20 Jul 2014

Have speedlights, will Portrait...



The best way to improve your portrait photography is to invest in a Speedlight... or two, and a wireless trigger system to be able to fire those flashes off camera. I use a cheap but reliable Phottix Strato system combined with two Nikon Speedlights and it has never let me down. Just make sure to have the batteries fully charged before you start and keep some spares handy too.

In this shot I have a Nikon SB700 to camera right shooting through a 105cm white umbrella set to 1/16 power and behind the model I have a Nikon SB600 on 1/64 power with no light modifier at all. My camera is at 1/200s, f2.8, and iso 200, handheld. I hate trying to shoot portraits on a tripod preferring to be able to adjust to my subjects movements freely.

3 comments:

  1. I must admit, that I can't come right with flash photography. Possible because I don't try hard enough.

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    Replies
    1. It is actually a lot easier than it seems at first glance, but it takes practice. Don't give up, it will elevate your portraits to a new level if you just persist!

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    2. I just checked out your blog btw, and I am impressed by your wonderful street photography. This is one aspect of photography that I have not explored very much...

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