4 Beginner Tips for Creating

Dramatic Portraits with One Flash

In this article, I will explain how you can use a transmitter/receiver, or
transceiver system to achieve simple dramatic portraits using only
one flash. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to get you started.

Background

I used to fear using anything other than natural light. One of the
reasons was that I had a notion that using artificial lights such as
off-camera flash and strobes is too difficult and requires deep
technical knowledge. Well, yes and no. To master it, you have to
understand lighting ratios and learn to make mental calculations of
light from various sources and suchlike. But to start using it, not
really.

My first experience of off-camera flash was using the Creative

Lighting System (Nikon) capability between my speedlight and my
camera. Most of my early attempts were unsuccessful especially
with the limitations of the line of sight infrared system. It was
unreliable too, especially when shooting under pressure or caught
on the hoof. I also used overexposed my light with my very
untrained and inexperienced eye when I was just starting out.

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 Wireless triggers

Enter wireless radio transmitters and receivers (or transceivers)

such as the Pocket Wizard, CyberSyncs, brandʼs own (Nikon and
Canon) and the super affordable Yongnous. A transmitter which is
connected to your camera sends the message to the receiver which
is attached to the flash unit. Transceiver units, on the other hand,
can act as both receiver and transmitter so that you can use them
on either the camera or the speedlight but you would still need one
unit to attach to each piece of equipment.

These wireless transceivers are a game changer without a doubt.

They are simple to use and are reliable most of the time as well. I
use Cybersyncs for my studio strobes and Yongnous for my
speedlights and find the Yongnous are incredibly reliable and user-
friendly with hardly any misses. However, the Yongnous cannot be
used for strobes.

#1 Choose the look and mood for your portrait

Do you want super dramatic low key portraits or the other end of
the spectrum – high key, bright and airy? The mood of your picture

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 will dictate your background and of course the camera and flash
settings. I have chosen a black background for these portraits to
achieve a high contrast between the brightest parts of the image
and the shadows. This will keep the overall mood dramatic and the
lighting low key with plenty of black areas.

#2 Set up your equipment

If you have transmitter and receiver units, attach the transmitter to

the hotshoe of your camera while the receiver needs to be attached
to the flash (speedlight or strobe). If you have a transceiver, this can
go on either camera or flash but you still need two units, one on
each piece of equipment.

Itʼs also a good idea to put your flash unit on a light stand. I used a
studio strobe mounted on a light stand but attached it to a boom
arm for more flexibility in angling the light. Note: A boom arm is not
necessary at all for a simple beginner setup. Without a light stand,
you can always mount your flash on a cabinet or steady surface,
making sure it doesnʼt topple over. Most speedlights come with little
plastic feet that are handy for this purpose.

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 #3 Modify your light

One of my rules is to always modify the light. The only time I shoot
with a bare flash is when I use it as a kicker light at wedding
receptions or to light a backdrop. At all other times, I will always
modify it somehow or bounce it to maximize the softness of the
light or to minimize the harshness depending on the situation.

For this look, I wanted the flash to point directly at the subject, in a
narrow beam and not have any spill onto the background. A gridded
snoot would do the job controlling the light direction, but I didnʼt
have one. Plus I probably would have found that the light was still a
bit harsh without further modification. I ended up McGyvering my
own modified snoot using a black card and the diffuser panel of a 5-
in-1 reflector. I twisted the reflector (like you would when putting it
away) so that it was only a fraction of its size and I then had a 3-
layer diffusion panel. This was taped to the strobe and with black
card wrapped around it to direct the light onto my subject like a
beam.

There are two factors that are crucial for getting soft light; the
distance between your subject and the light and the size of the
light. The closer the light is to the subject, the softer it is. The larger
your light source is, the softer it will be. My light source was not very
big at all, so to leverage maximum softness I decreased the distance
to the subject. The light was positioned about an armʼs length away
from the subject, quite high up at a 45-degree angle. This was to
mimic natural light coming from a high window.

#4 Try various settings

I wanted to shoot at f/8 so I metered the flash. You donʼt require a

handheld light meter to do this, by the way, you can just start with a

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 few trial and error test shots to find the correct setting. I started off
with the lowest power on my strobe but ended up cranking it up as
the 3-layer diffusion cut out quite a lot of the light. My settings for
these were: f/8, 1/60th, ISO 400 and my strobe power high at 7. The
strobe settings will vary depending on the brand you are using.

This is just one of the many ways you can create portraits with one
flash. Try it and experiment with other angles, moods, and light
settings and you may be amazed at what one light can do!

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 Share your portraits here too in the comments below.

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