Shooting on location with strobes is probably one of the most challenging, yet rewarding aspects about photography. Every so often I receive a handful of messages regarding how I shot a certain shot on location and what my setup was. I figured that I could make a run and gun type guide to how I shoot on location.
One of the most important aspects about strobing on location is to mix the flash with the ambient so that there is no evidence a flash was used. A handful of things has to come together in order to achieve this. Camera settings, time of day, light output, modifiers, and the overall look you want to achieve. When I first started, I really sought after the lit subject and dark background look. This can be nice in some situations, but I find that balancing the strobe and ambient can lead to a far stronger image.
The absolute basics of shooting on location is: shutter speed controls ambient and aperture controls the flash. ISO acts as a global adjustment. The higher you bump up your iso, the greater the ambient AND flash output. Then there is also the giant profoto D1 sitting in the sky that you can't forget about either. A tool that I use to help control all of these aspects is my variable ND filter
. I use this on 90% of my shoots. It allows me to control the sun and also shoot at a shallow DOF. To anyone just starting strobing outdoors, I would recommend shooting without an ND as it is another variable that can be somewhat tricky to master.
Step 1: Know your equipment!
I think this is one of the most valuable skills to any photographer. Knowing how much light your lights produce and the light output of your modifiers helps immensely in the field. It'll save you from being "that guy" with fumbling around with your lights and leaving your model feel like you have no idea what you're doing.
This was from a shoot with a Fortune 500 company's CEO. The holy grail of every second counts. Although it's somewhat evident I used a flash, I'm using this as an example of knowing your gear. I had a 47" octabox cam right at 1/2 power (AB800). I knew that shooting at 1/100 @ 2.8 ISO (400-640) would yield me with a ballpark exposure. I had to make a small adjustment to my light output, and I was ready to shoot away.
1/100 ƒ/2.8 ISO 500 90 mm cut 2 stops of light with ND filter
CEO 2
by Michael Fornataro, on FlickrStep 2: Mimic the sun
Your light placement is a huge factor in the overall image. I try to mimic the light the sun would produce in the real world.
In this image, I had my light placed too high and downward. It's immediately evident that I used a flash here. The background rock wall is too dark compared to the rest of the scene as with the shadow of the model. My shutter speed was also too fast for the ambient and amount of light I was cutting from the ND filter.
1/160 ƒ/2 ISO 100 50 mm cut roughly 5 stops of light with ND filter
Andrea 6
by Michael Fornataro, on FlickrTo correct for the shadow and light falloff, I brought my light closer to the front of the model and shot up at her. I also had her look in the direction of the light. This allowed for no hard shadows and a more believable shot.
1/60 ƒ/2 ISO 100 50 mm cut roughly 4 stops of light with ND
Andrea 10
by Michael Fornataro, on FlickrWhen shooting indoors, I try to motivate the light. By this I mean have a reason for there being light in the first place. Don't just aim a light at your subject and ignore the surroundings or let the scene go completely black.
For this I imagined a light that could be seen in a sound booth. Illuminating the mic and stand in front of him to see his music/lyrics.
1/60 ƒ/2.5 ISO 200 50 mm
Nick 3
by Michael Fornataro, on FlickrHere I had to create a "false ambient." The bar wasn't terribly dark inside. It was well lit, except I would have had to shoot at a very slow shutter speed/high iso to soak up all the ambient I could get. Instead of trying to handhold a gripped 5dmk3 with a 70-200 2.8 at 1/15th, I created a false ambient. Basically filling the room with light as if the bar lights were creating the light. It also allowed me to shoot at a low iso as well.
1/50 ƒ/2.8 ISO 50 70 mm cutting 2 stops of light with ND
Perle 1
by Michael Fornataro, on Flickr
Although I'm a sucker for big, soft light, shooting through a standard bowl reflector can also be beneficial. In this image, I wanted something hard and dramatic. This was shooting at a little past noon on a cloudless sunny day. A subject with two shadows is a dead give away that a flash was used, and used incorrectly. Since I wanted to make this shot still believable, I used my light as basically a fill light. I allowed the sun to create the shadows and rim light, and simply filled in the shadows with my flash. Overpowering the sun here was tricky, and I knew that shooting with the standard 7" bowl was going to the the only way to overpower the sun.
1/100 ƒ/13 ISO 100 16 mm
Nick
by Michael Fornataro, on FlickrShooting food is a different story, and can be a whole guide in itself. When I shoot food, I always have my light (octabox) at the rear 3/4 of the frame and fill in my shadows from the front/sides. I've found that having your light placed behind the food is the most important technical part of the shot. it creates a beautiful rim, and gives that feeling of it being shot in natural light.
1/30 ƒ/2.5 ISO 50 cutting 3 stops of light with my ND filter.
Sorbet
by Michael Fornataro, on FlickrStep 3: Get Frustrated
A lot of people will say "don't get frustrated, stay calm, breathe, yadayadayada" I disagree. Get mad at yourself. Hate your pictures. Cuss yourself out (just not in front of your models) It's only going to make you want to get better. Once you've got the trick down to balancing strobes with ambient, introduce an ND filter. This will allow you to shoot at whatever aperture your heart desires, and create some stunning images. You may be wondering from the exif why I cut so much light with my ND. Simply put, it's the easiest way (for me) to balance everything. Instead of constantly getting out of position to change the power of the lights, I can just turn the filter and compensate with my camera settings.
I know this isn't the most in-depth or technical guide out there. This is just an insight on how I shoot on location, and hopefully it can help some people who are put in similar situations. Feel free to share your images or any other information I may have left out!
