Alex Forsey Photography

Working with available light

Some of the most beautiful images I have seen where taken in available light. Personaly I find the use of available light most stunning when taken in low light conditions. Tripods and monopods can be incredibly useful when working in low light conditions although I've taken some great shots hand holding the camera. Steading yourself by resting on something or holding your breath briefly while taking the shot are both very effective when working on long shutter speeds. Often it is worthwhile and necessary to take several shots in order to get one that gives you a satisfactory result. With practice you will perfect this technique. Shutter release cables can come in very useful and most cameras have a mirror lock-up facility that is also useful for low light photography.

If you find it difficult holding a camera steady at long exposures and you're not a fan of tripods. Try using faster film speeds or set your camera to a higher ISO when using a digital camera. I find film gives me better results as some digital cameras have noise issues at higher ISO's at present.

The above image was shot hand held on 400 ISO film on a long shutter with available light. I shot several frames to get one that I was happy with. Of course it is important that your subject doesn't move to much either unless it is movement that you are after in your final image.

Soft boxes and light shaping tools for flash

Soft boxes essentially do the same thing for flash light as the clouds for the sun. They diffuse the light to make it less hard.

If used with flash they can be very useful for freezing movement. Although this only holds true for the lower powered flash heads and packs. The problem with the more powerful lights is the flash duration. This can give you shutter blur, and this is sometimes used as an effect. Usually you will want to work at high shutter speeds to try and avoid this. Ultimately the Sun and a high ISO will be your best tools if you want to freeze movement.

Soft boxes have a certain feel and this seems to come across a little different with digital cameras than it does with film cameras. The problem with digital cameras is that they don’t have the same amount of latitude as film cameras unless you are using a high-end digital camera. These tend to be very expensive. Even then the transition of tones is not as smooth under high contrast conditions with digital cameras unless you use extreme high end cameras. On big jobs it would be better to hire these from a digital hire company with a digital operator. Personally I find these get a little too sharp which is an element of digital cameras that is not so appealing.

Soft boxes come in many shapes and sizes, and this will affect the softness of the light. The distance from the subject will also affect the softness and spread of the light. I have often used a small soft box at a distance to soften the light. This will give a similar light to a larger soft box at closer range.

Another thing to bear in mind is that different shapes will give you different catch lights in the eyes.

There are many different manufacturers of soft boxes. Find a brand that suits you and your style.

There are also different finishes for the insides of the soft box. Some are white, silver and white, some smooth silver and others rough. They can be shallow or deep. All these details will have an effect on the quality of the light produced by the soft box.

Most, but not all, will come with an inner baffle (a smaller diffuser inside). I some times remove this to increase the intensity. This can be a little hard if used at close proximity.

In this image I used one small soft box at close range with the inner baffle attached. I had no other light source and I used black velvet to make the background as black as possible. This image was shot on film. If I had shot this on digital I probably would have needed to use a phase one digital back in order to get the latitude required to have a smooth transition in tones. In this case film was far more cost effective. Soft boxes aren't always the best choice, but they are by far the most used light-shaping tools.

The diffuser on most light boxes is of a standard thickness. It is worth carrying extra diffusion in case you want to vary the light intensity and spread, depending on the situation. There are many types of diffusion, each of which have their own specific feel.

You can also get grids for the front of certain soft boxes that will focus the light, and control the spread in various degrees. The most common ones are the 40°. If you have the budget it is worth having a wider range.

With experience you will know which will suit each individual situation.

Soft boxes can also be used on HMIs and continuous lighting but these have to be heatproof versions.

Umbrellas

Another way to shape the light is through the use of umbrellas. Some lighting hire companies used to throw these in as part of the package when you hired lights.

I prefer the harder rough texture baking foil variety for re-creating a full sun feel or for a sun flair situation. They also come in white, satin and soft silver. These also come in different sizes. I find the medium sizes are the most useful. You can adjust how far away they are from the light source, which will affect the spread of the light. They can be a pain when working outside on location, as they are perfect for catching the wind. I've broken a few heads in my time because of these. Sandbags are very useful if you are working with these on location.

Honeycombs

Honeycomb grids come in a variety of shapes and sizes for different light sources. They are unbelievably expensive and very fragile. They are used to focus your light source and control its spread. They are truly a wonderful invention, and probably one of the most useful tools in our trade. They even make fabric versions that you can use on continuous lighting with a heatproof soft box attached. I like to use these as they stop the uncontrolled spread of light.

Nets/Cutters

Nets come as singles or doubles in different sizes. They will cut the light without changing the quality. These are extremely useful when you want to reduce the light on a part of your subject without changing the overall exposure.

Flags

Flags can be used to shape your light, control your spread and sometimes to cast shadows. These are also very useful and come in a variety of sizes.

Reflectors

These are used to bounce light. Personally I like to be subtle with these, as I find the effect can look a little fake when the bounced light is to strong. Of course this depends on how you want your image to look.

They come as double sided, and there are many combinations. I find Silver/White to be the most useful, and the medium size 40" versions are probably the most useful and manageable. The large ones can be a pain when used on location as they catch the wind very easily. Of course they do have their uses. An extra pair of hands are a wonderful thing if you are using these on location.

You can also use polystyrene boards also known as foam core boards in the United states. They are usualy painted black on one side in case you want to use them as negative fill. These are mostly used in studios and on set.

Also great for catch lights. I've used these just for catch lights in the eyes without actually having any noticeable fill.