There are simple techniques that go beyond the straightforward guidelines of balancing flash+ambient light.
A common technique is cross-lighting--using two light sources that are opposite in direction. An example of this is having the subject face away from the sun, using a flash as a main light and the sun as a backlight/rimlight. Using cross-lighting is a way to create interesting lighting simply by moving the location of the flash.
A common technique is cross-lighting--using two light sources that are opposite in direction. An example of this is having the subject face away from the sun, using a flash as a main light and the sun as a backlight/rimlight. Using cross-lighting is a way to create interesting lighting simply by moving the location of the flash.
A practical example of cross lighting is a simple headshot in a room corner (at least I think this can be classified as cross-lighting, it's never explicitly mentioned). In a corner, the back wall will act as a background and the side wall will act as a fill by reflecting light from the flash back into the subject.
In this photo, there are two ratios that I would need to keep in mind: flash-subject-distance:flash-to-background distance, and flash-subject-distance:flash-reflector-distance. The first controls how bright the background is compared to the subject, and the second controls how much light is reflected back to the subject.
Distance seems to be a main factor in lighting. If I remember correctly, light disperses as an inverse square (1/distance^2). I've heard of the inverse square law in lighting before, but I haven't gotten into it yet.
In this photo, there are two ratios that I would need to keep in mind: flash-subject-distance:flash-to-background distance, and flash-subject-distance:flash-reflector-distance. The first controls how bright the background is compared to the subject, and the second controls how much light is reflected back to the subject.
Distance seems to be a main factor in lighting. If I remember correctly, light disperses as an inverse square (1/distance^2). I've heard of the inverse square law in lighting before, but I haven't gotten into it yet.
Another technique is using ambient to light the subject and using flash as a backlight behind the subject to create separation from the background. This creates a dynamic lighting effect and is an idea to keep in mind, but I don't see myself using this as a primary set-up.
My Equipment
Before I get into practicing everything I've learned over the past weeks, I just wanted to share what my equipment I use.