Over the weekend, I had the chance to work with a few great photographers in my area at a studio we rented for the day. We had a few models come in and had a blast. It was such a good opportunity to work on creative lighting. I wanted to show you what a difference some well placed lights can make.

Here is a natural light shot.

focal length: 48 mm
shutter speed: 1/100
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 1000
flash: not fired

It’s a clean shot, good quality but not all that exciting.

Now add a couple lights.

focal length: 44 mm
shutter speed: 1/125
aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 200
flash: fired off camera

The image has completely changed from boring to amazing. The creative lighting has added dimension, warmth and contrast which requires very little processing if any.

Here’s a diagram of the setup.

A strobe with a grid on a boom as key light and a gelled speedlight shooting into a hotlite reflector on the camera’s right. A huge thanks to Jason Brown of Revival Arts Studio who set up the lights and let me use his pocket wizards.

Here’s a look behind the scenes.

I encourage you to experiment with light, natural or strobed, to create any look you desire.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.