Character Off-Camera Flash Portrait

This week’s assignment was to photograph someone outdoors with two lights off camera. I knew I wanted to get a nice sunset in the background so I took my model out to Kendall Yards just before sunset.

I set up the main light on the right front of my model and raised it up so the it was pointing down at here at about a 45-degree angle. I had another fill light on the left side on which I put an orange filter.

I liked the effect of the orange filter because I thought it looked like the sun hitting the side of her face but I thought it might be a little to hokey. So, I took off the filter and just went with a white light.

I like the look of the light behind the model even though my teacher doesn’t really like that look, I have always wanted to try it. What I like about that is the way it lights up the hair like a halo. The viewer doesn’t really notice it but they feel like there is something special about it.

I metered for the ambient light of the sunset and without the flashes, the model would have been totally dark. I set my camera to f/5.6 at 1/125th sec. I adjusted the placement and power of the lights and took several exposures until I felt I had a good selection to choose from.

The challenge for me is remembering all the things I have to do at the same time; light settings, camera setting, background, posing the model, etc. It’s a lot like learning to plat baseball and you have to remember everything at once; keep your eye on the ball, keep your bat over your shoulder, swing through the ball, bend your knees, relax…