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Portraits with speedlights without big modifiers?

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Ahnaf Akeef

Ahnaf Akeef

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Hello everyone!

I'm just getting started with using artificial lighting for portraits. Do you guys have any advice as to how I can get soft light (or the best results in general) with speedlights without the use of massive modifiers like softboxes or umbrellas, especially outdoors?

Online tutorial (videos/articles) would be really helpful.

Thank you!
 
If inside you can bounce off a wall which is basically turning the wall or ceiling into a modifier. Far better than direct flash.
 
there are more portable modifiers - such as this example:

Rogue Flashbender 2

I keep a few of these in different sizes in my bag.

You'll find plenty of videos on youtube demonstrating how to use them. I don't use the larger models on the camera (the small flashbender instead) but the large and xlarge are good off camera with the speedlight mounted on a lightstand.
 
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The main thing to keep in mind is that you need modifier which looks big *from the subject position* in order to get soft light. Indoors, bouncing off a wall is a great way to do this. Outdoors? Look for open shade and probably don't use the flash as more than some fill.

This is opinion here, and others may disagree, but none of the gadgets that clip on to a hotshoe flash are really worth anything. You're still dealing with a pretty small light source, and that's the main determiner of soft vs. hard.
 
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Hello everyone!

I'm just getting started with using artificial lighting for portraits. Do you guys have any advice as to how I can get soft light (or the best results in general) with speedlights without the use of massive modifiers like softboxes or umbrellas, especially outdoors?

Online tutorial (videos/articles) would be really helpful.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
The only way to get "soft" light is to increase the size of your light source relative to your subject. The only ways to do that when using a speedlight is to use some kind of modifier to increase it's size if photographing a person. This ideally is done with an umbrella or softbox, but if you just can't afford those, or use them for certain photo shoots, you can bounce the light off a wall or ceiling. You could also shoot them through a reflector with the diffusion material, or bounce it off the white side ideally.

It's obviously not always possible to bounce your speedlight off a wall or ceiling when shooting outside, so I would really suggest finding a way to use an umbrella or softbox in order to have more control & soften your light. There are many, many low cost options out there, especially with umbrellas. The one issue you may run into if shooting a lot outside is that traditional speedlights typically don't have enough power unless you are shooting them bare and fairly close to your subject, or if you are in shade, or if you combine multiple speedlights together to act as a stronger light source. It's even more difficult if you want to soften the light and have to bounce it off a wall or something. Shooting with a speedlight in direct sunlight is next to impossible because they just aren't strong enough. You may have to get creative in choosing your locations, or focus more on shooting early in the morning or later in the evening before the sunlight gets to be very strong... or once again, combine multiple speedlights together for more power.

Also... is there a reason that you don't want to use umbrellas or softboxes? Is it just because you don't have the gear currently, or because you want to minimize the amount of equipment you use while shooting?
 
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NewEraPhotographer said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Hello everyone!

I'm just getting started with using artificial lighting for portraits. Do you guys have any advice as to how I can get soft light (or the best results in general) with speedlights without the use of massive modifiers like softboxes or umbrellas, especially outdoors?

Online tutorial (videos/articles) would be really helpful.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
The only way to get "soft" light is to increase the size of your light source relative to your subject. The only ways to do that when using a speedlight is to use some kind of modifier to increase it's size if photographing a person. This ideally is done with an umbrella or softbox, but if you just can't afford those, or use them for certain photo shoots, you can bounce the light off a wall or ceiling. You could also shoot them through a reflector with the diffusion material, or bounce it off the white side ideally.

It's obviously not always possible to bounce your speedlight off a wall or ceiling when shooting outside, so I would really suggest finding a way to use an umbrella or softbox in order to have more control & soften your light. There are many, many low cost options out there, especially with umbrellas. The one issue you may run into if shooting a lot outside is that traditional speedlights typically don't have enough power unless you are shooting them bare and fairly close to your subject, or if you are in shade, or if you combine multiple speedlights together to act as a stronger light source. It's even more difficult if you want to soften the light and have to bounce it off a wall or something. Shooting with a speedlight in direct sunlight is next to impossible because they just aren't strong enough. You may have to get creative in choosing your locations, or focus more on shooting early in the morning or later in the evening before the sunlight gets to be very strong... or once again, combine multiple speedlights together for more power.

