In my last journal I asked you guys to bring any questions you had to me. =xpicturesque asked the following:

"What are ways for a photographer without a lot of equipment to get good lighting for portraits. I don't have a studio or backgrounds or any umbrellas. What techniques can you get from a simple flash or with other artificial lights?"

Now I've always been a fan of learning in bits and chunks and starting off simple. So what is the cheapest light source we have readily available? The sun! The sun is a small contrasty light source that can be manipulated.

First is direct sunlight. Sunlight during midday is harsh and it isn't very flattering because it creates deep shadows over the eyes due to the eye brows. Most photographers prefer to shoot when the sun is low in the sky, about an hour or two after sunrise or before sun set. This creates dramatic angled light


Next, lets take shooting in the shade. Outdoor shade is lit by indirect sunlight diffused by the sky. Shade is very soft light and soft light is low contrast so it's forgiving on features like wrinkles. Light from shade will be cooler than sunlight so use the shade whitebalance setting. Also avoid shooting in shade from trees as light filters through the leaves and becomes a shade of green which isn't flattering for skintones. Try shooting a headshot in the shade while having an assistant hold up a piece of white foamcore board as a backdrop. It makes for a simple, softlit headshot against a clean white background.

Like I mentioned before, shade light is low contrast but there is a technique to make it dynamic. You can shoot your subject in the shade but in a direction so the background is in full sun or half sun/half shade for some interesting shapes. You can see an example of this by ~shurie


Our next tool is window and door light. A light source is anything that gives off or reflects light; a window just shapes light. A north or south facing window will produce more diffused light since the light source is the sky. An east or west facing light can produce diffused or direct light based on the time of day. You can also further diffuse window light by placing sheer white curtains in front of it. You can think of a photographic softbox as a portable window as far as the light it produces.

The following portrait was lit by a softbox approximately 3 feet away but could have been achieved by window light. The backdrop is the wall of my livingroom.


In this example, Micaela was on a bed lit by a large garage doorway


You can also backlight with widows as seen in this portrait of me by my brother ~9vRobot


Don't be afraid to go to the art store and pick up some pieces of foamcore board. These can be used to bounce light if they're white or block light if they're black so you can sculpt shadows. Buying 3 or 4 yards of white nylon fabric is also a good idea because you can use it to diffuse direct sunlight or a window, or you can also use it to bounce light into the shadows.



Next is artificial lighting with one pocket flash unit. I'm going to assume that you have the equipment to trigger your flash unit off-camera, if not then read up on [link] Also check out strobist for more general reading on using pocket flashes to light photos.

So you have a flash and an umbrella. Umbrellas are MESSY, they spill light everywhere so they're useful for flooding a scene with light. There are exceptions thought. In the image below Amor and I were on a rooftop in Hollywood. The portrait is lit by an umbrella to camera left. Since we are on a rooftop, the lit side of the portrait is very even but the unlit side sinks into shadows because there are no walls to reflect light back into. Flattering, even light while still being dramatic.


This image of DJ Wish was shot with a pocket flash behind a large piece of white nylon fabric for diffusion


You can also skip using a modifier. My self portrait was lit by using an AlienBee strobe bare bulb about 10 inches from my face. Bare bulb means removing the reflector dish so the light source is small and direct but spills in every direction. You can replicate this lighting by using a tungsten bulb in a bare socket or using a pocket flash unit that has been zoomed out to wide throw.


Pocket flash units can also augment natural light. In the image below the pocket flash is mounted to a tripod slightly to camera left to fill the shadows in the scene




I hope seeing a few examples of simple, interesting light will open up new possibilities in your photography.