STEP BY STEP ARTISTIC PORTRAITS
Follow these top tips for successful part sharp, part blurred portraits
01 THE LIGHTING PLAN
The key is in directing the lights to hit different parts of our subject, then balancing out the power so that it works for our long shutter. The flashes are aimed at the parts of the subject we want sharp, while the continuous lights are for the blurred parts.
02 GELLING THE FLASHGUNS
To add to the mood of our shot we’ve used coloured gels (a multi-pack set from Selens), fastened in place over our two rear Speedlites. When choosing colours, it’s usually best to pick those that are complementary like the orange and blue combo here.
03 ARRANGING THE CONSTANTS
Once our flashes are in place, we need to think about continuous lights. These could be any kind of source you like. A modelling light from a studio flash head (with the flash turned off) is placed on the left of the subject, and an LED Panel to the right side.
04 CONTROL THE SPREAD
It’s vital that the light from the continuous sources does not spill onto the parts we want to keep sharp, like the face. If too much light hits the face, it will blur, like the lower half of the body. We used a honeycomb grid over the modelling light to control the spread.
05 EXPOSURE SETTINGS
The key with our exposure is to use a shutter speed slow enough to allow for the camera movement, and an aperture that works for our flash power. Typically this will mean using flashes at low setting around 1/16 to 1/4 power, and continuous lighting at full power.
06 MOVING THE CAMERA
Finally, we press the shutter while keeping the camera still for a split second, then make a quick movement up, down left or right. It’s worth experimenting with movements – you could try zooming. This results in a wonderful combo of blurry streaks and sharp details.