Also... is there a reason that you don't want to use umbrellas or softboxes? Is it just because you don't have the gear currently, or because you want to minimize the amount of equipment you use while shooting?
Click to expand...
Agree with everything...

Just to add that I went the speedlights + modifiers route at the beginning of my (non-professional) journey into fashion photography and the 2 biggest issues I had were:
  1. lack of power (even with 4 speedlights in some circumstances)
  2. wind! large-ish modifiers with a speedlight on a flimsy stand + wind = disaster... you really can use the help of someone holding the stands
Joe McNally (I think) has a great book about using speedlights for portrait / fashion photography but he uses all sorts of modifiers all the time (and sometimes up to 20 speedlights)

--
Ciao!
Roberto
My photos: http://rdmfashionphoto.com/
 
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If you cannot use big modifiers outdoors - It's entirely possible to just dial the flash way down and subtly mix it with ambient. "Softness" of light often comes from size and proximity. Also consider any diffused or indirect light is also possibly just a waste of power when outdoors...

Don't forget reflectors. It's free built in lighting outdoors just waiting to be shaped.
caplanner said:
there are more portable modifiers - such as this example:

Rogue Flashbender 2

I keep a few of these in different sizes in my bag.

You'll find plenty of videos on youtube demonstrating how to use them. I don't use the larger models on the camera (the small flashbender instead) but the large and xlarge are good off camera with the speedlight mounted on a lightstand.
Click to expand...
In response to the premium name brand product there's also THIS - for much less.
 
I used a Flashbender handheld at night, but found it rather heavy but quite effective.



c4486a5ab82b486ab1631e437ce126e8.jpg

Peter Del

--
Gallery: http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/8804053911
 
Peter Del said:
I used a Flashbender handheld at night, but found it rather heavy but quite effective.

c4486a5ab82b486ab1631e437ce126e8.jpg

Peter Del
Click to expand...
Yes, the larger Flashbenders can be awkward or top heavy if used on camera - especially on my ARIII where the heavier lenses already put the weight forward of the camera body. That's exactly why I mentioned off camera with the larger versions of the Flashbender.

I use the small Flashbender or even other branded devices when I'm really only wanting fill light from the on camera flash.

I agree with all of the points made about the futility of being able to overpower the sun with a speedlight - even when not using a modifier.

However, I'm not sure we are always talking about "overpowering" anything as much as adding light to complement the ambient light. I think of it as adding light but it a way that doesn't look like it's artificial light.

Finally, I'll add that when looking for speedlight modifiers I get something that I can create a system around. The advantage I've found with the Rogue product line or the magmod line is they support additional capabilities like grids, snoots, gels, etc.

I'm not a shill for Flashbender - just sharing my experience. And I own a couple of different pieces of other systems (gary fong, magmod). The Flashbenders lay flat in a bag, can be shaped into multiple configurations including a snoot and accept softbox-like components as well as grids and gels sized for the speedlight and modifier. 5 Flashbenders from the XL Pro kit to the small version as well as the flash grid lay flat in my lighting bag without taking much space at all. Familiarity and muscle memory is important to me so having a "family" of products is helpful to me. The same reason I use an iphone, an ipad and an imac. The interface is familiar between devices and equipment.

YMMV.
 
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roby17269 said:
NewEraPhotographer said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Hello everyone!

I'm just getting started with using artificial lighting for portraits. Do you guys have any advice as to how I can get soft light (or the best results in general) with speedlights without the use of massive modifiers like softboxes or umbrellas, especially outdoors?

Online tutorial (videos/articles) would be really helpful.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
The only way to get "soft" light is to increase the size of your light source relative to your subject. The only ways to do that when using a speedlight is to use some kind of modifier to increase it's size if photographing a person. This ideally is done with an umbrella or softbox, but if you just can't afford those, or use them for certain photo shoots, you can bounce the light off a wall or ceiling. You could also shoot them through a reflector with the diffusion material, or bounce it off the white side ideally.

It's obviously not always possible to bounce your speedlight off a wall or ceiling when shooting outside, so I would really suggest finding a way to use an umbrella or softbox in order to have more control & soften your light. There are many, many low cost options out there, especially with umbrellas. The one issue you may run into if shooting a lot outside is that traditional speedlights typically don't have enough power unless you are shooting them bare and fairly close to your subject, or if you are in shade, or if you combine multiple speedlights together to act as a stronger light source. It's even more difficult if you want to soften the light and have to bounce it off a wall or something. Shooting with a speedlight in direct sunlight is next to impossible because they just aren't strong enough. You may have to get creative in choosing your locations, or focus more on shooting early in the morning or later in the evening before the sunlight gets to be very strong... or once again, combine multiple speedlights together for more power.

