The off camera flash han.., p.14
The Off-Camera Flash Handbook, page 14
FIGURE 24.1
GOAL IMAGE.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/250
For this shot, we’re going to almost black out the scene so that mostly just the off-camera flash is affecting the image. We’ll light the subject with a main light on her face as well as a backlight behind her to light her hair and part of the background. Finally, we’ll have another light, with a gel on it, to add a fun, mood-changing element.
You can choose any color of gel you like. The color you choose will dramatically change the mood of the shot so feel free to experiment with a few different ones. The colored gel will fill in the shadows of the image, as well as create front bokeh balls and a bit of haze in that color. You just might become addicted to this technique!
Step by Step
Position the backlight: For this example shot, I had two CTO gels on my backlight. You don’t need this, but since we’re playing with gels, why not? Try to get your light at least 20 feet away from your subject, slightly to the right or left, and behind trees or bushes that’ll break up the light and make it look more natural. Don’t point the light directly at their head! Aim to point it behind and past their head so that the light spreads softly across them and their surroundings.
Position your front light: This light will have the umbrella or large modifier on it. You’ll want it as close to your subject as possible without being in the frame. I suggest placing it just to your right or left at about a 45-degree angle to your subject and about 8 feet high. Feather the light a bit in front of and across your subject so it lights them and their surroundings.
Set the camera exposure: Set your exposure to almost black out your surroundings. I prefer having a little detail in the shadows so I don’t have to light all of my background and sky, but dark enough that my OCF is primary light in the shot.
Set the white balance: The flash that will hit the front of your subject won’t have a gel on it so set your WB to the color temperature of the flash (usually ~5600K). If you’re not into dialing in your white balance Kelvin manually, try using the sunny day preset. Take a test shot and check the coloring of your photo. Feel free to warm or cool it slightly depending on your taste.
Set the back flash: Turn on just your back flash and use TTL to get a power setting. Flip to manual keeping the same power setting and adjust it until you like how it looks. Turn this flash head off.
Set the front flash: Turn on just your front flash and use TTL to get a power setting. Flip it to manual keeping the same power setting and adjust brighter or darker for proper exposure on your subject’s face. Alternatively, for both lights you could set your camera to manual, set the flash to mid power range, and adjust up or down to your liking. You can also use a light meter to measure and set both lights to be the same exposure on the front and back of your subject.
Check both flashes: Turn your back flash back on, still set with the power setting you got in step 5, and take a test shot with both flashes firing together. Adjust your flashes up or down until you get the look you’re going for.
Set the main gel flash: This is where you can pick your pretty color. I went for purple in this example. You need a lot of light for this, so I set my light (assuming it’s a smaller speedlight) to full power and adjust from there. If you’re using a more powerful light, start at half power and move it up if you don’t see the bokeh affect.
Position the light: This is the tricky part. I usually hold my light (a light one, like a speedlight or Profoto A1) in my left hand, super close to (if not touching) and pointing into my lens. If you have a heavier light, or if you just don’t feel like holding your light, you can set it on a light stand right in front of where you’re standing.
Change your angle: This is the very tricky part. Every little millimeter that you move your light changes the angle that it hits your lens, thus changing how it looks in your image. Move the light all around your lens. Shoot with it above, below, left, and right—everywhere—and see what it does to the bokeh pattern in your image. Your goal is to also let the light hit your subject to fill in the shadows and create a bit of colorful haze in the image.
Make adjustments: Once you see the light effect show up, play with it. Make is brighter or darker, and change your f-stop to change the size of the bokeh. Change your lens to see what effect the different focal lengths have on the bokeh. There are limitless possibilities.
OPTIONAL: Add a reflector to fill in some of the shadows with the main light color if you want less contrast.
