Sunset portrait with portable studio flash?

[lowep]

I know it is an old cliche but I want to try it anyway :-)

Tomorrow evening I am going to photograph a farmer in a field at sunset with 2 portable umbrella flashes and a MF camera that has focal plane shutter and max flash sync speed of 125th of a second.

But I don't have experience using flash to shoot against the light at this time of day.

So any advice about the best way to set up, meter and camera settings to get a nicely lit and well exposed portrait at the same time as the colors of the sunset in the background most welcome.

I am thinking about setting the exposure for the flash then reducing the shutter speed until I get the right amount of background light to catch the colors of the sunset but am not sure if by doing this I risk getting a ghost image or otherwise unclear image of the person?

[SZRitter]

You can try dragging the shutter. It's what I do for shots like this.

So, set your aperture for correct exposure with the lights, then set your shutter speed for the desired background exposure.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

You also might want to consider using an orange gel on your flash, to achieve a more harmonious balance with the outside light.

[lowep]

Seems like there at least two different ways to do this: set the lights up for the subject then reduce/drag the shutter speed to get the desired background lighting; or set the exposure for the background then adjust the lights (power, distance) to get the desired amount of light on the subject; right?

[brianrybolt]

NO.  Do it the way SZRitter said.

The problem you get doing it the other way around is that it may be too dark for your ISO and if you selected a shutter speed of 1/125 your meter might say the f/stop should be f/2.8 or other wide aperture.  You then will have to either move your light closer or farther away or dial up/down on your light intensity slider/knob.  You don't have to worry about any of that if you deal with the aperture setting first.

[sniper]

And remember you really haven't got much time, the light and colours change a lot very quickly at sunset.  I usually under expose the sunset part to bring out the colours and avoid blowing the sun.

[Ken Bennett]

If the sun is actually in the frame (i.e., before it sets), you'll have some issues shooting at your 1/125 sync -- you'll need an aperture of f/16 at ISO 100, and even at that the sun/sky is likely too bright. (Try hiding the sun behind the subject, or letting it peek around and flare a little.)

As for shooting this, the folks above are correct: start with your flash exposure and set the correct aperture for the flash output and subject distance at your lowest ISO. (This can be difficult to do in full daylight as you set up.) That leaves one variable that you can control - your shutter speed. After the sun is down, the sky will still be very bright, but as it gets darker over the next hour or so you can shoot a variety of different looks, choosing slower shutter speeds to keep the background at the level that you want to balance the flash.

I do find that I need to change my aperture and flash power as it gets very dark, opening the aperture (and reducing flash power) to keep a usable shutter speed when shooting people.

Assuming that you're shooting digitally, you'll be able to see a lot of this on the LCD while you're shooting. Makes the learning curve a little less steep Good luck, and post a photo here if you like....

[SZRitter]

If you haven't already done the shoot at this point, I would highly recommend a practice session one evening. Maybe set up a stuffed toy and try it out to get a feel for it. It would give you a nice, relaxed time so that you can figure out the balance you want between foreground (subject) exposure and the background. My guess is you will want a stop or two under exposed on the background and correct exposure on the foreground.

[Ken Bennett]

If you haven't already done the shoot at this point, I would highly recommend a practice session one evening. Maybe set up a stuffed toy and try it out to get a feel for it. It would give you a nice, relaxed time so that you can figure out the balance you want between foreground (subject) exposure and the background. My guess is you will want a stop or two under exposed on the background and correct exposure on the foreground.

Agreed, and you can actually do this any time during the day, you don't have to wait until sunset to do the test like this.

[lowep]

I thought the main problem was going to be the lighting but in the end it was the wind threatening to knock over my light stands. At least there were no low flying cows.

It would have been good to practice with a stuffed bear but didnt have time to do this, so set up my lights as you suggested for the fortunately very patient subject and dragged the shutter as slow as I dared. This would have worked ok... if as you know the last hues of the sunset had not become so much more magical as the amount of light decreased, leaving me with no option but to hop about like mad adjusting the distance and direction of the lights and shooting at the slowest shutter speed and highest asa my old MFDB could tolerate to get a not too foolish result.

When the sunset was at its most glorious, the horizon was already a silhouette, even when I tried dragging the shutter at 1/15th of a second, so I was stuck with a band of black field in the background- but apart from this I expect I will not be too unhappy with the outcome once I have had a chance to fiddle with the files.

So thanks for the encouraging input!

[Ken Bennett]

When the sunset was at its most glorious, the horizon was already a silhouette, even when I tried dragging the shutter at 1/15th of a second, so I was stuck with a band of black field in the background-

If you think about it for a minute, this makes sense -- you are exposing for the sunset, so anything else will be a silhouette. That's why you need the lights for the main subject.

[SZRitter]

I thought the main problem was going to be the lighting but in the end it was the wind threatening to knock over my light stands. At least there were no low flying cows.

And this is why I love one of Chase Jarvis's best inventions, human powered light stands. I run Elinchrom Quadras, and my wife, on more than one occasion, has become a light stand. It usually requires a nice vase of flowers or a good dinner later though... so not exactly as cheap. And it whines. My god can it whine....

[Ellis Vener]

"nd this is why I love one of Chase Jarvis's best inventions, human powered light stands."

esspecially sioncethey were invented when he was an infant. he always was ahead of his time.  back in the '80s we called the technology AVALS - Autonomous Voice Activated Light Stand.

[SZRitter]

Hey now, I was only attributing it to Mr. Jarvis as it was the first time I had heard anyone call their assistants that. I bet it goes back many, many years, probably earlier than that. Just trying to have my tongue in cheek moment.

That said, I think I am going to go make a nametag for my wife with AVALS on it....

[Ken Bennett]

It usually requires a nice vase of flowers or a good dinner later though... so not exactly as cheap. And it whines. My god can it whine....

I guess I'm very lucky, as my SUVALS (Spousal Unit Voice Activated Light Stand) doesn't whine, but rather keeps an eye on the subject and points out little things that I am too busy to notice, like crooked ties or hair issues. So the nice dinner and good beer afterward are well worth the cost.

[SanderKikkert]

A most educational ánd entertaining thread this, thanks for sharing your experience gentlemen