lovelifey: [Photography] How to do Great Portraits with One Light

When you first start experimenting with lighting it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Never has the old expression K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) been more appropriate. The most important step is to master what you can achieve with one light source before you start adding others.

Besides, what you CAN achieve with only one light source, used correctly, is quite remarkable.

For this article I have delved into my back catalogue and sourced images that were shot with a single speedlight off-camera. I hate carrying tons of equipment and even now, for 80% of my commercial work, I will try to use one light source only when possible.

Shot with a Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite bounced into a 40” white Profoto umbrella

In the below business portrait a diffused umbrella gives us nice catch lights in the subject’s eyes, while allowing for rapid fall away to bring out the shadows. The portrait is shot against a pop-up Westcott black background. A diffused umbrella is a great low-cost investment that massively improves the quality of light from your speedlight, and is easily set up and transported.

Lit with a Canon RT600 Speedlite into a Phottix Para-Pro diffused umbrella

To create the image below I had to expose for the blue sky and then pump as much light into the subject as possible – this is a speedlight at the limit of its capability – the umbrella helps to increase the size and evenness of the light spread. The image was shot at 24mm so the umbrella is as close to the subject as possible without being in the frame.

Lit with a Sony HVL-F58 speedlight bounced into a 40” white Profoto umbrella

It is entirely possible to create professional results without spending a fortune – this cropped cutaway headshot used a Sony SM58 speedlight with an Orbis ring-flash modifier handheld over the top of the speedlight. For this modifier to be effective you really need to be quite close into your subject, as the flash output is significantly reduced by the modifier. Used properly though it can create some great results.

Lit with a Sony HVL-F58 speed light and an Orbis Ring Flash modifier

Another example of a portrait shot with the same modifier, lit with a Sony HVL-F58 speed light and an Orbis Ring Flash.

Notes for doing one light portraits:

When you are shooting single light setups, you need to remember to keep it simple

You can create some great shadows with a single light source

Watch out for hotspots created by undiffused light

Try blend your added light with the ambient light

Using large modifiers can help to spread your light more evenly

Move your subjects, not the light, to fine tune your images

Experiment by changing your position to the light source

Work with the distances, subject to light source, to change the hardness and softness of the light

Below is an example of blending the ambient light with artificial light. The speedlight in this instance is to camera right on a light stand about six feet from the model, and slightly in front of her. Shot at full power with no modifier it is hitting the model and the tree. While by no means perfect the image does work as the over exposure on the tree gives a little separation.

Lit with a Sony HVL-F58 with no modifier

We can see the same model here closer to sunset; shot with a speedlight fitted with an orange gel, bounced into a 30” silver umbrella to emphasize and enhance the already warm available light.

Lit with a Sony HVL-F58 speedlight, gelled, bounced into a 30” Profoto silver umbrella

Reflectors can also be used to great effect with a single light source, especially when mixing the ambient reflected light with flash fired directly into the reflector will give your images that extra pop. In the portrait below, the natural light and sun were not enough to light the model. A half-power flash from a speedlight helped to improve the overall lighting of the image, and really make the catch lights in the sunglasses stand out.

Lit with a California Sun Bounce gold/silver and a Sony HVL-F58 speed light

Sometimes ambient light is almost enough. In the below portrait 95% of the light is coming from a window camera left. A thin white blind diffused the light beautifully and evenly but didn’t give the catch lights in the eyes. To fix this I used a diffused umbrella with a speedlight on ¼ power, slightly to camera right. Because of the low power setting the artificial light doesn’t really change the ambient light but does give the eyes that needed brightness to make the image.