On Assignment: Star Gazer

We all have our crutches go-to techniques, and one of mine is using a single flash as a backlight in an otherwise ambient-lit scene. I like the effect because it provides depth, color and separation, which really helps if your image is going to be printed on Charmin newsprint.

Didn't need much flash here. One quarter power (on manual) and the coverage angle on the flash set to 24mm for a nice, wide throw.

The flash is directly behind the guy. If you look closely, you can see the feet of my stand peeking out. In retrospect, I could have easily glopped some snow in front of the feet to hide them. Oh, well. Next time.

Again, the flash is doing double duty by separating the guy with a rimlight and lighting the snow for a good contrast against the twilight sky. But it is also providing fill for the guy's face by bouncing up off of the snow, which is a very efficient reflector.

It was getting pretty dark at the time, so I had the flash on the light stand backwards (with the head turned back around towards me) so the ready light would be visible. This told me that (a) the flash was charged and (b) where, exactly, the flash was so I could position myself to hide it behind the guy while working in dim light.


Next: Real Estate Developer