A question that comes up everytime I teach a flash clinic is “what is the best kind of light for this subject”. I think the best way to answer that is “what are you trying to say, what mood do you want to capture?” At one end of the spectrum is hard edged non-diffused light, say a standard reflector on a studio head or straight TTL flash shot right at the subject. On the other end is super diffused soft light, say light produced by firing TTL flashes through umbrellas and then through a big white sheet or scrim, or using a 6 foot Octabank. And there are endless styles in the middle, combining qualities of light in one image. I really like using edgy light along with a more diffused source. For this running image shot on a track, we used hard edged rim lights on the model’s hair, and a small softbox to add light to her face. Combine this lighting with underexposing your background, which makes your lighting more apparent and snappy, and you get one of my favorite styles of lighting. Right now this is very popular with many sports magazine, just take a look at the magazine rack. And sometimes your lighting is determined by clients. We shot an editorial spread the other day, and the photo editor really wanted soft flattering light that matched the uplifting story theme. So out came the giant Octabank, and we shot the entire assignment with soft light. Tech: Nikon D3, 24-70mm, 1/125 at F20, ISO 100. Three Elinchrom Rangers RX packs with A heads, two with standard reflectors using 20 degree grids, and one shot through a 2 foot Rotalux square softbox. Skyports used to trigger and control flash output.
Wow! That’s about all I could say after returning from Vegas teaching a flash workshop for Photo Quest Adventures. Las Vegas is full of interesting people to photograph, and we had lots of great models over the weekend. I would have been happy just walking around the strip with camera in hand to photograph the locals.
Thanks to the help of Bogen, I was finally able to get an image that has been on my list for awhile. I have photographed rock climbing for years with available light. I’ve added flash to some rock climbing images, but generally from below the climbers. What about having lights right there on the vertical face with you, producing that great edgy light that matches the mood and intensity of climbing? This shot would require ascending ropes to capture the face of the climber, no butt shots. The challenge is getting the lights to the climbers level. I considered having assistants rappel with me down the face holding strobes, it would be something like a SWAT training exercise with all these guys rappelling down the face. More ropes, more anchors, more systems…more problems.
But then Will from Bogen turned me onto the 269HDBU Manfrotto light stand. This gem is 24 feet tall and can support more than 20 pounds on top when fully extended. Perfect! When I first set this up in my driveway it looked like I could catch the infamous balloon boy floating overhead, this thing goes high!