Lotta bokeh
Add LED lights
This eye-catching technique
lets you spice up a dull
background with plenty of
bokeh. Tape a string of battery-
powered LED lights to a clear
umbrella and ask your model
to hold it over their shoulder.
Then, you’ll want to use a wide
aperture – we shot at f/2.8 and
at the telephoto end of our
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 – to
create a shallow depth of field.
The result is a background filled
with attractive bokeh. We
complemented this striking
effect by asking our model to
wear a pair of fake glasses.
Angled correctly, the large
round lenses reflected the
LED lights on the umbrella.Lens: 50mm f/1.8
Exposure: 1/8 sec, f/22, ISO100Lens: 70-200mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO800Spin class
Merge colours
A rainbow umbrella will add a
vibrant punch of colour to your
portraits, but this creative
technique takes things a step
further. We’d suggest using a
50mm or 85mm focal length.
Set your camera up on a
tripod and frame your shot.
Either use Shutter Priority or
Manual mode to dial in a shutter
speed of 1/8 sec and focus on
your model’s eye (the closest
one to the camera). Ask your
model to spin the umbrella,
while keeping their body as still
as possible.
Get it right and you’ll capture
a smooth paper-windmill effect,
as the colours gently merge into
one another.
BEFOREAFTERCREATIVE TECHNIQUES