NEXTISSUE LEARNTHE
BASICSOF OFF-CAMERAFLASH
TocreateRembrandt
st ylelightingin your
portraits,where
a triangleof light
il luminatesthe face,
you candirectthe
flash acrossyour
shoulderandat a 45º
angle towardsthe
cornerwherethe
ceilingandwallmeet.
Thismeansthelight
wi ll be comingfrom
aboveandto the
si deof yoursubject,
gi vinga balance
betweendirectional
li ghtingandgettinga good
il luminationontheface.
Thequalityof thelighting
is moreakinto using
of f-cameraflashand
a softbox,butwitha much
si mplerandfastersetup.
Flash Know-how
PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 93
S
IMPLYALTERINGTHEANGLEOF YOURFLASH SO
it bouncesfroma slightlydifferentdireci ll
to controlthelightandcreatea widevar
pl easing results, without having tochang
any other camera setting or scenesetup.
THREE WAYS TO BOUNCE
FOR PERFECT PORTRAITS
1
USE SPLIT-LIGHTING
FOR ADDEDDRAMA
3
CRE ATE
SUBTLE
SHADING
2
LIGHT
EVENLY
It’s easy to create dramatic portrait lighting withinany
indoor space by bouncing the flash from a whitewall
to the side of your subject. This gives a goodcontras
to your image, as the far side of the face fallsintogen
sh adows, and it works best when your subjectis arou
1- 2m away from the wall you’re bouncing from.When
to camera settings, you need to strike a balancebetweenthe
optimum settings for portraiture and capturingenoughambientlightso the
background isn’t too underexposed, so it’s bestto shootin manualmode.
To help isolate your subject from the background, set a fairly wide aperture
like f/4. The shutter speed needs to be below the camera’s flash sync speed,
which is often 1/200sec. Adjust the ISO so that you’re capturing enough
ambient light from the background. The camera settings for this portrait
were set to 1/125sec, f/4 and ISO 400. The flash was also set to manual with
the power set to 1/32. Take a test shot and adjust settings as needed.
To create more even
lig hting on the face,
adjust the flash head
so it is pointing
directly behind you
to wards the ceilingat
a 45º angle. Thiswill
lig ht your subject
softly from the front
and keep the eyes
br ight with strong
catchlights. You’ll
also create gentle
shadows under the
chin and nose, but
ov erall the effectwill
be light and bright
and even. There’sno
need to adjustyour
camera settingsfrom
th e previous setup,
but you may needto
increase yourflash
power as it’s likely
that the light willbe
travelling furtherthan
the sidelightingscena
Ta ke a test shotandc
re sults. If the faceloo
dark, increasetheflashpowerto 1/16or 1/8andshootagain.
