Shooting off-camera flash can be difficult, as you need to deal with the brightness of the sun. This means the flash can get pretty close, especially if you want to get a really soft light on your subject. What if it’s in the frame?
Francisco Hernandez from FJH Photography explains how to create daytime portraits with off-camera flash and why his flash sometimes stays in his frame during portraiture. This video explains his reasoning for placing the flash too close to his subject and how he removed the flash from his photos in post-production. Secret? Shoot the disc!
The video is detailed, with some examples and explanations of how the inverse squared law played a role in some of his decisions, as well as how he achieved his signature light look. He also has some great tips on when and how to take your shots along with helpful instructions for your assistant so you can get great shots and let the post-production work out. out as simple as possible.
Finally, it’s time to get into Adobe Lightroom, process the images, and bring them into Photoshop, where Francisco shows us how to quickly remove the flash and replace it with a background image. There are some subtle nuances to keep in mind, so keep an eye out for this segment.
Of course, this technique isn’t limited to portraiture with off-camera flash, so it’s a useful skill to develop as a beginner. Let me know if you will use this photography and post-production technique in your work.
