again.

[@StarAnubis-MerytWepwawet]

Always informative videos... That dress is amazing BTW 😅

[@chrisjohnston964]

Gavin, you are amazing! Your tips on lowering the camera height and shooting at a 50mm (equiv) are golden. If you were to light the model with two of your rectangular soft boxes instead of a skrim, what position/height would you set them to get a better light angle whilst maintaining even lighting?

[@vagaickie]

I could have used this before the past weekend when I was shooting portraits in a 'photobooth' for an event. It was all good, if I was doing close ups of one or 2 people, but when they started crowding up to 10 people into the space, I didn't have enough light at the bottom. I do have a large scrim I could have used - so now I know for next time. Thanks!

[@petemellows]

I was thinking the same. I use two large soft boxes, but it gets tricky with the bigger groups.

[@petrnovoselov1373]

Спасибо. У Вас очень полезные уроки.

[@Lenasterable]

It's really nice, but unpopular opinion: I prefer the short focal result, much used in fashion photo, especially with a psychedelic background and a dress like these :) Thank you very much Gavin!! Love your lessons, xxx from Paris

[@corykphotography]

Its always nice to see someone using a MicroFourThirds camera for portraits. I shoot an EM5 mk ii but i recently picked up a Nikon d5300 with some birthday money i had so people would take me more seriously

[@loihpatli]

Thanks for another great video, Gavin! Which backdrop stand would you suggest to by for a small home studio like yours? Thx

[@eoschneeman]

Love your work - huge inspiration. Can you ever do a photoshoot with two models? I'm really curious how you manage that in a small space...

[@johnphillips5632]

Very clearly explained as usual Gavin - if the studio had a clear white wall and ceiling, do you think you could get the same soft even light by bouncing the xplor 300 with just the reflector backwards and upwards?

[@stuartsnape405]

Another great video as always! At the end of the video I noticed you had the standard reflector on the AD300 as well as the 7", any particular reason for leaving this on rather than full "bare bulb"? Cheers

[@yayapawana]

very good

[@emilyhafele7744]

great video per usual!! wondering how high the backdrop is raise/how high is the ceiling?

[@KevinKipper]

Fantastic as always, but would bouncing the light off the wall behind you and adding another flash to increase the light output have the same effect?

[@nicolasallard-saint-albin8295]

Always learning so much from your videos. Thanks for sharing. You speak about it but I guess that the light is even thanks also to the white wall opposite to the light. Would you use a reflector or a second light in a 'dark ' room ?

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Nicholas. It made a lot less of an impact then you'd imagine but if you need it, a reflector is a closer match then a flash in this case.

[@stefano_campani]

you're really a smart guy :)

[@davidmoore720]

Hi Gavin. Is there a downside to pointing your light reflectors at the white walls (instead of using the scrim)?

[@zenphotojourney]

Great background! I like that you used a creative idea like vinyl flooring but I'm sure that was pretty heavy. What do you use to hold the weight of something like that?

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Melani, it was indeed heavy. I used a couple of hooks screwed into the a roof joist.

[@Sridharkoondakallaphotohraphy]

Hi Gavin, from where you got that vinyl sheet . ?

[@johngallant8591]

Any particular reason for leaving the AD300 standard reflector mounted while using the Bowens S mount reflector?

[@jenskaemmerer]

Hey Gavin, can you tell me, which tablet and app you use for tethering? I also own an OM-1 and found no solution for my ipad. Thanks a lot for all your videos :)

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Jans. That's My Lenovo Miix 2 in 1 Tablet / Laptop, just without the keyboard type cover attached. As it runs Windows 10 I can use Olympus Capture & Workspace software to run the tethering.

[@alanroderick7153]

Love the background. Was it used in the Scooter shoot ? A white shower curtain or two hung on a boom does work well. Well done to Katie, super poses. Another great video !

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Alan. Yep it was the floor in the Printique Vespa portrait shoot and seemed to good to not reuse. Blooming heavy getting hung up on my own however!

[@picasary]

I would like to know how it would have turned out if we pointed the flash with the reflector on the opposite wall to the model?

[@amberhakim6884]

Great tutorial! Would it be possible to know where to buy this backdrop?

[@mikecritchlow1114]

Gavin, I missed what you said to use if I haven't got a scrim. It sounded like reflector. If that's correct how should I use the reflector please? Thanks for clarifying how to get a full length photo with even lighting. Best wishes. Mike

[@blkscorpion01]

Could you have used two lights & two Softboxes from the same distance & direction but at different heights?

