With the arrival of spring I've taken my sports portrait initiative outdoors. It's been a fun change from photographing in the gymnasium or studio, but necessitates a different approach to the shot. I often find myself photographing at 3:15 PM right after the dismissal bell when the sun is still high and the shadows are harsh.
In order to obtain the image I envision it's necessary to tame the ambient light. I could do this by underexposing the ambient, but any attempt to do so and I find myself at f/16 or higher. This gives me far more depth-of-field than I want. The goal is to isolate the subject against the background by throwing the background out of focus.
Megan photographed in harsh sunlight with a Profoto D1 and Elinchrom 39" Mini Octa Softbox at camera right.
This is where a neutral-density filter really helps. I first find the "normal" exposure for the natural light. Next, I add a 3-stop neutral-density filter to my lens. This cuts the ambient light by 3-stops; more than half. However, a 3-stop reduction in ambient is a little dramatic, and it doesn't help my depth-of-field issue. There's a simple solution, I open-up my aperture about a stop and a half. Now I've decreased my depth-of-field and still have underexposed the ambient.
“In order to obtain the image I envision it’s necessary to tame the ambient light.”
Since I have cut the amount of light entering my lens by 3-stops with the filter on, I simply meter the strobe for 3-stops above my chosen f-stop. So, if I'm at f/8, I meter the strobe for f/22. I have a hard time getting that much power out of my Profoto D1's, but if I use the highest output and get the light close enough I can get there (barely.) You'll also notice in the sample images that I played around with the position of the strobe. In the portrait of Megan, the strobe was at 90° to camera right. This let the short side of her face fall into dark shadow. In Olivia's portrait, the strobe was higher and just off camera left, yielding the signature Rembrandt triangle on the shadow side of her face.
Olivia photographed at 3:30 PM in bright sun.
The end result is a properly exposed subject with the ambient light underexposed and a slightly shallow depth-of-field. (I say slightly shallow because I can't open up to f/2.8 to get things really shallow — the sun's just too bright. This is why you may choose a 10-stop filter.)
I'll walk you through the formula step-by-step. Ready?
- At ISO 100 and your camera's maximum sync speed, meter for for the ambient light and corresponding f-stop. (No strobe, no neutral density filter.)
- Add the neutral density filter to your lens. (You can add a 1-stop, 2-stop, 3-stop or even 10-stop reduction. It's up to you.) Again, this example uses a 3-stop.
- If you like the look of 3-stops underexposed, you're almost there. If not, open up your aperture 1 or 2 stops.
- Once you've settled on your f-stop for a pleasing amount of ambient, simply meter your strobe for 3-stops above your current f-stop. (This accounts for the loss of light passing through the lens due to the neutral-density filter.)
Bingo. Remember, you can underexpose the ambient light without a neutral-density filter but you'll most likely be stopped down quite a bit. My goal was to open-up my aperture for a shallower depth-of-field. If you photograph in the early morning or at dusk you can achieve a similar look without a filter.
Jimmy photographed in bright midday sun with Elinchrom Octa Softbox and Profoto D1 at full power at camera left (just out of frame.)
Thousands of photographers have been using this technique for years, however it's a new technique for me. I actually decided to give it a go after reading Joey L's book "Photographing Shadow and Light." I'm especially taken with his Holy Men and Omo Valley projects where he employs a similar technique. I have a long way to go before my portraits look as professional as his, and in my opinion he is a master when it comes to balancing ambient with strobe and color temperature. If you're not familiar with Joey L, you should definitely check-out his work. www.joeyl.com