Shot by Shot
FIGURE 24.2
NATURAL LIGHT.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/250
FIGURE 24.3
THE OCF ON THE SUBJECT IS METERING WITH TTL. ONE LIGHT WITH A MEDIUM-DEEP UMBRELLA IS ON CAMERA LEFT. ANOTHER LIGHT WITH A CTO GEL IS BEHIND THE SUBJECT TO GIVE HER HAIR SOME LIGHT. TTL WAS TOO BRIGHT SO I TURNED THE FLASH POWER DOWN IN THE NEXT SHOT. I LOWERED THE SHUTTER SPEED TO LET IN A LITTLE BIT OF NATURAL LIGHT. THIS WAS SHOT AT 10 A.M. OUTSIDE ON A CLOUDY DAY.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/125
FIGURE 24.4
TESTING THE “BOKEH” FLASH BY TURNING IT ON TO FULL POWER. THE FLASH LIGHTING HER FACE WAS TURNED OFF.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/125
FIGURE 24.5
I TURNED THE FRONT FLASH BACK ON AND ADDED A PURPLE GEL ON THE BOKEH FLASH.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/125
FIGURE 24.6
I MESSED AROUND WITH THE BOKEH LIGHT POSITION. I VARIED THE SHUTTER SPEED BECAUSE I LIKED SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF THE BLUE SKY IN THE UPPER-RIGHT CORNER OF THE IMAGE.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/125 (OR 1/250)
FIGURE 24.7
I DECIDED TO HAVE THE MODEL DO A HAIR FLIP SO I MOVED THE LIGHT BEHIND ME. THIS KEPT THE SHOT LIT FLATLY AND GAVE HER MORE ROOM TO MOVE. THE FRONT BOKEH DIDN’T WORK IN THIS SHOT BECAUSE THE LIGHT WAS POINTED TOO MUCH TOWARD THE MODEL. I STAYED AT A 1/250 SHUTTER SPEED HERE SO I MADE SURE TO FREEZE THE ACTION AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE; BUT THERE IS SOME MOVEMENT IN THE HAIR, WHICH I ACTUALLY LIKE.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER SPEED 1/250
FIGURE 24.8
THIS BOKEH LIGHT WAS POSITIONED PERFECTLY TO GIVE FLARE IN THE LENS AND FILL THE SHADOWS ON THE MODEL WITH A PURPLE COLOR (YOU CAN SEE THE COLOR ON HER TEMPLE AND CHEEK BONE AND BELOW HER NECK). IT GAVE A NICE HAZE TO THE IMAGE.
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/250
FIGURE 24.9
BEHIND THE SCENES: THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY FINAL IMAGES OF THE SHOOT. THROUGHOUT THE SHOOT I MOVED THE FLASH IN MY HAND AROUND MY LENS FROM THE TOP TO THE SIDES AND THE BOTTOM.
Potential Problems
This trick can be difficult depending on your lighting circumstances. Ultimately, the effect shows up best on the darker parts of the image, so try this in a darker lighting scenario first instead of in a scene with bright outdoor light. A wider-angle lens with a high f-stop, such as f/22, will create the most dramatic look in terms of front bokeh. Getting it at just the right angle to get bokeh and fill flash your subject is quite tricky!
Other Techniques
Adding movement to a shot is really fun. Because you’ve almost completely darkened the natural light, your flash will freeze any action. However, with the natural light still peeking into the shot, you can lower your shutter speed and have you or your subject move to get a little motion in the image. For my last (and favorite) shots from this shoot, I had the model flip her hair. Even at a shutter speed of 1⁄250 of a second, she moved fast enough to show a little motion in her hair while the flash froze her face perfectly sharp. It took a few tries, but it’s a ton of fun!
FIGURE 24.10
THE FINAL IMAGE (THOUGH I THINK I LIKE THE MOOD OF THE PREVIOUS IMAGE BETTER).
CANON 5DS R, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 22, SHUTTER 1/250
SCENARIO 25
Using Gels to Color Correct
Because sometimes the light is uuuuugly!
