Two Flash Location Business Portrait Light Set-Up

This blog article is centered around using one and two flash units for an on-location business portrait session. I particularly wanted to demonstrate that by using a two-flash set-up, you can create depth in your portrait.

 

 

One Flash (Off-Camera) Lighting Set-Up

For starters, I’m using two Nikon SB-800 flash units and two PocketWizard Plus II Radio Transmitters. There are several ways you can set this particular portrait session up using wireless flash capabilities, but for now, I’m going to focus on using the radio transmitters on one SB-800 and the other one in SU-4 mode as a slaved unit.

Business portrait image #1 was photographed using a single flash mounted to a 24″ x 24″ softbox, hand held on a boom stick by an assistant. I positioned the flash and softbox at a 45º angle to the subject, approximately 2-3 feet above and  to the front of him. The result is a pleasing, soft light.

The flash unit was triggered by using a radio transmitter, the PockeWizard Plus II; the transmitter was mounted on the camera and a receiver attached to the Nikon SB-800 using a PC5N cable to connect the PocketWizard to the SB-800. (Just a side note, Nikon missed the boat and omitted the PC connection on both the SB-600 and SB-700). However, it seems that Nikon may differentiate between their pro-line of flashes like the SB-900 and the now discontinued SB-800 from the SB-600 and SB-700 by way of the PC connectors, amongst other features.

A few items to note with this image. I’m shooting outdoors, on-location in bright sunlight. However, I placed my subject under a covered walkway to eliminate the harsh sunlight or any blotchy shadows on the subject, or to keep the subject from squinting.

Overall, the image is pleasing. The softbox creates a nice soft light which wraps around the subject and the background is properly exposed, avoiding any “blowout.” The only thing I don’t like about the photo is that it doesn’t “pop”. I want to be able to create some depth and capitalize on the sun light in the background. The way I do this is by adding a second flash unit behind the subject.

Two Flash (Off-Camera) Lighting Set-Up

Adding a second flash unit behind the subject creates depth and adds a nice rim or back light to our subject. Typically when setting up your rim light, you want to position the flash (or strobe) high above the subject and control the light spill with a barn door or snoot. The purpose of the rim light is to create an edge around the back of the head and back of your subject in order to separate them from the background. In my example, I set up the second SB-800 as a rim light, however, positioned directly behind the subject, on a light stand at head level, sitting approximately five feet from the model (See image 2).

This time, rather then using a PocketWizard on the second flash unit, I set the SB-800 to SU-4 mode. This allowed the main light to trigger the background light as an optical slaved flash unit. I chose to do this because I wanted to demonstrate the SU-4 mode in the SB-800. It’s even nicer if you’re working with studio strobes on location or in a studio and want to use an SB-800 or SB-900. You can set your PocktWizard transmitters to your studio strobe and set the flash units to SU-4 mode. The opposite is true as well; connect the PocketWizards to your flash units and allow the flash units to trigger the slave sensor in your strobes.

Back to the photo; looking at the image to the right, you can see a slight edge light to our model, giving him some depth in the photo. Personally, I like this set-up better since the image does not appear to look flat. In addition, it appears that the edge light around the subject could be from the bright background.

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10 Responses to “Two Flash Location Business Portrait Light Set-Up”

1. Dionna says:

   March 15, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   Big enthusiast of the site, a variety of your lighting posts have seriously helped me out. Thanks!

   Reply
2. Jason Hubert says:

   April 10, 2011 at 5:30 am

   Valuable info. Lucky me I found your web site by accident. I thank you for the lighting diagrams which you include with your posts. Very helpful for a beginning photographer like me.

   Reply
3. Crystal G. says:

   April 10, 2011 at 2:56 pm

   I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Very informative lighting stuff. I use Canon, but I figure the set-ups are the same. Thanks!

   Reply
   • Alyn says:

     April 10, 2011 at 7:28 pm

     Thanks. It really doesn’t matter what system you use. Lighting and the set-ups are universal. I just happen to be a Nikon guy. But Canon uses a similar wireless system.

     Reply
4. Becca says:

   April 10, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   You got a really useful blog. I have been here reading for about an hour. I am a newbie and your photography and lighting blogs are very much an inspiration for me. Just wanted you to know.

   Reply
   • Alyn says:

     April 10, 2011 at 7:29 pm

     Thanks. Keep coming back. I add articles weekly.

     Reply
5. keith says:

   May 27, 2011 at 10:54 am

   I know boom arms are very common – do you have a favorite to recommend?

   Reply
   • Alyn says:

     May 27, 2011 at 11:13 am

     I don’t have any favorite in particular, however, I do use the boom arm from Cowboy Studios. It’s an affordable unit and has served me well. You can do a search for them or try amazon.com. Best of luck to you.

     Reply
6. Augustina Hinsch says:

   July 9, 2011 at 5:49 pm

   Hello there, very very good guide!! I appreciate the info. I’m just getting started with business portraits and this will come in handy!

   Reply
7. Alyn says:

   July 14, 2011 at 1:00 pm

   More lighting set-ups and diagrams are on the way JJ. Stay tuned.

   Reply