Also... is there a reason that you don't want to use umbrellas or softboxes? Is it just because you don't have the gear currently, or because you want to minimize the amount of equipment you use while shooting?
Click to expand...
Agree with everything...

Just to add that I went the speedlights + modifiers route at the beginning of my (non-professional) journey into fashion photography and the 2 biggest issues I had were:
  1. lack of power (even with 4 speedlights in some circumstances)
  2. wind! large-ish modifiers with a speedlight on a flimsy stand + wind = disaster... you really can use the help of someone holding the stands
Joe McNally (I think) has a great book about using speedlights for portrait / fashion photography but he uses all sorts of modifiers all the time (and sometimes up to 20 speedlights)
Click to expand...
To touch on the 2 issues that you had... I am in agreement, as I had the same issues when I first started. Knowing what I know now, if I could do it over again, I would have bypassed the speedlights and went straight to an AD200 (Godox/Flashpoint), as the 200 watt/sec is the minimum of what I use now when shooting outside... and even then it isn't enough in a lot of scenarios.

Also, I think one of the most important pieces of gear when shoot OCF outside is to have a very sturdy light stand if you don't have an assistant. I only use C-Stands now, as they are the only ones I trust to hold my expensive equipment and not fall over. On windy days, I also use a sandbag or two, and I never have to worry. An assistant would definitely be a valuable asset, and definitely the best way to go if you have access to one.
 
I agree, I would not use one on camera, I did not in this case.

Peter Del
 
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
 
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
500W should do :-)

i use a Profoto B1 which is battery-powered
 
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
don't have buyer's remorse if you've already purchased a speedlight - they are useful.

There's no real answer to your question regarding "how much power" to cover "all scenarios". It's going to depend on what scenarios you are shooting.

I can tell you that I have a combination of speedlights (Flashpoint R2) and strobes (Flashpoint evolv 200's, and xplor 600 Pro) that I use depending on the situation.

The Adorama flashpoint system is reasonably priced and offers triggers, speedlights and strobes that would probably cover most of your needs.

Perhaps taking a pause and doing some research would be a good place to start.

In addition to reading online, I read this cover to cover:

Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites (2nd Edition)

I don't shoot Canon but it was very informative.

Here's a great online resource:

Strobist

Good luck and let us know how you are doing and if you have any further questions.
 
Last edited:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
roby17269 said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
500W should do :-)

i use a Profoto B1 which is battery-powered
Click to expand...
Okay, that's a start. What's the smallest battery-powered 500W unit available in the market right now? (I'm swooning over the B10's size, but it's only 250W).
caplanner said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
don't have buyer's remorse if you've already purchased a speedlight - they are useful.

There's no real answer to your question regarding "how much power" to cover "all scenarios". It's going to depend on what scenarios you are shooting.

I can tell you that I have a combination of speedlights (Flashpoint R2) and strobes (Flashpoint evolv 200's, and xplor 600 Pro) that I use depending on the situation.

The Adorama flashpoint system is reasonably priced and offers triggers, speedlights and strobes that would probably cover most of your needs.

Perhaps taking a pause and doing some research would be a good place to start.

In addition to reading online, I read this cover to cover:

Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites (2nd Edition)

I don't shoot Canon but it was very informative.

Here's a great online resource:

Strobist

Good luck and let us know how you are doing and if you have any further questions.
Click to expand...
I was trying to shoot a can of coke as practice in a darkened room so as to minimise the effects of ambient light. I still needed full power on the A1 to get an exposure that I was comfortable with (and I don't even know if I'd prefer more power because it couldn't produce any more). Would you still say it could be of some use in outdoor portrait situations with much bigger, human subjects in the midday sun?

And by all scenarios, I meant something that covers even the harshest outdoor lighting conditions. (The worst scenario I can imagine is if someone was backlighting with the sun and wanted to get a proper exposure on the face with light from a flash).

I'm aware of the Strobist website. I went through the 101 a while ago. But I need to go through it all again, and I'll do just that.

