Lighting in outdoor portrait photography.

Part of the difficulty in using light from flashes comes from the fact that we are dealing with something we can't see. Time, practice and experience lead any photographer to develop a higher level of foresight and understanding of the light path when positioning the flashes, before taking the picture. However, until such a degree of specialization is reached, it will be necessary to learn different key aspects to be able to make light tangible.

This learning is obtained by using just one light and mastering all the aspects related to the use of this single source. When we think of studio photography, we automatically think of large and complex lighting schemes (often necessary and welcome), but when a photographer masters light and its variables, he can achieve good results with just one light source.

From the scheme, you may notice that the light illuminating the model has a small angle. Consequently, we will have hard, high-contrast light and marked differences between the shadow area and the light area. Notice also that this more concentrated, small-angle light dissipates into the background and does not reach the area behind the model, leaving the background with this dark tonality.

The dark background allowed me to highlight the model. I have an area of higher incidence of light on the wardrobe, oriented upwards so that it could receive more light and be enhanced. This way, I also avoid dark circles that could be caused by the light emitted from an angle above the model, very close to her.

I will be sharing more of my photography experiences soon. I hope these images are to your liking.

Thanks for reading!