ONE LIGHT PORTRAITS

photo above: Verso A4 – 1x light kit

In this post, we are going to show you how we shot six distinctly different looking portraits using only one light, and one modifyer (P70 standard dish)

photo above: final six images

1. Top Left: on Location: having only one light, we decided to utilise as much of the free natural light available to us, and supplement it with our flash as a back light / hair light. Step one, was to take a shot as we wanted it, with no flash: we wanted to establish our f-stop, and the direction, of our soft key in the portrait first. Why? To decide how strong the flash needed to be, and where the flash should be positioned, so that it looked natural, and combine it with the existing natural light. Usually you want the hair light to come from the opposite angle to the key, as that echoes the natural effect of the sun backlighting a person.

photo above: first shot with no flash.

photo above: note how the flash is positioned to shoot through
the over hanging tree leaves, offering a more dappled effect.

2. Top Middle: on location, flash as Key, using the existing natural light as a strong fill. The main aim was for the flash to barely show, but for it to still be distinct as hard sun light. The standard dish (P70) is hard enough to simulate daylight. Note how we are recording the natural sunlight shafts hitting the background wall. We’ve balanced the exposure to retain these in the final shot.

photo above: first shot with no flash.

3. Top Right: in studio, flash as back-light. Using natural light as the key, in this case, we simply opened the roller door to the studio, to food it with natural light. There was enough natural light to illuminate the back wall so that it was grey rather than black. Adding in the flash as a back light / hair light has created the illusion that the picture has perhaps been taken outdoors.

photo above: first shot using natural light, no flash.

4. Bottom Left: Hollywood Style, in studio. Using the single light as a key. No natural light. The intention was to simulate the old school Hollywood lighting which was usually hard sources such as Fresnels. This approach has evolved to become a popular beauty / fashion lighting approach, as it highlights the skin luminosity, and the color of hair better than soft light can. eg: If you are shooting for hairdressing competitions, especially the “color trophy” comps, where it’s all about the shade of hair, it’s often best to use a hard source.

For this example, we have allowed the key light to bleed on to the background, so that it is also illuminated, vs. being total black. In effect you end up with a two light effect. The flash has been positioned at a height that is as high as possible without shading the actual eyes. This general approach will really bring out all the bone structure.

photo above: this behind the scenes pic shows positioning of the light.
We did not use any natural light in the final shoot.

5. Bottom Middle: flash only, in studio. We designed this light to look and feel like broad, open, hard sun, in a “Greek Islands” setting. What this means is that the flash is in a late-sun position (therefore flattering) and we simulate a lot of ambient bounce. The bounce should be from the white walls, floors, and surrounding white walls (white poly). The typical Greek Islands locations we are thinking of are the white washed buildings commonly used for fashion and advertising shoots. In effect you get a two light look: key and fill. You want lots of fill without loosing the contrasty shadows.

photo above: flash only..what is not shown is the sheets of poly bounce
we placed on either side about 2m to the left and right.

6. Bottom Right: flash only, in studio. We call this our “Terry Richardson-light“… simulating on camera flash, at a position as close to the lens axis will produce the familiar look used by Uncle Terry. You need a very crisp, hard  source. Think about an on camera flash: it is physically very small: small hard source = very hard edge shadows. Further, Terry uses custom flash brackets to get his flash as close to the lens as possible, as opposed to the normal “goose-neck” position afforded by the camera hot shoe. That is why we have positioned the studio flash head lower and basically at eye level to both model and photographer.

photo above: flash head above, wind machine below.

SUMMARY: What we wanted to show you was how versatile having just one light can be in different situations, and that having lots of gear, and sophisticated dishes and modifyers is not essential to creative and effective results. We shot all six portraits in one hour, as a challenge to see how many different looks we could produce, on location and in studio.

Something to think about: if you added just a diffusion frame to this kit… imagine what you could achieve next….

TIP: always take your reference shot with no flash at first to establish what natural light is already present, and try to make the flash or artificial light sympathetic to that. Remember that studio flash is very powerful, and because of that you should not let it dictate what f-stop you should shoot with. Shallow depth of field is just as important with many flash shots, as it is with natural light pictures.

THANKS to: Talia at Red Eleven Models