Let us be honest. The easiest way to photograph people is using existing (ambient) light. You place your model in the shadow, put your camera on manual (or aperture), ISO as low as possible and your shutter speed should be at least the focal length of your lens.

In other words you make use of the basics of photography and that is your exposure triangle. Placing your subject directly in the sun will create harsh and unflattering light. However you can use reflection screens and place the model with her back towards the sun to create different lighting but you need someone to hold the reflection screen.

Once you start outdoors flash you have 4 more parameters to take into account.

- The power of the flash

- The distance towards the object (model)

- The angle and direction of the flash

- The light former (softbox) used

Therefore a lot of photographers do not use flash outdoors. It is more complicated and when used wrongly it creates light that is not as beautiful as ambient soft light.

Outdoors I mainly use one flash. When the sun is shining one flash is more than enough. In the studio it gets more complicated when using several strobes. You cut all ambient light by making the studio as dark as possible. We shoot at f/9, ISO100 and 1/200 to make sure very little light reaches our sensor.

Most of the time we use one 'main' (flash)light. Other flashes are mainly fill light, spot light or other forms of light creating atmosphere.

It is necessary or even mandatory to know how light behaves. What is light falling off (inverse square of law) and what is the difference when we place the flash far away or very close. What if we use large softboxes and what happens when you make use of a grid?

For example using a big double diffused softbox it makes no sense to place it far away from the model. The inverse square of law tells us only 2% of the light reaches our model when she is 8 meters away. That is when using omnidirectional light. (diffused softboxes, a bulb, ...)

Once you start using an open parabolic at the focal point or a sport reflector the light will reach further.

The advantage of using flash is you can shoot with the sun on the back of your subject (model). This makes a huge difference in your final image. The sky will be blue and your subject will get the necessary light (s)he deserves. When photographers tell me "I can fix this afterwards in Lightroom" I try to convince them it is not the way you should photograph.

The light is not always flattering using off camera flash with small light formers. Sometimes it is the way it is.

When you want to photograph a full body shot using a 85mm lens you are placed at least 4,5 meters away from the subject. This means when you put the flash behind you the distance will be at least 5 meters!

Personally I have no problem when the face is a bit greasy and shiny. I use Photoshop to soften the light on her face (without making it plastic) but if you are not familiar with photoshop (don't use Lightroom for this) the light is not always what the client wants. Your model should look fantastic and not like she has just finished the 10 miles.

In my workshops I show how to create light and combine it with ambient light. Join me if you can in upcoming workshops.

In this example I used a 180cm umbrella to lighten our model while the sun was shining at the back of her. Just check the shadows on the floor.