
Case Study | Quick Lighting for Family Portraits
When photographing children, you are always dancing between the fine line of cooperation and temper tantrum. In this case study from our Lighting 101 workshop, we teach you a quick lighting tip that will help you deal with the fragile time you have when photographing kids.
[REWIND: THE 3-LIGHT SETUP THAT ONLY REQUIRES ONE LIGHT]
The Scenario
A quaint little family session in a park setting around mid-day. We were off to a great start in the beginning of the session, which is when these images were captured, but 20 minutes in, our little model took a tumble and hurt her wrist. Once that happened it was hard to settle her back into shooting-mode and therefore those 20 crucial minutes prior were all we had to make it work.
The Problem
While location scouting we came across this patch of grass that was framed beautifully by hanging tree branches above and decided to start our session there. If the subjects faced the sun the direct sunlight would cast harsh shadows and strong highlights, so instead, we used the sun as a back-light. In doing so, we create a new issue with shadows – with their back faced to the sun the ambient exposure of the scene, when shooting at ISO 50, is way too dark.
The settings
With family portraits the goal isn’t to involve dramatic lighting techniques but more so to capture the natural & candid behavior amongst the family on camera. We aimed for the background to be a bit brighter with blown highlights, allowing the rich colors from the foliage and grass to be exaggerated. Using the Sigma Art 50mm f/1.4 at f/2, 1/200th of a second at ISO 50, we have the ideal settings to match our ideal lighting technique.
The solution: Bounce Baby, bounce
One of our favorite lighting techniques when shooting images like this (mainly to preserve the background) is to use the white side of the reflector to bounce light onto the subjects. Our flash is on our camera, angled at the white reflector, avoiding any harsh highlights that would occur from using the silver side of the reflector, creating a soft diffused & directional fill light. In the right type of a lighting situation, you can get a good recycle time using 1/4th or 1/8th power, but this will all depend on your ambient light exposure.
We have a background light and we have just little rim light that’s coming in on the right side of her body right there. From there, all we do is add in a Westcott 5-in-1, white over silver, to add as a kick of light from the right side filling in the shadows and following the direction of existing light. At roughly 1/4th and 1/8th power, you can fire quickly every single time and get different reactions and poses all within one scene and not worry about recycle time.
For more lighting education & case studies, check out our Lighting 101 workshop in the SLR Lounge Store. Be sure to sign up for SLR Lounge Premium Membership and gain access to behind-the- scenes tutorials and so much more!
CHAPTER GETTING OVER THE FEAR, HYPE, & MYTHS
- 1.1 Lighting 101 Trailer
- 1.2 Chapter 1 Intro
- 1.3 Why Just One On-Camera Flash
- 1.4 5 Reasons to Use Flash
- 1.5 4 Common Flash Myths
- 1.6 What Makes Flash Challenging
- 1.7 Chapter 1 Quiz: Getting over the Fear, Hype & Myths
CHAPTER 2: THE BASICS OF FLASH
- 2.1 Chapter 2 Intro
- 2.2 Flash-Strobe vs. Ambient-Constant Light
- 2.3 Flash vs. Ambient Light Exposure
- 2.4 Flash vs. Ambient Demo
- 2.5 Flash and Ambient Balancing For Natural Effect
