Paint with a flash
Underexpose ambient light
Before turning on the flash, we first worked out an ambient exposure that would result in a dramatic sky. As we were shooting into the setting sun, this left most of our scene in deep shade. But that’s fine, as we could use our flash to lift the areas of our choosing and leave out what’s not important.
Set the flash power
Turn on the flash and set it to manual, then take test shots to find the right output. To overpower the daylight we usually need the flash to be at or near to full power, especially if you’re using a modifier like an umbrella. The closer we bring the flash, the stronger the light will be.
Fake the sun
By including the flash bulb in the frame we can create a bright highlight and atmospheric flare that looks just like the sun. It’s best to gel the flash with a warm CTO gel. It’s more realistic if the flash is positioned against the brightest part of the vibrant sunset sky so it looks as if the sun has broken through the clouds.
Paint the scene
Move around your subject, holding the flash in different positions while pressing your remote release to trigger the camera and flash. It doesn’t matter if bits of you or the flash are in the shot, as you can remove it later. Paint the subject from all angles, and also light the surrounding ground.
Warm the light
It can be helpful to think of your flash as a supplement to the natural light. We’ve fitted a CTO (colour temperature orange) gel over the flash to match the warmth of the low sunlight. By lighting the scene from the side and behind, we can mimic the direction of the sunlight.
Try flash modifiers
It’s worth experimenting with flash modifiers to see whether hard or soft light suits your subject and scene. A modifier, like an umbrella, will diffuse and spread the light, resulting in softer shadows. We used the white umbrella for some of our shots, and fired the flash bare for others.