[@EdwardKilner]

Stacy had fun and looked great. Did you start with her dress and then find the flooring? Please let us know. Barn doors on the reflector would control spill. Am longing for a scrim! Nice video, as we have come to expect. Hope you don’t run out of ideas, you do a very good job of these videos, and they are appreciated.

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Edward. Katie is a star for sure. The floor (now background) idea came first the Sam went shopping (online) for the dress a few minutes later. 10 years in and I've still got lots of ideas in the works 😉

[@jagbirsingh9344]

Can we bounce the light to the near by wall for even lighting?? please guide...

[@terryleephotographer]

Gavin how do you come to the 5.6 starting point?

[@paulbell9957]

Fantastic tutorial Gavin. Great seeing how you solve these small space problems mate. And as always the end results are stunning 👍👍

[@GavinHoey]

Thanks Paul. My small home studio never stops throwing up challenges 😉

[@derekbell-jack9929]

try a fabric shop to buy lining material. i bought a white material, similar to softbox front, but much larger. i shoot through it hanging from the boom arm on a c-stand. large and soft light source and much cheaper than a dedicated scrim.

[@ishu87]

Can you do a tutorial on how to use that light meter with flash and multiple flashes. I returned mine because I couldn't find anywhere how to use it with flash. 😔 Great work none the less!!!

[@Abba_napry]

Is this technique the same with the one using shoot through umbrella

[@GavinHoey]

No umbrellas in this one.

[@kavehjohn]

it almost looks like you are using a reflector on the right side! how are you getting that light on her right? is the background really flooring material? what was the distance between the light and the diffuser? great results. THANK YOU

[@GavinHoey]

No reflector on the camera right (just a wall) and the thing on camera left is a translucent "scrim" a but like the front of a softbox. Yes it was indeed flooring which I got for a Printique video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZbZpp98pJ6jr8k

[@kennethnielsen3864]

can you achieve the same effect by pointing the lamp towards a white wall, perhaps several lamps towards the wall on both sides of the studio?

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Kenneth. The same effect? Similar effect? Perhaps. BTW similar isn't bad, it might even be awesome!

[@johnbrueske8936]

Great video! Can you do a video on lighting green screen portraits in small studio?

[@GavinHoey]

Sounds like a good idea John 👍

[@ShadowlightPhotography]

Big up the Katey / Gav duo, still learning from you 5yrs on great stuff. Could have been worse Katey, Gav didn't make you hold any candle stiks for this shoot ;)

[@somkarchapagain8918]

Hi Gavin, can you someday please make a video of studio portrait for more than 2 people in one frame? I have been watching your videos and learning a lot. Is it even possible to make a portrait of a group with one softbox?

[@BLITZgescheit]

Hi Gavin, why didn't you use the white wall to bounce off the light? Wouldn't that be the biggest possible lightsource?

[@GavinHoey]

The white wall on camera right is a bit to close and the one camera left isn't a nice white wall which is likely to be the case for a lot of other photographers.

[@davidjones8070]

Fun shoot but wears the smoke? I kinda always want smoke….did I I mention I love your smoke shots. Great video as always.

[@GavinHoey]

More smoke, I got the message David 👍

[@mohanrajperiyasamy1550]

👏👏👏👍🙏

[@theoell2049]

From where we can buy such a Backdrop?Thank you!

[@GavinHoey]

Hi Theo. I got my Vinyl flooring from a flooring supplier 😉

[@fountainvalley100]

I wonder what it would look like if you bounced your strobes off the back wall and increased your iso to compensate for the light fall off.

[@zoomdesignz4805]

Thanks for this… so basically a white fabric would work right

[@realamericannegro977]

She is a good model

[@GavinHoey]

Katie is a brilliant model and super talented dancer 👍

[@cuttinbb]

I guess that a very large softbox 6'x4'will give a similar light as the scrim, isn't it ?

[@mirandavandenberk786]

What is the size of the background?

[@GavinHoey]

I have 3 meter wide and 4 meter long length of vinyl flooring Miranda.

[@wullieg7269]

i need that background so....

[@Sportserjeff]

The studio I rent has a big umbrella with a diffusion over it. I mean really big umbrella. Works about the same.

[@Michel_Vanaken]

Interesting as always. But... "Don't get *to* close" in such a bold face... ouch!

[@hawg427]

Her dress made me dizzy. LOL Loved the video.

[@sh8736]

Note to self choose short model make them take off their shoes…. 😂