Three Ways To Use A Speedlight For Stunning Portraits

In portrait photography, mastering lighting is crucial. Speedlights offer a valuable boost to natural light, enhancing portrait quality. In this video, Ashley Boring demonstrates three speedlight techniques to improve portraits, using the Westcott FJ80-SE Universal Speedlight.

On-Camera Fill Light: Ideal for challenging lighting, the on-camera speedlight fills unflattering shadows, which is especially useful in backlit conditions. Ashley attaches the FJ80-SE to her camera’s hot shoe, using it to lightly illuminate her subject’s face shadowed by the sun, aided by a diffusion dome or natural-looking light.

Bounced Light Source: For a softer, natural look, Ashley points the speedlight towards a white wall. This method, perfect for indoor settings, creates an even, diffused light. Adjust the flash power for balanced exposure, considering the color of the bounce surface to avoid color mixing.

Off-Camera with Modifier: For more creative control, use the speedlight off-camera with a modifier like a softbox. This setup allows for dramatic, dimensional portraits, giving freedom to control light direction, output, and quality. Use a transmitter, like the FJ-X3m, for off-camera flash activation.

Speedlights add versatility to portrait photography, enabling quick fill, soft bounce, or creative off-camera setups.