GEAR NEEDED:
Camera + Trigger
Lens of any focal length
Off-camera flash
Light stand
Color correcting gel set (a CTO gel for this scenario)
GOAL IMAGE
I will say that I very rarely practice this. I used to do it, but now, because I mostly shoot events in properly up-lit rooms, it’s not as necessary. However, it’s a technique that you definitely want to understand photographically and be able to use whenever you need to.
The most popular time to use this technique is when you’re indoors using a flash (off-camera, on-camera, or bouncing) and the background looks a disgusting yellowy-orange. It happens in most normally lit rooms because the lights that are dimly illuminating the space are tungsten lamps, which provide an orange color.
To fix this, match your flash to whatever color is naturally occurring in the space. It’s almost like you want to pull out one of those lightbulbs and use it as a flash so it’s the same as all the other lights in the room.
To do this, gel the flash with the same color as tungsten (typically a half or full CTO gel), and then shift your white balance to adjust for the orange light so that it becomes white. Everything from flash to natural light will magically be beautifully balanced.
FIGURE 25.1
GOAL IMAGE.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 200, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/250
Step by Step
Position your lights: As I mentioned, this technique can be used at any point with on-camera, off-camera, or bouncing flash. You can put a gel on your strobe or speedlight and then position it based on the scenario you’re in.
Set the camera exposure: Create an exposure as if you’re just photographing the room’s natural (ugly) light.
Set the white balance: Set your white balance to the tungsten preset or around 3200 Kelvin depending on how much of a gel you’ve put on your light (half or full CTO). The darker the orange, the lower your Kelvin setting needs to be.
Set the flash power: Do this according to your lighting setup. You’re essentially combining this with other lighting scenarios like in the sections on Event Speeches, Lighting a Dark Room, or Table Details—but adding a gel. You can use TTL, manual, or a light meter to set your flash power.
Take a test shot: Notice if the natural light looks too orange or too blue. If it looks too blue, take off some of the gel color (if you’re using a full CTO, try half; if you’re using a half, try a quarter) and warm up your white balance (raise the number). If the natural light looks too orange, blue down your white balance (lower the Kelvin number) and add more of the gel color.
Shot by Shot
FIGURE 25.2
NATURAL LIGHT.
CANON 1DX II, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/250, WB 5100K
FIGURE 25.3
OCF WITHOUT A GEL.
CANON 1DX II, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/200, WB 5100K
FIGURE 25.4
OCF WITH A GEL AND A LOWERED WHITE BALANCE. NOTICE HOW MUCH LESS ORANGE THE BACKGROUND IS.
CANON 1DX II, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 250, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/200, WB 3100K
FIGURE 25.5
BEHIND THE SCENES (NO GEL ADDED IN THIS SHOT).
Potential Problems
The most difficult part is getting the two light sources to balance. You might not be able to get it perfect, but it’s OK to have a bit of warmth to your background. To me, that’s how the light looks. Your clients may also want to capture the warmth of the environment, especially if it’s lit by candles, so be sure to set expectations with them one way or the other.
Practical Uses
My example was with tungsten light, but this concept can be used with many natural/ambient light colors. The idea is to match your flash color to the color of whatever light is in the space. Maybe you’re shooting in an environment with crazy pink up-lighting, and it’s just too much. Gel your flash pink or magenta to change the color tone to be more green (and maybe your white balance bracket to be more green as well).
Whatever color the lights are that you want to desaturate, that’s the color you put on your flash. Then, with your camera’s color settings (white balance, color tone, and/or white balance shift), you take that color away from the whole photograph by adding the opposite color (opposite of blue is yellow, opposite of magenta is green, etc.). It takes a bit of practice to wrap your head around this idea, but once you do it adds another element of control and skill to your photography.
SCENARIO 26
Lighting a Dark Room
Dynamic lighting for weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and corporate events.
