One Light Portrait

Today sees a bit of a milestone for my blog, because at some point today I will receive my 100,000th page view.  To mark that, I’ve decided to give away a framed print of the winner’s choice in a little competition where you can guess the time of the 100,000th page view – the closest wins, and I’ll post it anywhere in the world.  So go enter that, and then come back here (remember that I’ll then be 2 page views closer!) so that I can briefly discuss this photo of Jim, who is lucky enough to be featuring on the blog for this milestone.

This shot of Jim was taken at Niamh and John’s wedding during the summer.  Jim is boyfriend of Fiona, who is Niamh’s sister and was bridesmaid on the big day.  To be fair to Jim I should say that this shot was taken later on in the night at the evening reception – I’m sure that top shirt button was closed earlier in the day!

It is very simple lighting, but I like to think it makes for a striking portrait.  All the light is from a single Nikon SB-800, handheld off the camera in my left hand and elevated a little above the camera (you can see the hint of a nose shadow which indicates this).  The shadow on the camera-right side of his face should tell you that the light is coming from camera left.

To soften the light it is mounted in a Lumiquest Softbox III, and I am pretty sure I had a slight warming gel on it to warm up the light slightly.

I’m feathering the light a little so I get fall-off towards the bottom of the portrait, which helps create a spotlight-type effect.  By feathering I mean I am pointing the light a little above Jim – this effectively brings the edge of the beam, that softer light, into the frame of the shot, and makes the light a little less efficient, but  a little more aesthetic.

I’m at 1/250s which is the fastest shutter speed I can have with flash, and at a low ISO which means that even with a wide aperture no light is coming from any other source – without the flash firing I’d have a black frame.  That allows me total control over the light and makes the shot a true one-light portrait.