Photography News Issue 48

Photography News | Issue 48 | photographynews.co.uk

Technique

Use flash creatively

In many ways flash is the most adaptable way to light your subject, letting you compensate for the available light with bursts of fill flash, beef up what’s there or set up your own look independent of what light’s naturally available. Flashis important, saysPaul “forcontrol andfor consistent exposure and to balance light levels so that the highlights and shadows fit within the camera’s dynamic range – something that’s often difficult to achieve without it. What’s more, sometimes it’s just not possible to use natural light, even with high ISO settings, as there’s not enough natural illumination to sufficiently light the subject or provide the necessary drama.” In its most basic form, on-camera flash “can be used to soften shadows and to add nice catchlights.” When shooting with on- camera flash Paul uses diffusing modifiers and manually controls flash output to a low level to avoid it looking harsh; or you can use can flash exposure compensation in TTL or auto modes. Most of the time, Paul uses off-camera flash, “either mains powered or travel packs; the benefit is higher power and faster, more reliable recycle times. During workshops we use wireless triggers set for each group and light the portraits using flashmeters, so results are consistent and easy to judge. With the light power set, it’s actually easy to adjust exposure settings for really creative images – that’s what we try to encourage on our courses. “Even if you’re unsure of using flash, there’s an easy and quickway to see the benefit; simply set up a monobloc flash and point it at a wall, room corner or ceiling. This will increase the overall light level in a diffused way, but you need towatch out for brightly colouredwalls or ceilings as this will affect colour balance.” Flash is important for control and for consistent exposure… Sometimes it’s just not possible to use natural light

Pick the right aperture

For his location portraits, Paul favours a pair of fast zoom lenses, and depending on the space available he alternates between his “workhorse 24-70mm f/2.8 and an old 80-200mm f/2.8; both being fast lenses, you don’t have to vary aperture when zooming, and both can be used to create blurred backgrounds if required.” The amount of blur you include in your location portraits depends on how much you want the background to be a part of the scene; wide apertures (low f/numbers) will give you the most blur, but as you close the aperture (higher f/numbers), more of the scene will come sharply into focus. The choice is yours, but if the subject’s surroundings are important to the narrative of the scene, as they often are when you’re shooting on location, there’s no point in blurring them out too much.

Master natural light on location

Learnmore at Pauls Events

If you’ve been tempted to try some location portrait shooting or want to grow your skills further, check out Pauls Events. You’ll find a superb mix of glamour and fine-art nude photography workshops at exclusive locations in the UK. Events are tailored for beginner and experienced photographers, so you can use them as a learning exercise in lighting technique and working with models, or simply enjoy the benefits of the fantastic locations, lighting gear and beautiful subjects. One of the locations used, and featured on these pages, is Glynhir Mansion in beautiful rural Carmarthenshire. There you’ll find walled gardens, parkland and woods to shoot in, as well as rooms in the house itself, with lighting supplied and set up ready to go. Accommodation, breakfast and meals are included.

Finding good light on location is often amatter of experience says Paul. As it’s one of the most important aspects of a location shoot, youneed to spend as much time as possible looking for it. “In any event,” says Paul, “you’ll likely need to adjust the model’s pose and position, depending on how the light is falling.” The best, or at least the most, flattering results often come when the subject is turned away from the light, when it’s diffused and softened, or they’re in shade. Each of these things lowers contrast and reduces harsh highlights and shadows. Window lighting is a great example, especially when the window is north facing or covered by a simple voile which works as a diffuser. It’s one of Paul’s favourite ways to shoot portraits on location and something he emphasis on his courses: “window light is soft and natural, and produces lovely beauty and portrait images especially when it comes to lighting the eyes.”

In these situations it may not be possible to correctly expose the subject and the background; you may have to make a choice between them, and if so, it should be the subject that exposure is biased towards (spot metering makes this easier). If you can, says Paul, try to “balance the lighting on the model and that which is outside or viewable in the background. In this case, calculate the exposure on the window or background first, so it’s not too overexposed and then use a simple white or silver reflector, angling it to bounce light back onto the subject.” Alternatively use fill-in flash; “just make sure it’s diffused by a shoot-through umbrella or bounced into a reflector to balance the natural light,” says Paul. A reflector is often the easiest solution. Youmay even findnatural reflectors in your location, like light coloured walls, which will illuminate the subject if you can position them in the right place.

Pauls Events Visit: pauls-events.uk Phone: 07930 462 906 Email: paulseventsuk@gmail.com