- Using Studio Flash (Called Strobes)
- What to Do When You Can't Turn Your Strobe Power Down Any Further
- Firing Your Studio Strobe Wirelessly
- Softening Harsh Studio Strobes
- Where to Position Your Main Light
- Adding a Hair Light
- Getting a Different Look Without Moving the Lights
- Want Softer, More Even Light? Feather It!
- Studio Backgrounds
- Using a Pop-Up Collapsible Background
- One Background, Three Different Looks
- Getting Super-Saturated Background Color
- Reflectors: When to Use Silver or White and Where to Position It
- Using Grid Spots
- How to Use a Light Meter
- Which Mode Should You Shoot In?
- How to Set a Custom White Balance In-Camera
- Rim-Light Profile Silhouettes Made Easy
- Using a Fan for Windblown Effects
- The Advantage of Shooting Tethered
- Using a Gray Card to Nail Your Color
- Don't Light Your Whole Subject Evenly
- How to Light a Couple or Small Group
- Big, Beautiful, Wrapping Light
- Edgy Lighting for Athletes
- Hurley-Look Headshot Lighting
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
What to Do When You Can’t Turn Your Strobe Power Down Any Further
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The bigger the softbox, the softer and more beautiful the light. But what if you want even softer light? Well, the trick is to move that light as close as possible to your subject (without it actually appearing in the frame), because the closer the light, the bigger it becomes, which makes it even softer and more beautiful. One other thing happens when you move a light in this close: it gets much brighter. So, as you move the light closer to your subject, you’ll need to lower the power of your strobe so it’s not so bright, right? Right. Now, what happens when you’ve lowered the power of your strobe as low as it can go, and it’s still too bright? When this happens, just raise your f-stop. That’s right. If you were at f/8, raise it to f/11. If you started at f/11, raise it to f/14. This cuts the amount of light falling on your subject, so you get the best of both worlds—you’re still getting super-soft light by moving it close to your subject, but you’re not blowing them out with too much light because it’s so close. You might even need to increase your f-stop by two stops or more, but if that’s the case, don’t sweat it—just do it.
Why I Prefer Softboxes to Umbrellas
With a softbox your light is pretty much contained within a box—you aim it in a direction and it pretty much goes right there. But with an umbrella, you have less control over what happens once the light leaves your umbrella. I think of it more like a lighting grenade—you throw it in the general direction of what you’re trying to light, and it’ll probably light it. So, while an umbrella does take the harsh light from your strobe and create soft, pretty light from it, it kind of goes everywhere. Whereas, a softbox is more directional.