BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Inexpensive lighting for portraits

	Diana's Dust Jacket Mary B. McGrath

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July 08, 2004

Wish I had a photo of a setup I've been working on and experimenting with as a backup for the rare occasions when monolights cannot be used. Got caught once at a wedding that started very late and then dragged on so long that it was right up against a wedding following the one I was shooting . . . was allowed less than 20 minutes to do all the altar returns before we had to not only be done, but completely out of the church. Jury rigged a lighting scheme on a medium format bracket I just happened to have with me, but vowed I would come up with a better "Plan B" in case it ever happened again.

Not as good as a pair of monolights, stands and brollies, but significantly better than bare on-camera flash in the hot shoe, and has noticeably softer light than the small 4x6 or 5x7 inch diffusers. I've shot some test photos using it and have been pleased with the noticeable improvement.

First:
You need to ensure you've got sufficient separation between subject and background . . . to get the shadows down on the floor and off the vertical part of the backdrop.

Second:
You need to have the flash well elevated above the lens in all camera orientations. I use a flash brackets for candids at weddings and similar events. This keeps the flash above the lens regardless of camera orientation. One of the brackets is made by Newton in Florida, the other by Custom Brackets in Ohio. One of the other, very popular bracket manufacturers is Stroboframe.

While it's not feasible for shooting candids, for posed photos you can mount a much bigger diffuser in the form of a true softbox, about 12x16 inches in size, in front of the flash on the bracket. Following are some of the manufacturers and the specific softboxes in this size class:

Chimera 12x16 Mini Softbox
Morris 15x18 (model #32600)
Photoflex (12x16 Extra Small LiteDome)
Westcott 16x16 Mini Apollo

With most brackets, you'll need "plates" to mount both camera and flash to the bracket; not all of them come with these . . . or the one that comes with it may not be suitable for your camera and flash. You'll also need a remote cord to remote the flash from the hot shoe to the crossbar on the bracket and retain dedicated TTL control of the flash. All the major camera manufacturers make these. Most of these softboxes also require a mount specific to the type of flash you are using . . . so you can attach it to the flash and this is an extra item in addition to the softbox itself. Many brackets also have an accessory "quick release" system that lets you mount the entire bracket with camera on a tripod. If you're doing hundreds of standard school portraits, this would keep you from having to hold the thing in your hand the entire time.

-- John Lind

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July 11, 2004

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July 13, 2004

-- John Lind

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July 13, 2004