1. WORK WITH ON-CAMERA FLASH
Use your speedlight on-camera for more professional-looking results
As a professional photographer, it is generally considered a big no-no to use speedlights on-camera to create great portraits. The light is often too hard and direct, and there is little shape or modification of the light source, meaning results can look a little flat, uninspiring and all together amateur.
However, if you dig a little deeper you will see that many established photographers are using this ‘hard flash’ look with great results. Often in fashion, this look can be used to create compelling and modern images.
Using a flash on-camera doesn’t mean that you can’t modify it using some cheap and easy methods – adding a bounce card can soften the light, and helps you control intensity and direction. On the Profoto A1 I control the beam of light by twisting the ring of the head; I use it as wide as possible to soften the intensity by spreading out the light. The round head also means that I’ll get a softer falloff of light and for direct on-camera flash I use the dome diffuser, which helps to further soften the light.
Remember that even though you’re potentially softening with modifiers, you’re still going to create much harder shadows with this small and direct light source (on-camera), so pay attention to how the shadows fall on both your subject and background.
And even though I’m using only one flash on-camera, I can also create depth and interest by using the ambient light, which
I can have in the background to create rim lighting, colour and interest. I increase my ISO and slow my shutter, often to around 1/120 of
a second to let more of the ambient light in, which means I then rely on the flash to freeze the subject in the foreground. Doing this also creates more balance across the image, and less of a hard and harsh flash look.
Any change in the intensity of the flash will lead to vastly different results, so switch your flash to manual and take full control of your lighting. That way once you are set up, you can work without fear that a change in focal length, distance to the subject or ambient light will alter the flash power.