Lighting Portraits On The Cheap

Before I begin I’d like to mention the giant this flea is standing on. David Hobby both inspired and instructed a lot of photogs, both directly and, indirectly. I learned by means of the latter. Read him up I’m sure you’ll learn something whatever level of photography you practice.

The Shoot
I was always a firm believer of knowing how to shoot with the bare essentials. When I say ‘shooting’ I mean shooting with ease, efficiency and in complete control. On this next entry I wanted to demonstrate just that. Our model for this shoot is Umeko, she’s an actress, artist, model and a great person. ​

​The Look
This was going to be a straight up fashion portrait shoot, no special props or elements. In my head I wanted a shot that had a fair amount of contrast within the subject, but not too much against the background.  She had slightly pale skin so a dark crop top and dark pants would provide varying levels of contrast with her arms, top, abs, pants, face and hair.
Given the contrasty (not a real word) subject, I needed to match it with a uninteresting (reads as 'not just plain') background. I also did not want any additional colour as it would take away from the subject in this specific case.

Technique
Background separation was going to be achieved in two ways. The first was background brightness. The level needed to be between her skin and clothes. This would give the best separation from either.  Second was blur, that means I needed to have her more a bit further from the fence. Putting in her against it would have added elements, and that wasn't part of the original look planned. As much as I love to seize opportunity, being true to what you set out to do is also valuable. For you, that's your call, it's your art after all.

Lighting
A nice soft key light seemed the way to go, and good rim lighting would complement the key light by enhancing the shadow side separation. Two light sources were needed, but I only wanted to use one speedlight (barebones cheap).

Bare Essentials
Why not just shoot with natural light? For me there’s always strong tendency for either flatness or hard shadows. Nailing the right levels consistently is achievable, but not when you have a moving / posing model and a schedule to keep. Also, I wanted more than just one good photo (I always shoot for 10 good ones).
Sunlight provides the best rim light (in my opinion). Mother Nature ponied up one light source, I just needed to provide the key light.
I chose artificial light. Why not a reflector? Three reasons why. First, I’m not a fan of continuous light into the subject's face as it causes them to squint. Second reason is aim, a model that constantly moves needs the reflector to follow the movement. Third reason is level control, I can’t make a reflector brighter than ambient, I only get what I get.
    

​Equipment
The key light was a speedlight with a tri-fold shoot through umbrella, softness, chosen for portability and simplicity. A tri fold is much less durable but it packs to the length of a flash, it can then hide inside your bag, staying nice, clean and dry.
Remote triggering was done via a cable. Yes a cable. Why a cable? Let’s go with ‘why not’. The setup is cheap, no batteries required, no misfires, and a very high sync speed. You’d need the adapters (pictured) and a long enough cable, 20 feet for me. It’s also a great backup system you can keep in your bag. Radio triggers are a figurative dime a dozen but have you checked the cost of batteries?

Setup
Here’s a quick pic of how it all came together. The sun was on the camera left about 45 degrees above the horizon. You can check the shadows sun's shadows. Notice that I rigged a hanger on my light stand so I can use my camera bag to weigh it down. It's not as effective as sandbags but galactically easier to carry around.

Summary
There you have it, portrait photography on the cheap. You can view the shoot at http://www.creativelightimaging.com/fence2.html .

​If you have questions don’t hesitate to ask. Have a good one!

---