Using a remote flash during broad daylight

Why, why would you use a flash in the middle of a bright day? One answer would be to use the flash to fill the subject especially if the model (in this case) is located in the shade but that isn’t the case here (that case will be covered in my next post).

This post is dedicated to creating interesting and vivid effect that force the viewer to engage the picture as one would engage a puzzle. I wanted to create a setting where the eye is capturing a scene that the brain doesn’t consider as ‘normal’ or ‘usual’. As my programmer friends would say “something doesn’t compile”

This picture has the quality I’m describing above. As the model is looking up at the sun (presumably) her face is evenly lit. The unusual element is the shadow inside the umbrella. Read below the image for a technical explanation.

To achieve the following shadow control I chose to use an external flash unit with a remote trigger. The modification I’ve made to my EX580 really came in handy. I’ve positioned the flash about 2 feet of the ground (standing on tripod), pointing at the model from the left. Once the flash was in place, the challenge arouse around getting the correct exposure. I don’t own a light meter hence I had to resort to trial and error. Thankfully, after working with a wonderful photographer Mark Tselner of PhotoFXStudio.com, I’ve learned a thing or two about light control. The trick is to shoot in manual mode (M) and underexpose the subject by about 2 f stops. This will create the drastic shadows behind the model and give us room to create secular highlights to create that 3D effect we aspire to have. Once the exposure was set correctly on the camera, I’ve played around with the power setting on the flash to get the proper light conditions. I ended up using 1/16th power with a head diffuser.

Let me know what you think. Your comments are always welcome.