Hi this is Joe McNally for Adorama TV,
and I'm gonna talk in this segment about soft directional lighting.
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Soft directional light.
That would seem to be a contradiction in terms right? You think directional light to
be a bit harder, more
edgy, maybe more shadowy. What we've
kinda come to here in the world of light shapers for small flash.
Is a 24-inch Ezybox Hotshoe
soft box. That is direction because it's not that big,
but what has been incorporated into this model of softbox
is a white interior. Historically it's been made with a silver interior that has
a snappier, maybe a little more fashiony kind of Christmas to it.
Introducing the white interior naturally makes that light that emanates
from the box a little creamier,
a little richer, little more rounded, a little more forgiving
when it falls into shadow. So its my softbox of preference when I'm using
speedlights.
It has a power and a punch. As you can see from the two photographs
of the fishermen we have on the dock. I'm in close for a portrait,
and it's really nice and rounded. But when you go to a full length shot,
you can see that the light falls off pretty dramatically down his body.
It's a natural flow which is wonderful because you don't want to light his toes,
to the same value lighting his face. So the softbox being a collected, controlled,
directional, punch of light naturally falls off.
But the hot core of it is not as contrasty is it would be with a silver
interior.
The white interior imparts to the quality of light.
Just a general sort of , call it congeniality
and embrace of your subject thats really rounded and kinda
nice and and forgiving if you will.
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So in this instance the approach couldn't be simpler. It's one light,
okay off to camera right. I'm using a C-Stand
an Avenger C-Stand and I use C-Stands religiously.
Even for speed light's. Which again some folks might view as
you know, kinda nutty, cuz the Speedlight's aren't that big and heavy,
but the C-Stand does give me that extension arm and the mobility
and the positioning kinda accuracy that I'd like to achieve.
So my subjects on the dock right here.
Ok he's got his ball cap on okay.
Right in here okay , and he's standing in front of me.
I'm an excellent drawer.
My camera angle varies. I'm not using a tripod I'm going low
to get a full length shot. I'm coming up high and coming horizontal so there's a
whole variety of different framings that I'm
partaking in when I'm approaching the subject, but the light
remains constant. It's the C-Stand off here.
Okay and the extension arm is in here and the softbox
comes in this way and the Speedlight is right into the soft box.
So the camera angle is roughly here. That's where my cameras living some
place in this neighbourhood.
Easily enough I have a Hotshoe commander flash
on the camera, translating a commander pulse
to this light which is running TTL, and telling it how to behave, and
I'm able to direct the exposure of this
Speedlight here. It's an SB-910, for
my overall illumination, and that's really important when you're moving your camera
because as the camera sees different things.
I'm working TTL which means through the lens.
Which means when the camera sees a full length vertical,
and then switches to a tight horizontal, you might have some variance in the
flash exposure.
So this is a good way to work in terms of sending that signal
back and forth okay and you're able to kind of move and be fluid with it and
anticipate the variance that TTL will give you.
It's kinda my default it's the way I work. Camera right.
Camera here. Beautiful
character-driven subject you know the old fisherman right here.
I think of a link angle horizontal and the softbox
is a wrapping soft diffused light.
At the same time it's also directional funnels itself up in here,
and fades down in here.
So the essential piece of equipment that we're talking
about here, is an Ezybox Hotshoe Softbox. It's
24 inches square okay, and this one is my design.
I gave them the idea to put a white interior into the softbox
and it's been great. My relationship with Lastolite they actually listen to
photographers.
So I can't say enough about these guys. They took the idea ran with it
and they introduced a white interior to the softbox.
Which does make for that soft directional light
that we're talking about. Has a direction, has some punch
but at the same time it's very kind of wrapping and diffused for your subject.
This Joe McNally for Adorama TV talking to you about soft directional
light.
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