Many photographers struggle with overpowering the sun when shooting on bright days. This becomes even more difficult when a shallow depth of field is desired.
To maintain a proper exposure with a shallow depth of field, renowned photographer Joel Grimes utilizes a strobe and the 24″ Beauty Dish Switch. He aligns this light source slightly above his subject with his strobe set to match his camera.
Typically, photographers in this situation would set their aperture between F11 and F22 with their camera’s highest speed sync (usually 1/200th or 1/250th). However, Joel prefers to throw a neutral density filter into the mix.
Joel’s 3-stop and 6-stop neutral density filters give him the ability to set his aperture 3 or 6-stops up. For these particular shots, Joel’s camera is set at 1/100th ISO100 f1.4, giving him a perfectly balanced exposure with shallow depth of field.
Joel prefers an edgier look for his portraits, giving them the appearance of a composite image. By varying the shutter speed, photographers can add more drama for a similar look or less drama for a more traditional lifestyle shot.
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