Photography News Issue 39

Technique 50

Photography News | Issue 39 | absolutephoto.com

Lighting Academy Brolly good show One of the many reasons to shoot with flash is to achieve soft, even, almost shadow-free lighting, and this look is flattering as it reduces contrast and therefore hides imperfections. So, while a single unmodified flash will often give very harsh and contrasty looking results, if you use a single light with the right modifier, or two lights both fitted with softening modifiers, and position and power them correctly, you’ll get low contrast. Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton Start your journey into the exciting world of creative lighting effects with PN ’s Lighting Academy. This is the place to find out all about how flash and continuous lighting works and how it can be used to improve your shots. This month, how lighting umbrellas can be used to create a high-key look on location 1/15sec shutter speed

It’s this flattering, low-contrast look that drives many starter flash kits to come with softboxes and umbrellas; both of which are modifiers that diffuse the light, spreading and softening its effect. But while softboxes are often perfect for this purpose, because of their design they still funnel the light creating a more directed look; umbrellas on the other hand throw the light much more widely, so if you’re shooting full length or wide-angle in an environment that you also want to light, a brolly is often the better choice. Light from an umbrella often looks more natural, too, and you can spread the illumination more easily than with a softbox, as, with larger boxes, more power is needed. Umbrella types There are two main types of umbrella modifier; bounce and shoot-through. In bounce umbrellas, the light is pointed into the umbrella’s interior and reflects onto the subject (or it can be directed at a wall to light the subject indirectly). Shoot-through umbrellas work with the light fired onto the subject through translucent material. For this month’s pictures we used Elinchrom’s D-Lite RX 2/2 Umbrella To Go set, which comes with two 85cm umbrellas (one a silver bounce model, and one a translucent shoot-through). Powering the flash Working with our model, Emma, in a lightly tiled bathroom location, the idea was to frame her in front of the windows, and combine the bright ambient light outside with the flash for a very high-key look. So the first thing we did

Above In this location, with the large windows behind Emma, it was important to balance the flash as much as possible with the ambient light. As you can see below, at the same aperture, ISO and flash power, a faster shutter speed will underexpose the ambient light making the windows darker.

was set up one D-Lite RX 2 head either side of her position using the kit’s included clip-lock stands. Each light was set up to work with the kit’s included Skyport transmitter, sowe could fire and alter the power settings remotely. The lights were then fitted with their umbrellas, which is a simple case of sliding the shaft through the tube in the head. To camera right we used the bounce umbrella and on the left of the frame the shoot-through umbrella. Next up it was time to set the power. This needs to be done carefully as, although the

1/60sec shutter speed

Above Shooting with one umbrella-fitted light at a time shows how easy it is to vary the lighting, and the different looks brollies give. On the left, the bounce umbrella fires alone, and on the right it’s just the shoot-through brolly in use.

Above Setting up the lights either side of Emma created a pleasing wash of light, and we gave the bounce brolly a little more power than the other for more contrast.