Cheap Lighting With Speedlites Part 2

by Mickey Rountree

In this article I’ll show you a basic portrait lighting set using only a single flash and a reflector. I’ll also show you a similar shot using studio strobes and a reflector. Hopefully you’ll agree that the results are similar, especially when you consider the cost difference.

A very basic portrait lighting consists of a softbox (or umbrella) aimed at the subject from roughly 45 degrees from the side and 45 degrees above. The light is adjusted by watching the nose shadow and making sure the eyes are not in shadow. In the last article I mentioned that the larger the light source in relation to the size of the model, the softer the shadow transition and the less harsh the light appears. Here I used the 32″ Neewer octagonal softbox with a 560III flash inside and placed close to the model. I used a 22 silver reflector disk on the side of the model opposite the light to fill in the shadows. The softbox is somewhat in front of the model to allow light to wrap around her face and create a gradual transition from highlight to shadow. Also the light is aimed past her rather than directly at her to use the more indirect light and again create a softer effect. Here is a diagram of my lighting setup, and the resulting image is below that. Both images were shot with a Canon 5D Mark III and a Canon 100mm Macro lens.

For comparison, here is a similar shot with studio strobes. Here I’m using a White Lightning Ultra 1800, inside a 7 foot Photflex Octabox. I’m using a 5 foot Photoflex silver reflector, and I’ve added a second strobe in a 4 ft by 1 ft strip box with a directional grid to highlight her hair from about 45 degrees behind her. But the basic lighting on her face is similar. Below are the lighting setup and the resulting image.

The lesson I hope you learn from this is that it doesn’t always take the most expensive and elaborate equipment to produce a good picture. Far more important is understanding whatever lighting equipment you work with and knowing how to place it. The studio gear certainly looks impressive, has lots of conveniences, and the modeling lights really make placing the lights easier, but the studio shot used almost $1700 in equipment. All of the gear for the speedlite shot was under $130. To your camera’s sensor (or film) light is just light. The camera doesn’t know or care where the light came from. 99% of subjects will never care what kind of lighting gear you used, they only care that you make them look good. And the 1% who will care are photographers, and we all know you can’t please them.

In Part 3 of this series, we’ll look at using speedlites for beauty lighting.