GEAR NEEDED:
Camera + Trigger
Fast-focusing lens of any focal length
2 Off-camera flashes
2 9-12' Light stands
2 Grids
Gel set (optional)
GOAL IMAGE
If you’ve already read Scenario 23, “Event Bounce Flash,” then you know this is not my go-to lighting for wedding receptions. However, this kind of lighting is 100% more dynamic than what I typically do. Even though, for reasons I mentioned in that scenario, I prefer to bounce flash throughout the night, I do often set up a few shots using the following technique. It adds a lot of dimension to the images and definitely a level of quality.
I choose to use this lighting setup for large overall room shots, but you can use it in a variety of places. With two lights in a dark room, you have two options. Either you have them on opposite corners or sides of the room or dance floor. Or you have them on the corners of the same side of the dance floor or room.
Where you decide to place the lights is up to you. However, where you place them and where you stand in relation to them will give you a different light pattern as you move around the room. You have to decide what kind of looks you’d like to have, and then choose which lighting setup is best for creating that.
FIGURE 26.1
SHOT USING TWO PROFOTO B1S WITH GRIDS.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 24MM 1.4, ISO 1250, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/125, WB 5600K
If you are doing this at an event with a ton of potentially drunk people flailing about thinking they’re dancing, please weigh down your lights, affix them to sturdy light stands, and place them where they won’t be easily tripped over. You also need to consider the aesthetics of how your lights look in the room. If you can set your lights in the corner or against the wall of the room, do it. It’s the safest place for them to be, and usually they don’t look as bad as they do when they are haphazardly placed on an open corner or side of the dance floor.
You must use grids! Without grids the light goes everywhere and kills the ambiance of the room.
FIGURE 26.2
SHOT USING TWO PROFOTO B10S WITH GRIDS.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 50MM 1.2, ISO 2500, APERTURE 2.8, SHUTTER 1/250, WB 5600K
FIGURE 26.3
SHOT USING TWO PROFOTO B10S WITHOUT GRIDS.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 50MM 1.2, ISO 2500, APERTURE 2.8, SHUTTER 1/250, WB 5600K
Option 1: Place your lights on opposite corners or sides of the dance floor or room. This option lets you put one light next to the DJ or band, which is usually a safe, unobtrusive spot; and the other light can go in the opposite corner. With this lighting setup, you’ll have a light pattern that will, depending on where you’re standing, be a rim light with a front flash, or lights hitting your subjects at 90 degrees on either side. There is, of course, everything in between those two as you walk from one side of the room to the other.
FIGURE 26.4
LIGHTS IN OPPOSITE CORNERS.
FIGURE 26.5
SHOT WITH TWO PROFOTO B1S WITH GRIDS: THE MAIN LIGHT AND THE RIM LIGHT.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 2500, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/125, WB 5600K
FIGURE 26.6
SHOT WITH TWO PROFOTO B1S WITH GRIDS IN SIDELIGHT POSITION.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 2500, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/125, WB 5600K
Option 2: Place your lights on the corners of the dance floor or room on the same side. This option puts both lights on one side of a 180-degree axis. Basically, draw a line down the center of the room (in whatever direction) and both lights are on one side of it. This lighting setup will give you three different types of lighting patterns depending on where you stand (and naturally everything in between, as well). You’ll have either a silhouette of your subjects with two lights on either side of the frame, a fairly flat look with two lights shooting from either side of you at your subject, or side lighting on the subject.
FIGURE 26.7
LIGHTS POSITIONED IN THE CORNERS ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE DANCE FLOOR.
FIGURE 26.8
TWO PROFOTO B1S WITH GRIDS, BOTH ON ONE SIDE OF THE ROOM.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 2500, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/125, WB 5600K
FIGURE 26.9
TWO PROFOTO B1S WITH GRIDS CREATING BACKLIGHTING.
CANON 1DXII, CANON 35MM 1.4, ISO 2500, APERTURE 2.5, SHUTTER 1/125, WB 5600K
