A Three Light Portrait with Portable Flashes

Setting Up Your Lights:

To get started we set up the seamless background paper on the Photoflex ProDuty BackDrop Support system and raised it up about six feet from the floor. We then pulled out enough paper to sweep out about four feet on the floor and set our small shooting stool in position. We then assembled the first of our Extra Small LiteDomes and attached the flash unit.

The Key Light:

Once we had the flash and soft box assembled, we placed it on a 2214 LiteStand and secured it. With our key light ready it was time to invite our model onto the set. We sat her on the stool and spent a few moments explaining what we were doing and her part in the photo shoot. I feel this is always a good idea, no matter who you are shooting. It sets the subject at ease and makes for a much smoother shoot. Once she was comfortable we brought in the key light and set it in position, 45 degrees to camera right about three feet away and just above the subject's head level (figures 1 & 2).

With our light and subject in position we set the camera to 1/60 @ f 8 according to the meter reading, attached the sync cord to the camera, framed up the shot, and made an exposure (Figure 3).

Our result shot shows the light pattern created by our key light and it is doing just what we wanted. We have a good start for our simple portrait.

Reflective Fill:

Our next step was to add some fill to the shadow side of our model's face. To accomplish this we used a 32-inch MultiDisc attached to a LiteDisc Holder and a 2214 LiteStand. Once we had the reflector assembled, we set to camera left, about three feet from the subject and centered the reflector with our model's shoulders (figures 4 & 5).

With our fill in place we were ready for the next shot. For this result shot we are showing only the effect of the fill on the subject. You can easily see the detail in the shadows that we could not see before the reflector was set in place (figure 6).

The Hair Light:

Our next step was to assemble the second of our three Extra Small LiteDomes and install the second flash unit. Once this was done we set up a second LiteDisc Holder and 2218 LiteStand, but this time we will use this arrangement as a boom. We attached the second flash and LiteDome assembly to the LiteDisc Holder set it to camera left just behind the model and raised it up to about eight and a half feet from the floor (figures 7 & 8).

With the hair light now in place we shut off the main light, moved the fill aside, and made an exposure with only the hair light (figure 9).

We then moved the fill back in and fired up the key light and made a second shot (figure 10).

These result shots show the effect of the hair light on the subject and how the two lights and the reflector work together to render the subject in a very clean, classic look.

The Background Light:

For our last step we set up the third Extra Small LiteDome and installed the third flash unit. To properly light the background of our portrait, we set this assembly on a 2200 LiteStand with the base and a 5/8 brass stud installed. With this arrangement we could get the light right on the floor and tilt it up to light the background. Once we had the background light package put together, we set it just behind the subject’s stool pointed at the background (figures 11 & 12).

With the background light roughed in, we shut down the key and hair lights and made our final adjustments to the background light. To show the effects the light has on the background we made an exposure (figure 13).

Then we switched on the hair and key light and took a second shot (figure 14).

The background light has added the final touch to our simple three light portrait. We now have better separation of the subject and the background and the final shot has taken on more dimension.

We have created a professional look to this portrait for a fraction of the cost that a cumbersome studio strobe setup would run. Also, because our flashes are powered by batteries, we have a very portable easy to use portrait kit we can take anywhere .