{"id":5895,"date":"2017-07-24T20:21:53","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T19:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gavtrain.com\/?p=5895"},"modified":"2017-07-24T20:21:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T19:21:53","slug":"dramatic-lighting-with-just-two-speedlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gavtrain.com\/?p=5895","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic lighting with just two speedlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

So you only have two bare speedlights and you want to shoot some creative portraits. That\u2019s the challenge I faced recently after discussing how a fellow photographer could get started in portrait photography without spending too much on new equipment.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, bare speedlights will obviously limit how you can light your subject and won\u2019t beat better strobes and a choice of light modifiers but I figured that if I can generate the initial excitement for shooting portraits with basic kit, the rest will grow in time.<\/p>\n

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So with a bit of help from model Fern <\/a>we dusted down the Red Riding Hood cape and set to work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I started by putting the two lights either side of Fern, at 90 degrees to the camera and in line with her shoulders. I carefully made sure they were evenly spaced and that Fern was evenly lit. The end result was a bit too much contrast but very dramatic.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Next I spun the lights around and pointed them at the white walls of my studio. The light was bouncing off the walls which simulated the look of light coming from a source much bigger then a small speedlight. Bigger means softer when it comes to light but it also means more spread and sure enough the photo looked much flatter.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>I turned the light back around. If you want a sinister look, put the lights low. It\u2019s not a lighting position I regularly use but in this case it felt right. However the direct light from the bare flashes still looked a bit too harsh for my taste.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>To soften the light a little on Ferns face I kept the lights low but angled them up to the ceiling. The result was a mixture of hard light and soft light that worked perfectly for the look we were going for.<\/p>\n

For more information on the shoot and the post processing, check out the video below
\n[youtube]www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LKNSqE8sdrc[\/youtube]<\/p>\n