With the very minimal experience I have with lighting, I'm starting to figure that I need to understand how light behaves and how I can shape and control it to my advantage first. Any tutorials on that? I'm particularly inclined towards YouTube videos because I learn better with first-hand demos better than by just reading.

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

Image for reference. (Note that portraits are the priority and this was just for practice).

SOOC exposure that I was finally happy with. Ignore the shoddy set and focus on the exposure on the can please :3
SOOC exposure that I was finally happy with. Ignore the shoddy set and focus on the exposure on the can please :3



--
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahnafakeef/
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahnafakeef/
 
Ahnaf Akeef said:
roby17269 said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
500W should do :-)

i use a Profoto B1 which is battery-powered
Click to expand...
Okay, that's a start. What's the smallest battery-powered 500W unit available in the market right now? (I'm swooning over the B10's size, but it's only 250W).
caplanner said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
don't have buyer's remorse if you've already purchased a speedlight - they are useful.

There's no real answer to your question regarding "how much power" to cover "all scenarios". It's going to depend on what scenarios you are shooting.

I can tell you that I have a combination of speedlights (Flashpoint R2) and strobes (Flashpoint evolv 200's, and xplor 600 Pro) that I use depending on the situation.

The Adorama flashpoint system is reasonably priced and offers triggers, speedlights and strobes that would probably cover most of your needs.

Perhaps taking a pause and doing some research would be a good place to start.

In addition to reading online, I read this cover to cover:

Speedliter's Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites (2nd Edition)

I don't shoot Canon but it was very informative.

Here's a great online resource:

Strobist

Good luck and let us know how you are doing and if you have any further questions.
Click to expand...
I was trying to shoot a can of coke as practice in a darkened room so as to minimise the effects of ambient light. I still needed full power on the A1 to get an exposure that I was comfortable with (and I don't even know if I'd prefer more power because it couldn't produce any more). Would you still say it could be of some use in outdoor portrait situations with much bigger, human subjects in the midday sun?

And by all scenarios, I meant something that covers even the harshest outdoor lighting conditions. (The worst scenario I can imagine is if someone was backlighting with the sun and wanted to get a proper exposure on the face with light from a flash).

I'm aware of the Strobist website. I went through the 101 a while ago. But I need to go through it all again, and I'll do just that.

With the very minimal experience I have with lighting, I'm starting to figure that I need to understand how light behaves and how I can shape and control it to my advantage first. Any tutorials on that? I'm particularly inclined towards YouTube videos because I learn better with first-hand demos better than by just reading.

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Here are a few random videos - other people will probably have more.

Joe brady

photos in color

tony northrup

another one from tony

You can check out other videos from Joe brady - I think his are helpful.
 
Ahnaf Akeef said:
roby17269 said:
Ahnaf Akeef said:
Thank you all for your informative responses.

Okay so buying 76ws speedlights feels like a mistake for outdoor portraiture right now.

Buyer's remorse aside, how much power do I need for outdoor portraits? Depends on my goal, yes. But how much power would effectively cover all scenarios of outdoor shooting?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
500W should do :-)

i use a Profoto B1 which is battery-powered
Click to expand...
Okay, that's a start. What's the smallest battery-powered 500W unit available in the market right now? (I'm swooning over the B10's size, but it's only 250W).
Click to expand...
The B10's are great and 250W will realistically suffice in most cases. You can always buy one first and add more later.

You also have the B2's - they are tiny but come with an external battery.

I have no experience with other brands but I can tell you that my B1 is a real workhorse: reliable and sturdy (it has survived a few knocks) and would do 250+ flashes at full power and literally thousands at low power on a single battery. ProFoto also offers an extensive range of modifiers but they are expensive as well and there are a lot of off-brand compatible ones that cost less. There is also a healthy second hand market for ProFoto modifiers on eBay

 
Questions about balancing flash and ambient light:
1. How exactly does "shutter speed control ambient, and aperture control flash"? I would have thought both of them affect the overall exposure of the image and has the same effect when changed by the equivalent f-stop? (1/100 @F2.8 = 1/50 @F4, assuming ISO is constant). Or is it that the exposure remains the same, but it affects other characteristics of the image? If yes, what and how does it affect in the image?

2. What does "freezing the subject with flash" mean? How do I do this, and in what scenario might this be useful?
 
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