- 2.6 Assignment: Balancing Flash & Ambient for Natural Effect
- 2.7 Flash and Ambient Balancing For Dramatic Effect
- 2.8 Chapter 2 Assignment 2: Balancing Flash & Ambient for Dramatic Effects
- 2.9 Flash and Ambient Balancing For Creative Effect
- 2.10 Assignment: Balancing Flash & Ambient Light for Creative Effects
- 2.11 Understanding Flash Duration
- 2.12 Chapter 2 Quix: The Basics of Flash
CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING LIGHT
- 3.1 Chapter 3 Intro
- 3.2 5 Common Key Light Patterns
- 3.3 5 Common Key Light Patterns with Diffusion + Fill
- 3.4 5 Common Secondary Light Patterns
- 3.5 Balancing SEO with Workflow
- 3.6 Assignment: Flat Light Portrait
- 3.7 Assignment: Loop Lighting
- 3.8 Assignment: Butterfly Lighting
- 3.9 Assignment: Rembrandt Portrait
- 3.10 Assignment: Split Lighting
- 3.11 Light Qualities
- 3.12 The Inverse Square Law
- 3.13 Inverse Square Law in Practice
- 3.14 Corrective White Balance
- 3.15 Creative White Balance
- 3.16 Assignment: Creative White Balance
- 3.17 Chapter 3 Quiz: Understanding Light
CHAPTER 4: ON-CAMERA FLASH GEAR BASICS
- 4.1 Chapter 4 Intro
- 4.2 On Board vs. Hot Shoe Flash
- 4.3 Full Feature vs. Manual Flashes
- 4.4 TTL vs. Manual Control
- 4.5 TTL vs. Manual Recycle Times
- 4.6 Flash Power & Zoom
- 4.7 HSS vs. ND Filters
- 4.8 Assignment: HSS vs. ND
- 4.9 FCS vs. RCS
- 4.10 Chapter 4 Quiz: On-Camera Flash Gear Basics
Chapter 5: DIRECT FLASH DONE RIGHT
- 5.1 Chapter 5 Intro
- 4 Tips When You Must Use Direct Flash
- 5.3 Bare Bulbing Done Right
- 5.4. Assignment: Bare Bulb Flash Portraits
- 5.5. Grid Snooth + Direct Flash
- 5.6 Assignment: Grid/Snoot + Direct Flash Portrait
- 5.6 Assignment: Grid/Snoot + Direct Flash Portrait
- 5.7 Mini Beauty + Direct Flash
- 5.8 Ring + Direct Flash
- 5.9 Assignment: Direct Flash with Modifier
- 5.10 Understanding Modifiers
- 5.11 Understanding Modifiers
- 5.12 Direct Flash + Shutter Drags
- 5.13 Chapter 5 Assignment: Direct Flash + Shutter Drags
Chapter 6: STUDIO LIGHT? JUST BOUNCE IT!
- 6.1 Ambient vs. Direct Flash vs. Bounce Flash/a>
- 6.2 Chapter 6 Intro
- 6.3 Silver Bounce
- 6.4 Silver Bounce
- 6.5 SAssignment: Silver Bounce
- 6.6 Soft White Bounce
- 6.7 Assignment: Soft White Bounce
- 6.8 Overhead Bounce
- 6.9 Overhead Bounce + Fill
- 6.10 Assignment: Overhead Bounce
- 6.11 Event Bounce
- 6.12 Chapter 6 Quiz: Studio Light? Just Bounce it!
Chapter 7: MORE LIGHTS, REFINEMENT, & CREATIVITY
- 7.1 Chapter 7 Intro
- 7.2 Dramatic vs. Natural Light
- 7.3 Filling and Refining Existing Light
- 7.4 Multi-Point Light Setups
- 7.5 Assignment: Multi-Point Light Setups
- 7.6 Using Gels for Creative Effects vs. Corrective Effects
- 7.7 Using Gels for Creative Effects vs. Corrective Effects
- 7.8 Using Gels for Creative Effects vs. Corrective Effects
Chapter 8: CASE STUDIES
- 8.1 – Chapter 8 Intro
- 8.2 – Case Study 1 | Dramatic Sunset
- 8.3 – Case Study 2 | Desert Sunset
- 8.4 – Case Study 3 | Sinister Headshot
- 8.5 – Case Study 4 | Quick Lighting For Family Portraits
- 8.6 – Case Study 5 | Athlete Portraits
- 8.7 – Case Study 6 | Working Angles
- 8.8 – Case Study 7 | Drag + Composite
- 8.9 – Case Study 8 | Less is More
Chapter 9: BONUS CHAPTERS
- 9.1 Our Favorite Full-Feature Flashes
- 9.2 Our Favorite Manual Flashes
- 9.3 Our Favorite On-Camera Flash Modifiers
Total Course Run Time: 8H 17M 4S
Pye Jirsa
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Lovely article. Seeing before & after flash is really useful!