The Simple Light
For those people who think they have to be fully ladened with a cases of flash equipment to get well-lit photos outdoors in the daytime, I offer the example of Strobist reader Brent Williamson, who specializes in shooting people in New Zealand.The photos shown here were done with using a small flash aimed in such a way as to cross-light the subject with the sun. It's technique we have detailed here, here and here.
It's so simple, and yet produces a photo that has a crisp, 3-d look. A bonus is that the sun doesn't even have to be at a flattering angle to pull it off, either. So you can do this as you wait for the light to get nice later in the day.
Brent is using minimal equipment to get his simple, yet polished look. Just one speedlight, synched with a Pocket Wizard and opposite the sun.The key is that the flash-ambient balance is such that the light does not call attention to itself. This is worth noting, as many novices get the lighting bug, then go out and start lighting with the subtlety of a ball peen hammer. Brent is just barely balancing the light. Maybe just a little under the ambient, actually.
It doesn't scream. It just quietly looks great.
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Oh, and if you want to live in this wonderful environment for a spell, I see that Brent's house is
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by David, at 6:28 PM.
16 Comments:
The house has just now been rented sorry guys.
Thanks for the plug David
*off to increase my traffic allowance* haha.
Wow! I never thought that hard lighting can set a quaint mood, too! Some of his rim/kicker lights were subtle while others weren't but still the ambiance captured real moments of fun and serenity -- at the same time.
Maybe it's the general aura of New Zealand's landscape huh?
Great series Brent. Im curious what focal length those were shot at. They look like they were all shot at the same focal length, so Im guessing your using a wide angle prime. Also, what is the approximate angle of the flash you use in relation to your subject. Almost looks like its 90 degrees to the subject at times.
Nicely done. Must do more of this kind of lighting.
Thanks mike,
I'm pretty new to photography and only have 1 lens - the Canon 24-70, so they will all be in that range.
The angle of the flash is pretty much dependent on the shot itself, for the ones above it about 45degrees on the first and closer to 90 (by the looks a little bit more actually) on the second.
In the first shot, it appears the flash is used to supplement the sun as a key light. In the second, the flash is the key light. Am I correct?
How does one send you his/her images. I too have photos to share that could/might be helpful. Have been using the 285hv and 285 for years. Have been using them as a back up to my studio (phogenics) and have as of late, using them more than or with the studio lights. I did use the (285's) for a large outdoor shoot this time with a human tripod. Boy did I get some great effects/shots. wWould love to share them. Let me know. Thanks. Dan
Dan-
I have a very slow connection, so I prefer it if you can transcribe the 1's and 0's onto a thick pad of paper and just snail mail it to me. Then I cut and paste them into an image editor to reconctruct the images, nice and careful like.
Or, you can stick them on Flickr and I will see them. But no guarantees of publication, mind you.
(Brent taped $20 bills to the back of his photos, which always helps...)
What might be a good idea to look at in the images too is that each one has a subtle darkening of the edges, a purposeful ps vignette if you will.
This naturally leads your eye in and draws your attention to the subject.
I would be curious to know if the images were to have the same impact without the treatment and if the cross lighting technique would stand out more or less.
I suppose we'd have to see the raws to know for sure.
Off Topic, but dont no where to mention this.
Perhaps its Old News :-(
Did you see the SG-3IR from Nikon ? Nifty IR panel, now I can remove the film from my pop-up.
Love this concept...thanks so much. I am going to try it out today. Beautiful shots Brent!
I do have a question related to this situation that has come up for me...
I was wondering if, when exposing for the ambient light, in this case the ocean scene...do you not worry about overexposed highlights? (rim lights around hair, shoulders, etc). Often times these areas are much hotter than the body tone of the rest of the ambient. At least that's been my limited experience.
Or should I just start culling through 101 again??? :o)
Respectfully,
Eric
Glenn/David,
Doesn't the angle of the flash depend mostly on the angle of the sun (to cancel out its harsh shadows)?
Also, in these outdoor cross-lighting situations would you use the bare flash head or some kind of diffusion (i.e. bounced off an umbrella or shot through an umbrella)?
Thanks,
Chris
Looks very good to me here.
When I was taught this technique for television & film lighting many years ago, it went by the name of "Key and counter key". It's simple, quick to set up and can be highly effective.
As Strobist has often remarked, think of "light sources" rather than lamps. For example, a north-facing window makes a great light source for portraits, e.g. http://www.brypix.com/People.htm
If you don't like the shadow side as dark as I do (it's not good for news print), add a little kick or lift from a reflector or a flash, diluted either for personal taste or techical need.
I wonder if this new little Metz would be up to the job?
http://photojojo.com/content/buy-this/metz-28-cs-2-slave-flash-rocks/
Peter Bryenton
www.brypix.com
I love Brent's work - I've been following it since I joined Flickr - which is only a few months. Very clean and subtle use of additional light combined with an eye for composition make for exquisite shots!
Wish I had the flawless surroundings that NZ offers! I wish more that I had been into photography more when I was in NZ!
Love the mood evoked by the shots and will definitely be giving the technique a try (although the beaches here in Southern California aren't quite as picturesque as the ones I grew up with in New Zealand!).
Brent, did you do any significant post-processing on these?
Thanks for the inspiration.
Craig
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