STUDIO FREE MULTI-LIGHT PORTRAITS

Create professional grade studio-type lighting in confined locations, using only speed-lights and reflectors

What you’ll need

• Tripods/light stands

• Multiple speedlights

• Speedlight softbox

• Radio triggers

• White board

• Zoom lens

Difficulty level: Advanced Time taken: 2 hours

While having a photo studio can be a great benefit to a business, not every photographer chooses to invest in one. Many prefer to work remotely when they do not require studio lights often enough to justify the cost of renting a space. Even professionals who do have a fixed-base studio will occasionally have to work without the freedom that such a space can offer.

For both commercial and individual clients, you may find yourself shooting in their office or even their own home, environments that are far from ideal with regards to ambient lighting and the available space to work. Low ceilings, cramped conditions, and no large expanses of the seamless wall make capturing a portrait that looks like it was shot in a dedicated studio incredibly challenging. This is especially true when shooting more than a headshot – a shoulder or full-length portrait.

One solution is to learn how to balance the light from off-camera flashes for the close quarters of a small room and to identify potential sources of colour contamination. These can then be excluded from the immediate environment of the subject.

Let’s take a look at how to create a moody portrait image using only two or three remote speedlights, small-scale light modifiers and a restricted textured background.

Shooting steps