It’s time to pull off an effortless yet impressive trick. First, set your speedlight to 1/16 power and place it inside a white shopping bag, facing upwards. Next, place the bag about 60 cm (2 feet) away and slightly to the side of your nice model, at a 45-degree angle – so when the flash goes off it will light her up nicely. Adjust the camera to 100 ISO and f/2.8, then pick the shutter speed that is right for your camera (we used 1/200s.
At last, point your camera and shoot away! If you have done everything correctly, the resulting picture will feature a lot of soft light in the foreground and a substantially darker background.
This type of lighting is very flattering; it never fails to leave the model thrilled and asking for more!
You find the long version of this tip and many more in Good Light! Magazine Issue 02.
I wish you good light!
Michael
Image above
Model: Fredau Hoekstra
Photo: Michael Zelbel