Flashy shooting
I like taking portraits but I’m not that good; for every 100, I take I get a couple I’m pleased with. (This year a friend said ‘even my wife likes some shots you took of her’. High praise indeed.)
In August, I had the chance to take some night-time portraits of a friend’s daughter singing at the holiday resort we were staying at. I had my Nikon D7100, a Nikon 85mm f/1.4G lens and a Speedlight SB-900. I set the flash setting to rear curtain sync, put the Speedlight in command mode and used the pop-up flash to fire it. The flash was to the singer’s left.
When we returned home I had a chance to process the RAW files, do some editing and cropping. I think ‘I done well’. David Williams, Sheffield, UK
You have indeed done well. The way you’ve caught a little motion in her hands and face adds to the mood.
Taking a flashgun offcamera is the first step to improving your portrait photography. See page 40 for a tutorial on faking natural light with a Speedlight.