Flash and ambient lighting

While shooting some images of Victoria I decided to ditch the usual 2 to 1 lighting ratio and shoot something a little softer with a wider aperture. Because Victoria also asked for the finished images to be in black and white I suggested dark clothing and a dark background.

Choosing the Right Modifier

To achieve that soft, even lighting I was aiming for, I opted for the Elinchrom Octa 190cm Lightbank. This modifier is huge and creates a beautiful, soft daylight look in images. One of the cool things about Elinchrom’s Lightbank series is that the studio heads are fitted indirectly inside the modifier. This means the head faces into the softbox, rather than being attached to the back and shooting through it, which helps to produce that gentle, diffused light.

Separation Lights

After setting up the main frontal light, I needed to think about how to separate the subject from the background and add some depth. Since my sitter was wearing dark clothing against a dark background, this step was essential. Normally, I might use two additional flash heads with small strip modifiers, but my studio has two large windows along one wall that, on a bright day, provide just enough natural light to create the separation I needed. I positioned Victoria between these windows, about 2 meters from the wall, and based my exposure on the natural light coming through the windows.

Metering the Light

When working with studio flash lighting, your exposure is controlled by the aperture. I decided to shoot with a relatively wide aperture—f/4 in this case. First, I metered the Lightbank to get an exposure of f/4 at 1/125th sec at ISO 100. Then, I switched my meter to daylight mode to measure the light from the windows hitting the subject. At f/4, the reading was 1/15th sec.

Since I wanted to hand-hold the camera, I needed a shutter speed of at least 1/60th sec. To achieve this, I increased the ISO to 800, which gave me a new reading of f/4 at 1/125th sec. I then adjusted the power output of the flash to match the new ISO, reducing it by 3 stops. The Octa was equipped with the Elinchrom ELC Pro HD 500, which has a wide 6-stop range, so I had no trouble keeping the right distance between the modifier and the subject.

The window light, although diffused by net curtains, is still more directional and harder than the light from the Octa. This helped bring out details in the hair and clothing. However, to really highlight the edge separation, I slowed the shutter speed to 1/60th sec, slightly overexposing the ambient light to enhance the effect.

This approach allowed me to create a well-balanced image with soft, flattering light on the subject while ensuring they stood out nicely from the background. Shooting Notes The final image was captured using a Canon 1DX fitted with an 85 f1.2 lens set to ISO 800, f4 @ 1/60. The background was one of my 8’ x 4’ polystyrene flags which helped produce a slightly mottled look.