marymcgrathphotos.com - Mary B. McGrath Contact Mary B. McGrath Mary B. McGrath's Gallery |
Inexpensive lighting for portraits
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John A. Lind |
Mary, Presuming you're serious about not getting lights, stands, etc., . . . Wish I had a photo of a setup I've been working on and experimenting with as a backup for the rare occasions when monolights cannot be used. Got caught once at a wedding that started very late and then dragged on so long that it was right up against a wedding following the one I was shooting . . . was allowed less than 20 minutes to do all the altar returns before we had to not only be done, but completely out of the church. Jury rigged a lighting scheme on a medium format bracket I just happened to have with me, but vowed I would come up with a better "Plan B" in case it ever happened again. Not as good as a pair of monolights, stands and brollies, but significantly better than bare on-camera flash in the hot shoe, and has noticeably softer light than the small 4x6 or 5x7 inch diffusers. I've shot some test photos using it and have been pleased with the noticeable improvement. First: Second: While it's not feasible for shooting candids, for posed photos you can mount a much bigger diffuser in the form of a true softbox, about 12x16 inches in size, in front of the flash on the bracket. Following are some of the manufacturers and the specific softboxes in this size class: Chimera 12x16 Mini Softbox With most brackets, you'll need "plates" to mount both camera and flash to the bracket; not all of them come with these . . . or the one that comes with it may not be suitable for your camera and flash. You'll also need a remote cord to remote the flash from the hot shoe to the crossbar on the bracket and retain dedicated TTL control of the flash. All the major camera manufacturers make these. Most of these softboxes also require a mount specific to the type of flash you are using . . . so you can attach it to the flash and this is an extra item in addition to the softbox itself. Many brackets also have an accessory "quick release" system that lets you mount the entire bracket with camera on a tripod. If you're doing hundreds of standard school portraits, this would keep you from having to hold the thing in your hand the entire time. -- John Lind
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marymcgrathphotos.com - Mary B. McGrath Contact Mary B. McGrath Mary B. McGrath's Gallery |
Thanks for your detailed reply. I'll keep it in mind should I make this leap. mary
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John A. Lind |
Mary, If you still have problems trying to rid yourself of shadows after elevating flash, you can try a couple of small and inexpensive battery powered slave lights behind the subject aimed at the background. I've seen several different methods of positioning and aiming; above, below, etc., but the general objective is placing a lighter tonal value of the background behind the subject that darkens slightly toward the edges of the film frame without directly backlighting the subject. -- John Lind
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