It’s easy to see why natural light is popular for portrait photography. This soft, diffused type of lighting is flattering for skin tone and creates a beautiful, airy-look to the photos. However, what if the weather isn’t ideal during your shoot? Or, what if your shooting location doesn’t provide access to this type of lighting? Use flash and the right light modifiers.
In the Adorama video above, wedding, portrait and lifestyle photographer Vanessa Joy demonstrates how you can achieve the natural light look with flash. It’s important to mention first that there’s nothing wrong with the “super flashy” type of flash photography. It’s just a matter of being able to create two different styles using studio lighting. There are also instances where the soft and airy look of natural light works better for the job. In the case of this video, we can definitely see how it’s perfect for wedding photos and couple portraits.
To mimic the look of natural light, she used a large umbrella with a diffuser. This big light modifier spreads out the light on her models more evenly to create that natural-looking lighting. She also shared a nice, quick tip that you can use if your location has plenty of white spaces: Bounce the flash off of these walls and ceiling!
Want more tips and tricks on flash photography and light modifiers? Join the Photofocus Community today if you haven’t yet and you might just learn more from your fellow portrait photographers in the group discussions!
