Early on in our flash photography journey, one of the biggest struggles we face is controlling the light that we’re adding to the scene. We typically end up with light spilling everywhere, and the photos don’t look very good. But, as our flash skills develop and we begin to master light control, our options for what we can create open up exponentially. That’s why we’re here.
In the following video/article, you’ll learn some basic light control tips to help get your light to go where you want it, and you’ll also understand the difference between specularity and diffusion.
Once we’ve covered these concepts, we’ll put everything together and create some dynamic flash portraits. We’ve chosen to work in the studio to make it easier to see the differences between each technique we use. That said, know that you can use all of these tips and techniques on-location.
Let’s dive in.
Here’s a list of the gear we used in the following five portrait recipes:
To help you master the fundamentals of light control, let’s start with a bare flash. We’ll even place it in a decent position to get a butterfly light pattern that we can use for comparison with later shots.
While the model looks nice, the image isn’t great. But what makes it not so great? The problem is that without a modifier, the light from the flash spills everywhere in a scene. This not only looks unnatural, but also washes out the good ambient light.
So, your first level of light control will come in the form of the MagGrid 2. Leave your flash in position and place the MagGrid 2 on the flash.
If you were around for the days of velcro or taping your gels on your flash, then you probably really appreciate MagMod’s simple magnet system. Using a grid on the flash will eliminate the light spill. Here’s the same shot again, this time with the MagGrid 2.
Ok, now let’s move to the next level of light control with the MagSphere 2, which also brings us to our next concept, understanding the difference between specular and diffused light.
With the flash in the same spot, let’s take a look at what happens when we remove the MagGrid 2 and add just the MagSphere 2 to the flash.
The MagSphere 2 diffuses the light a bit and allows it to bounce around, projecting the light in the shape of the MagSphere 2. This is highly useful because it creates a far more pleasing light shape than with just the bare flash on its own.
Light that comes directly out of the flash, or a light source, and then lands on a subject is called “specular” light. Direct or specular light tends to bounce off of shiny objects and create reflections and highlights, which is what happens when it lands directly on a person.
When you diffuse light, you take some of that specularity away because the light isn’t going straight from the source to the subject. Instead, as mentioned earlier, it bounces around a bit. This is what it means when a light is “diffused.” As photographers, we often confuse diffusion with “soft or hard” light.
It’s important to remember that diffusion and softness are not the same thing. Soft and hard light is based on size. A light source is soft when that light is large in comparison to the subject. Soft light creates softer shadow edges. A light source is hard when the light is small in comparison to the subject. Hard light creates a harder shadow edge. When we place the MagSphere 2 on our flash, we have a hard but diffused light source.
This is one of our favorite pairings, combining the MagGrid 2 and the MagSphere 2. Here’s the same shot as before, but this time, taken with this pair of light modifiers.
The grid controls the light spill while the sphere diffuses the light and makes the light pattern more uniform and pleasant.
We’re close to a great final image, but we can use a second light to add visual interest to the background. We’re going to use our lights to create a sort of semi-silhouette creative portrait.
Usually, you would start with the background before working on your main light source. For the background light, choose whatever color of MagGel 2 you’d like to use and place it on the flash. We’ll use red for this example. We’ve also added a MagSphere 2.
With the light in place, take a quick test shot to check the position and shape of the light.
It already looks pretty cool. It’s time to add our main light.
Here’s a look at our first shot with both flashes, but without any modifiers on the main light.
Without a grid, the main light washes out all the color in the scene. Add the MagGrid 2 and MagSphere 2 to remedy the issue. Remember, adding modifiers will cause us to lose some power, so we need to bring up the power of the flash to compensate.
For the final images, we want to create more of a silhouette shot, as mentioned earlier, so we’re going to position the flash slightly behind our subject.
With everything set in place, we just need to direct our subject into a pose (or several). Here are our final images.
Through the successive tips above, we looked at the functionality of different modifiers and then layered them together to create a unique final image. Now, it’s your turn to put these ideas into practice and create your own portfolio-worthy portraits.
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