Volunteers!

I'm still trying to let all the things Joe and Dave talked about on Saturday sink in. I am really taken with Dave Hobby's approach to portraits, letting your ambient light play a larger roll, and layering on your lights one at a time. In any case, I've been anxious to get out there and shoot more portraits.

Sarah and Erin from Powers Studios were totally game to volunteer for my lighting test today using Dave Hobby's approach. We shot just outside the studio's front door in a semi-open hallway. It felt really good to try something new. Arguably, Hobby's approach to portraits is a lot more subtle than most. Less "Hey look at this cool lighting!" and more about using light subtly to bring out character.

Anyway, today was a first pass at one of Hobby's basic setups. I would have wanted to bring up the ambient light from the background more, but I really didn't want to keep Sarah and Erin away from their work for too long. I'm happy with how even the lighting is, especially given that it's coming from three small lights with very little diffusion. That's the holy grail of strobist lighting I feel, getting nice soft light from small (but portable) less powerful flashes. It's really a lot like photographic alchemy. I'll try this setup again soon in a more outdoor setting!

A few tech notes here. It may not look like it, but there's actually a fair amount going on! I didn't crush down the ambient all the way, so believe me, it's still in there a bit. I flew my SB-800 above and behind on a small Impact boom arm for a hair light (for separation). Light number two was an SB-600 fired through an Orbis ring flash right on axis. Finally, my key light was another SB-600 fired through a Lumiquest Softbox iii close in on camera left. For anyone who attended the Flash Bus stop in Portland. This is pretty much the exact setup David Hobby often uses, I can't wait to get more practice in and learn to reign in that light more -- more feathering, maybe a grid spot for the key etc. Stay tuned.

PS: Alas, I forgot to fire a wide shot to document the setup. Oh well, next time. Thanks again Sarah and Erin for volunteering for today!