© frank marchese
Sometimes flash photography used in very tight quarters can have an appealing effect if you know how to control your light. In the photo above, an on-camera bounce flash was used to hit a low kitchen ceiling. What’s a light bounce light to brighten the mood? Can this cook be any hotter? A Gary Fong Lightsphere diffuser was used over my Canon 580EX flash – swiveled to my left and slightly behind.
That’s what you’ve been waiting for, right, the technical stuff? That’s basically it. Coordinate the power on the flash with your desired camera settings and start directing the cook. Well, there is a little more to this set-up and it doesn’t involve cigarette ashes landing on someone’s dinner plate. No, it’s the little details that make up this location portrait. From the cigarette dangling off her lips, to the chef’s knife in hand up against her forehead, to the t-shirt pulled up to expose her waist, to her throwing her hip out, and to the sweat that seems to be pouring through her soiled shirt. And let’s not forget composition. As much as I love portable flash units, never take your eye of the prize – creating the attitude and getting the shot.
Let’s get back to the flash photography. Sometimes flash can overpower the shot. I do not mean bright over-exposed images. What I mean is that too much of it used the wrong way makes the image flat. No drama. An on-camera flash will do that if you rely on it aiming directly at the subject. Don’t be afraid to turn the flash away and bounce it. Look the beauty about shooting digital is you get to see the exposure – call it pre-light exposure. What you do not see and you’re going into this blind, you don’t get to see how the light is shaped before making your exposure. But because digital is so instant, dialing your power up or down or directly the bounce differently to your desired position just takes some quick adjustments.
Because the kitchen was small there was no need to fire a second flash unit. Some ambient light pouring in through the window was good enough. And because she was close to the back wall I picked up some residual light. If the cook was standing far off the back wall then more then likely a second flash might have been used or I would have the background just fall darker. If such were the case it’s not a bad idea to invest in a second flash unit. Controlling your flash photography is just as important as your photo composition.
