Anatomy of a Self-Portrait
Multiple off-camera flash in action
“…incredible results to counter the
most severe of circumstances…”
If you followed my blog recently, you will know that I am hanging out at the Strobist’s Blog. The Strobist advocates the simple use of off camera strobes, portable and relatively inexpensive, to create professional lighting results. Yesterday my B&H box arrived with several new strobe toys which allowed me to expand my lighting arsenal. I set up a self-portrait example to test equipment and technique.
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I started with an aperture priority shot using the camera’s metering. The shot is both dark and light due to daylight coming in from the windows. A poor portrait at best. Tungsten lights in the room were turned off to keep the light color variance to a minimum. |
I think one of the things that distinguish professional-looking portraits from shots like this is the ability to show detail in those dark and bright areas. In other words the ability to see beyond the dynamic range of the light available.
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I used the outside as the basis for my exposure. I metered for the exterior and set my camera on manual to ensure I exposed the sky out my window correctly. This resulted in a too-dark image. Virtually no detail is left in the rest of the shot. |
With a basis for exposure, I can start looking at my ambient light picture and selecting problem areas and build from there. I began to set up off-camera flashes to light my room.
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I set up a Canon 580 EXII speedlite on full power to shoot through a Sto-Fen Omni-bounce to illuminate the room’s interior. Trial and error placement resulted in a position just slightly ahead of my body in the room’s center. |
Notice how the ambient window light falling on my face is nearly neutralized. The window side of my face is now too dark and the area on my desk is in too much shadow for my taste. Adding a second off-camera flash seemed like the best course of action given the room’s tight layout. There was no place to set up a reflector.
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With a second speed-lite placed to the left side of the image, I was able to open up the shadows on the desktop and the right side of my body. This flash was set to Manual at 1/8th power. I now have a natural looking portrait lit entirely by portable, off-camera flash. |
This shot is nicely lit but one element is missing-the monitor’s image (see first image). Exposing the windows ( a huge distraction if over exposed, and lighting me correctly meant I had to sacrifice the image on the monitor. That is what image editing software is for. It is much easier to replace that monitor display than to expose for the display and try to fix the windows or the room interior.
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Speedlite with Omni-bounce |
Canon DSLR with ST-E2 Wireless Flash Controller |
Speedlite set on desktop |
Above were the three components used to create the portrait. Below I have photographed a wide angle shot to demonstrate the relative locations of each component used.
Final analysis: Off-camera flash give you a powerful edge in creating more professional and dynamic pictures. Adding a second flash and a few key pieces of equipment like wireless controls, flash accessories and a stand can give you incredible results to counter the most severe of circumstances.
With digital, you can experiment, meter, and achieve incredible results-even through trial and error. A little practice and these things will start to become second-nature.
Now, off to Big Woods State Park for a little off-camera multi-flash nature photography…
Rikk Flohr © 2008
June 30, 2008 at 1:26 pm
[...] In my article Anatomy of a Self Portrait, I showed you how to, among other things, fill every crevice with light using multiple off-camera [...]