with great light modifiers, a fluorescent light setup or a great reflector, I’ll use
the natural light I see before I dig around for an on-camera flash.
Once while at one of my Virgin Islands “Exotic, Glamour, Beauty, and the
Nude” workshops, I saw an attendee shooting with an on-camera flash. I sim-
ply handed him my clear bottle of water with the label removed and said,
“Here, shoot through this.” He was like, “Wow!” It not only worked in dif-
fusing the light, probably better out there than the products that are plastic
and often cost $50 or more, but it was a $2 bottle of water that quenched my
thirst on a hot day while quenching his photograph with beautiful, diffused
light. Again, it’s all about using the right tool for the job. Save on-camera
flash units for the birthday parties and what photojournalists call the “grip
and grin” shots.
Before you even think about grabbing that on-camera flash, look around
you and see how light is reflected off everything—the walls, your shirt, the re-
I had KT stand facing in the direction
of the sun, capitalizing on the
warmth found in the natural light.
This is an example how side-lighting
can be effective for an image. I’ve
also allowed enough blue sky to
contrast with the warmth terrain and
KT’s body. Notice I’ve positioned the
camera to capture the horizon line
well below her shoulders for a more
appealing look. This image is also
effective because of the tonality
shifts seen in the background—the
lighter sky, the darker middle, and
the middle-toned bottom. (CAMERA:
Leica M8 Digital Rangefinder fitted
with a Leica ELMARIT-M 21mm f/2.8
ASPH lens. SETTINGS:28mm effective
focal length,^1 / 500 second shutter
speed, f/5.6, white balance at
6000K, ISO 160)