Maria was lit by 2 Speedlites, one inside my Photoflex Octodome and the other inside The background is lit by a 3rd Speedlite.
I have always admired photographers who specialized in glamour.
They may be men but they are very in tuned to how makeup works on the variety of skin tones, hair color and facial features of the women they photograph.
Coordinating all that and wardrobe alone is enough to make my head spin.
Having a makeup artists on hand is definitely a god sent.
I recently connected with makeup artist and hair stylist Anna Cameron recently so we when we got together, we collaborated to photograph aspiring model Maria Nuñez.
I photographed Jodi Newton using 2 Speedlites inside Lake Alice Trading Co Saloon and Eatery in Riverside. The Speedlite behind her was set to give 1-stop more light than the Key light just to the right of the camera. Canon 5DMark2 with a 50mm lens. ISO 400 1/30sec f4.5
I usually have the exposure mode on my cameras set to “Manual”.
Likewise when I use my strobes, Speedlites or flash units.
That doesn’t mean I fight the technology especially when the results are consistent and predictable.
Lizelle photographed by Steve Fetbrandt 1/250sec f4.5 55mm. Notice the background and how distraction abound because of the available light. Notice the highlights? Those are from the sun on the right.
Overpowering our sun is a tall order even with the most powerful of studio strobes.
So to attempt that with small flash units or speedlites that run off 4AA batteries requires either the sun to be covered by clouds or one has to wait till the sun is past its most powerful noon hour.
In case there are those of you reading this wondering why is this desirable, the answer is for control.
One of the techniques I teach during my Small Flash Lighting workshop is how to change the mood and feel of a scene.
When relying strictly on available light to make pictures, you constantly have to find backgrounds that are not lit or backgrounds that are lit in such a way it is less subdued against your subject.
Remember, in your scene, whatever isn’t lit is less of a distraction.
For my pictures below which were taken at about the same time as Steve’s, I made sure to use my longest focal length lens so I could blur out the backgrounds. (The longer the focal length, the shallower the depth-of-field)
Steve used 55m to 200 mm Nikon lens but set his lens at the 55 mm setting.
Professional belly dancer Hadia Habibi needed some pictures with her Al Nar Bellydance Ensemble.
Group photos tend to be documentary in nature i.e their primary purpose is to record who was present at some place and time.
For that reason, I take a quick group photo with my point-and-shoot camera as an attendance record whenever I’m teaching. It cures the most camera shy instantly.
