On the latter end of my family vacation this past weekend I decided to have a little fun with some portraits. What’s a family vacation without screwing around and making some goofy faces? It simply had to be done. There was a challenge however – I only had one flash and my shoot-through umbrella. I waited for the sun to get low for some dramatic lighting and tinkered with positioning my light source until I found the sweet spot. While portraits have never been “my thing”, I have started the learning process and am really getting into it.

Presenting the three stooges – together we’re likely the goofiest, strangest brothers you’ve ever come across…

Single Flash Portraits

There are obvious faults in these photos and they are far from excellent portraits, but I’m pretty pleased with what I got while only having one flash. I flat out just wanted to have a good time and experiment with lighting. It’s amazing how much you can learn by simply playing around. DUH!

Things I’ll consider for next time:

- Make sure to position my subjects to where objects (in this case the roof) do not ruin the background
- Find a way to light the underside of the chin and neck either by adding a second light (fill) or by using a reflector
- If a third light is available, use to highlight the hair or accent the background (if needed)

More equipment here would have been great, but it was awesome managing one light source to produce some interesting images. Next time, I’ll include the exact same details – hopefully with a few more toys in the mix.